2010 Nominees For Council
Chan Wirasinghe obtained his B.Sc. in civil engineering from the University of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1968. After practicing engineering for four years, he obtained a US Fulbright Scholarship to study transportation engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, and completed his M.Sc. in 1973 and PhD in 1976.
He moved to the University of Calgary in 1976 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. Chan became the founding Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Engineering in 1988 and the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering in January 1994. The faculty has built very successful links to industry, alumni and the engineering profession. In May 2005, the faculty received a $50 million total donation and was named the Schulich School of Engineering. Chan stepped down from the Deanship in July 2006 after serving two and a half terms, and is back to full-time duties as a professor.
Chan has been closely associated with APEGGA since he registered in the late 1970s. He served on the APEGGA Board of Examiners for 12 years. He was a founding member of the Board of the APEGGA Education Foundation and a member of the Canadian Engineering Resources Board of Engineers Canada (then CCPE). He is a member of the Committee on Disaster Risk Management of the World Federation of Engineers. Chan has been the featured speaker at the APEGGA Luncheon during the Annual Conference and received the APEGGA Centennial Leadership Summit Award® in 2003. As Chair of the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Sciences, he played a role in ensuring that software engineering was protected for the engineering profession. He Chaired the NSERC Canadian Design Engineering Network for three years. Chan is a Fellow of Engineers Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, and has received the Alberta Premier’s Award of Excellence (Silver, 2000), Calgary’s Citizen of the Year (2005), and Minerva Award (Mentor of the Year) for Alberta Women's Science Network (2006).
Chan and his wife Dhamitha have three adult daughters, and four grand children ranging from one to 10 years in age.
APEGGA Activities
Member, Board of Examiners (1994-2006)
Member (1977-present)
Affiliations, Corporate or Community Service
Chair, National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NCDEAS) of Canada (1999-2000)
Council Member, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Warden, Camp 18 of The Corporation of the Seven Wardens
Former Board Member, Advanced Transit Association, Calgary Technologies International, Centre for Transportation Engineering and Planning (C-TEP)
Is the concept of professional self-regulation of engineering and geoscience an outdated concept or an efficient and effective means of protecting public safety and well-being and the environment?
Self-regulation for the engineering profession has an eminently successful track record in protecting public safety, well-being and the environment. Indeed self-regulation based on Provincial legislation is the best, most efficient and economical method for accomplishing such objectives. The legislated authority for self-regulation must be protected strongly.
Should the need to facilitate international mobility of skilled knowledge workers to ensure Canada’s continued well-being and prosperity outweigh the need for due-diligence in evaluating the education and experience of internationally educated applicants for professional licenses?
Both the due-diligence in evaluating professionals and the facilitation of the international mobility of skilled workers are obviously important. However, public safety and well-being is paramount. Thus in facilitating the mobility of engineers, due diligence in evaluating their qualifications and experience must take priority. APEGGA must work with Engineers Canada and others to make the evaluation process more efficient and timely.