July 2007

Members in the News 

The provincial Department of Natural Resources now has a state-of-the-art staking system, called MIRIAD, invented by a departmental team that included Ken Andrews, P.Geo. and Jim Hinchey, P.Geo. The team was honoured with a Public Service Award of Excellence in June.

Scott Bennett, P.Eng. and Dustin Cole, P.Eng. of AMEC recently completed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) exam and are now LEED Accredited Professionals.

The City of St. John's has opened its new $35 million water treatment plant at Windsor Lake. Art Cheeseman, P.Eng. says the plant uses a 'multi-barrier approach', a 'first' for this province.

Tony Costello, P.Eng. has been elected President of the Consulting Engineers of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Tony Dawe, P.Eng. was recently elected President of Engineers Canada [formerly known as Canadian Council of Professional Engineers].

Peter Dimmell, P.Geo. recently received the Barlow Memorial Medal for co-writing the best economic paper on geology in 2006.

Andy Fisher, P.Eng. is co-ordinator of the Industrial Outreach Group [IOG] in Memorial's Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. The Group has benefitted many local companies with its research, such as NuWay Kitchens which reduced wastage by 33% after IOG reviewed its manufacturing processes.

Victor French, P.Geo. has been interested in uranium for a long time and was one of many staking hundreds of new claims in Labrador in April. His research into prospective areas included consulting with Dr. Derek Wilton, P.Geo. and reviewing papers by Dr. Dick Wardle, P.Geo.

Wesley Foote, P.Eng., has been appointed Assistant Deputy Minister [Petroleum Development] in the provincial Department of Natural Resources.

Dr. Rex Gibbons, P.Geo. recently retired as senior vice-president, Jacques Whitford Group. Rex has been named Liberal party campaign chairman for the upcoming provincial election.

Kevin Goulding, P.Eng., Manager, Deer Lake Power, says that lower water levels in the Grand Lake watershed means that the generating station has reduced its capacity to generate a full load and impacted industry such as Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.

Dr. Jeremy Hall, P.Geo. says that soil erosion is a serious concern in Conception Bay South, and houses within 60 feet of the shoreline are likely to be impacted within 10 years.

Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board [CNLOPB] plans to digitize all offshore data into one database, according to Exploration Manager Dave Hawkins, P. Geo.

Todd Hiscock, P.Eng.; Barry Dawe, P.Eng.; Allan Chafe, P.Eng.; and Carol Bartlett, GIT; were recently elected to the NATI Board of Directors, and Jeff King, P.Eng. was elected Chair.

Dr. Shawn Kenny, P.Eng. has joined Memorial's Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

Andy Kerr, P.Geo. and Dr. Derek Wilton, P.Geo. were both presenters at the CIM 2007 Annual Conference. Dr. Rex. Gibbons, P.Geo. was co-chair of the event.

Pat Laracy, P.Geo.'s company Vulcan Minerals has become a 30% owner of NWest Energy Inc. and is diversifying its interests to include some offshore blocks in the Anticosti Basin in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Dr. Rex Gibbons, P.Geo. was recently elected to Vulcan's Board of Directors.

Earl Ludlow, P.Eng. has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, Newfoundland Power. He has also volunteered to chair the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation's Priority: The Campaign for Cancer Care.

Stan Marshall, P.Eng., President and CEO, Fortis, announced that the company is looking to expand in the United States. In 2007, Fortis reported a record first-quarter profit of $41.5 million, up 13% from 2006.

Steve McLean, P.Eng. has been accorded Fellowship from the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) for his outstanding contributions to the civil engineering profession. This award is accorded to individuals who have contributed actively towards the progress of their profession.

Dr. Axel Meisen, P.Eng., says Memorial University is planning growth, including an increase in enrolment from 17,400 to 20,500.

Don Noseworthy, P.Eng., says that Pennecon Energy has won the contract to help prepare the drill rig Henry Goodrich for its next contract. Approximately 20 employees will travel to the Gulf of Mexico to do hydraulic and instrumentation work on the rig.

Mike O'Reilly, P.Eng. is helping to develop a Guideline for Design of Healthcare Facilities as a member of a Canadian Standards Association committee.

According to Howard Pike, P.Eng., chief safety officer, the overall trend in offshore injuries is down. Howard was also quoted in a story about divers who will repair underwater seals on Husky's FPSO.

Carl Powell, P.Eng. has been inducted into the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum 50 Year Club.

Frank Smith, P.Eng. recently spoke at a Newfoundland Ocean Industries Association luncheon where he outlined Peter Kiewit and Sons' 20 year plan for the Marystown Shipyard.

Michael Snow, P.Eng. turned a university electrical engineering project into a company which is selling its first product. WES Power Technology Inc. developed ARCS 250, a device that integrates and monitors wind power and solar systems for residential and recreational boat applications.

Les Spracklin, father of Rick Spracklin, P.Eng., helped build more than 50 bridges in Newfoundland throughout his career. Now, he is watching Rick's company, Trident Construction, win contracts to replace some of those bridges.

Don Stevens, P.Eng., Voisey Bay's Plant Manager, says the feasibility study by the Commercial Plant project team will continue throughout 2007 to validate the operability of the hydromet process. There are a number of significant technical uncertainties remaining, he says, that they are working to resolve.

Dr. Richard Wardle, P.Geo. has been appointed Assistant Deputy Minister [Mineral Resource Management] in the provincial Department of Natural Resources.

Speakers at the Economic Development Benefits of the Oil and Gas Industry in Newfoundland and Labrador Conference included: Patrick Laracy, P.Geo.; Dr. Axel Meisen, P.Eng. and John Henley P.Eng.

A number of PEGNL members were speakers at the Atlantic Petroleum R & D Forum: Dr. Michael Enachescu, P.Geo.; Ian Atkinson, P.Geo.; Freeman Ralph, P.Eng.; Dr. Charles Randell, P.Eng.; Dr. Brian Veitch, P.Eng.; Stewart Strong, P.Eng.; Dr. Faisal Khan, P.Eng.; Craig Young, P.Eng.; Dr. Dan Walker, P.Eng. and Tony King, P.Eng.

Wayne Chipman, P.Eng.; Jim Keating, P.Eng.; Frank Smith, P.Eng. and Pat Laracy, P.Geo. were speakers at NOIA's conference in June. Dr. Michael Enachescu, P.Geo. was a moderator.

Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission recently launched the CEO Leadership Charter to elevate health and safety as a sound business practice. Among the local business leaders who signed the charter at the launch, were: Jerry Byrne, P.Eng. and Earl Ludlow, P.Eng.

Permit holder Jacques Whitford Ltd. has been contracted to design and carry out a base line environmental study at the Grey River tungsten project of Playfair Mining.

Permit holder Production Services Network [PSN] is celebrating its first year of business in Newfoundland and, due to continued demand, may expand its St. John's operation. PSN employs about 300 people, of which more than half are engineers and technical staff.

© Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador