Ottawa – Carleton Engineering Professor Moyra McDill has won a 2009 Ontario Professional Engineers Award from the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and Professional Engineers Ontario.Awards are given to professional engineers who have shown exemplary service in their respective fields to their communities and their profession.

Dr. McDill will be presented with an Engineering Medal in the Engineering Excellence Category at a special black tie gala ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, at the Toronto Congress Centre. Members of the media are invited to attend.

Dr. McDill is a professor and associate chair (undergraduate studies) with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Her research focuses on thermal-mechanical numerical analysis for manufacturing processes such as welding in the aerospace and automotive industries. Techniques developed by Dr. McDill and her students have been used by international researchers and by such companies as Volvo and Bayer.

Dr. McDill, a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, has also applied her expertise in overseeing the safety of our country’s nuclear infrastructure, having served for seven years as a Governor-in-Council Appointed Commissioner of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). More recently, she was a member of the CNCS/Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Joint Review Panel, established to review the proposed Bruce Power New Nuclear Power Plant project located in the Municipality of Kincardine, Ontario.

A leading advocate and researcher on gender issues within the engineering profession, Dr. McDill was the first woman to complete a doctorate degree in mechanical engineering at Carleton University, the first female faculty member hired by the department and the first woman to be promoted to full professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Design. A ground-breaking educator, mentor and inspiration to her students and colleagues, she has been recognized with awards for Student’s Choice, Teaching Achievement, and Favourite Professor.