Class notes

Catch up with old classmates and friends

1960s

Dr. Gulshan Dhawan (MASc ’68, PhD ’72) celebrated 41 years in business with his company Applied Membranes Inc., which manufactures high-quality water treatment systems.

Jenny Nelson (BA ’68) received an honourable mention in the 2022 Lieutenant-Governor’s Historical Writing Awards for her compilation of stories from Gaadgas Nora Bellis, So You Girls Remember That: Memories of a Haida Elder.

1970s

Ian Kyer (BA ’72) published The Ontario Bond Scandal of 1924 Re-examined, a historical book investigating a famous case from the 1920s.

H. Stanley Marshall (BASc ’72) was inducted to the Order of Business Hall of Fame.

Alex Kowalenko (BMath ’73, MMath ’76) released a book about his hometown in July 2023. Heartfelt Memories of Creighton Mine, co-authored with two other hometown friends, Earl Waytowich and John Tricco, shares photos and recounts stories about growing up in the town of Creighton Mine, a ghost town since 1988 but still a world-class nickel mining centre.

Ocumetics welcomed Dr. James Barton McRoberts (OD ’74) to its board of directors.

Dr. Bill Goodman (BA ’77, MA ’83, PhD ’89) published a new book, Seeing Both: A Memoir of Chances.

Sault Ste. Marie YMCA welcomed John Haddock (BA ’78) as interim chief executive officer.

Pine Cliff Energy Ltd. appointed Hilary Foulkes (BSc ’79) to its board of directors.

WrkSpot appointed Dorothy Dowling (BA ’80, MA ’83) as a board advisor for hotel operations.

Barb Mason (BES ’80) retired from Scotiabank at the end of 2023 after a 41-year career with the bank. Just before retiring, she received Scotiabank’s Catalyst Community Spotlight Award.

1980s

Douglas Carter (BSc ’81) is an independent director at Sierra Metals Inc., Mayfair Gold Corp., Exploits Discovery Corp. and Gowest Gold Ltd.

Jordan Levitin (BES ’81) was recognized as a Fellow by the Canadian Research Insights Council.

Peter Taylor (BA ’81) released his latest collection of poetry, Cities Within Us, with Guernica Editions.

Siamak Hariri (BES ’82) was named one of the Most Influential Torontonians of 2023.

West Red Lake Gold Mines appointed Tony Mukuch (BSc ’82) to its board of directors.

The Alaska Sealife Center appointed Dr. John Fraser (BES ’83, PhD ’86) as director of mission impact.

Blockchain Venture Capital appointed Marc Kealey (BA ’83) to its board as an independent director.

Vivek Vadke (MASc ’84) released a new book, Principles of Vegetable Oil Extraction.

Dr. Stephen Kaladeen (BSc ’85) published a romantic comedy novel, Kiss Me Better.

The Canadian Renewable Energy Association appointed Leonard Kula (MASc ’85) as vice-president of policy — East Canada and Utility Affairs.

Clear Blue Technologies, co-founded by chief executive officer Miriam Tuerk (BASc ’85), was named to Corporate Knights’ 2023 Future 50 list.

Don Herrington (BA ’86) was appointed head coach of the Welland Jr. B Canadians.

Dr. David Rudolph (PhD ’86) was appointed to the BluMetric board of directors.

Merrill Albert (BMath '87) published her first book, Crimes Against Data - 101 true crime stories of people abusing and misusing data. The book details incidents of data crimes and their impact

Nanocarrier Co. Ltd. appointed Dr. Michael Houston (BSc ’87, PhD ’93) as chairman of its U.S. subsidiary.

Alex Pankratz (BMath ’87) joined Fasken as partner in the tax group at the firm’s Toronto office.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan appointed Jaqui Parchment (BMath ’87) to its board.

Ciboney Group Limited appointed Winston Watson (MASc ’87) to its board of directors.

Ayman Antoun (BASc ’88) was elected to the TD Bank US board of directors.

Dr. Thomas Lee (BASc ’88, MASc ’90, PhD ’96) received an honorary doctorate from York University, recognizing his life’s work in engineering education. In June 2023, Lee retired from his faculty position at McMaster University after a successful fight with colon cancer.

Sault Area Hospital named John Heintzman (BSc ’89) as their new chief of staff.

1990s

Marlene Epp (MA ’90) released her newest book, Eating Like a Mennonite.

Manohar Singh (MA ’91) was appointed president of Western Connecticut State University.

Dr. Stewart Smith (BA ’91) graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in June 2023 with a PhD in social work. His dissertation was titled Best Practices for Social Workers Engaging with Spiritual/Religious Clients.

McEwen Mining appointed Nicolas Darveau-Garneau (BMath ’92) to its board of directors.

NuGen Medical appointed Ian Heynen (BASc ’92) as chief executive officer.

Latronix and Inseego appointed Philip Brace (BASc ’93) to their boards of directors.

Stacey Daub (BA ’93, MA ’99) was named the new honorary colonel of the Canadian Forces Health Services Centre.

Sun Life announced Manjit Singh (BA ’93) as the new president of Sun Life Asia.

Nanaimo City Council appointed Dale Lindsay (BES ’94) as chief administrative officer.

M. Jacqueline Murray (MSc ’94) released her book Out of Time, a fictional story of fate, hope, kismet and true love.

Greg Da Re (BASc ’94) was named vice-president of corporate development by Frontier Lithium.

Dr. Karen Schnarr (BSc ’94, BA ’94) was appointed chief executive officer and registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

Wave View Imaging, co-founded by Elise Fear (BASc ’95), was selected in an open call for startups by Pfizer Canada’s Health Care Hub.

evolutionQ, co-founded and led by president and chief executive officer Michele Mosca (BMath ’95), was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer.

Susan Uthayakumar (BA ’95, MAcc ’95) was appointed to Prologis’ executive committee. She will also continue her work as chief energy and sustainability officer.

Dr. Mike Wulder (MES ’96, PhD ’99) was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada for his internationally recognized innovations in the field of remote sensing for mapping and monitoring land cover.

Nick Piquard (BMath ’97) joined Hamilton ETFs as chief options strategist.

Third Eye Capital appointed David Steele (BMath ’97, MAcc ’97) as president and chief operating officer.

ImmunoScape appointed Dr. John Tsang (BASc ’98, MMath ’00) to its scientific advisory board.

Mark Mamo (BMath ’99) was recognized with a 2023 Baillie Award for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching.

Perimeter Medical Imaging AI appointed Adrian Mendes (BASc ’99) as chief executive officer.

Natalie Poulin-Lehoux (BMath ’99) is the new vice-president of Francophone Affairs at Laurentian University.

FWD Group appointed Sid Sankaran (BMath ’99) as managing director and group chief financial officer.

2000s

Tabatha Bull (BASc ’00) was selected for the Canadian Tire Community Impact Awards.

Dr. Audrey Penner (BSc ’00) retired from Northern College in December 2023, where she had led the institution as president since 2020.

Trevor Trainor (MSc ’00, MASc ’14), president at Bawating Building Science, was selected as one of 10 recipients of the Hydro One Indigenous Entrepreneurship Grant.

Dr. Kerri Webb (MMath ’00, PhD ’04) was recognized for her teaching excellence at Selkirk College’s SCOPE Awards.

Erin Beaudin (MAES ’01) was appointed vice-president, finance and administration and chief financial officer at Acadia University.

Sebastian Morin (BASc ’01) was appointed chief operating officer of Gran Tierra Energy Inc.

Stephanie Thompson (BASc ’01) was named to WXN’s list of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100. This was her fourth time being recognized, making her a member of WXN’s Hall of Fame.

Prakash Patel (BA ’02, MAcc ’02) joined CloudMD as chief financial officer.

Mangrove Lithium, co-founded by Alfred Lam (BASc ’03), was named to Corporate Knights’ 2023 Future 50 list.

Dr. Atefeh (Atty) Mashatan (MMath ’03, PhD ’09) was named to WXN’s list of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100.

Manifest Climate, co-founded by chief executive officer Laura Zizzo (BES ’04), was named to Corporate Knights’ 2023 Future 50 list.

Rocket Companies appointed Varun Krishna (BASc ’05) as chief executive officer.

AECOM appointed Zuliana Mawani (BASc ’05, Meng ’09) as vice-president and operations manager for its Greater Toronto Area water business.

Kate McCrae Bristol (BA ’05) was appointed director of Athletics and Recreation at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Monica Singh Soares (BA ’05), founder of Rise Up and Soar Community, was the first South Asian to be elected to council at the Township of Southgate. Rise Up and Soar Community is a charity focused on youth leadership and community empowerment through cultural connection and awareness.

Bell Partners appointed Barbat Rodgers (BMath ’07) as senior vice-president of investor relations.

Clir Renewables, co-founded by Andrew Brunskill (BASc ’08), was named to Corporate Knights’ 2023 Future 50 list.

Sarah Kim (BA ’08) was appointed chief administrative officer for Grimbsy.

2010s

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (BA ’12) was named one of ApplyBoard’s International Alumni of Impact.

Dr. Farhan M. Asrar (MPH ’13) was named Regional Family Physician of the Year, Mississauga, by the Ontario College of Family Physicians.

Dr. Ian Burton (DES ’13) was named an officer of the Order of Canada. Burton, a policy advisor and influential scholar, was recognized for the scientific contributions to climate change adaptation.

SPATULA Foods, co-founded and led by chief executive officer Ian Weng (BAFM ’13, MAcc ’13), appeared on Dragon’s Den, receiving offers from all five dragons.

Jack Forbes (BASc ’16) launched Class Companion, an AI platform that provides high-quality feedback to students.

Pim Manaswiyoungkul (BSc ’16), co-founder of HDAX Therapeutics, was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Toronto.

Dr. Munsa Rana (BSc ’17) was voted number one optometrist in the Brampton Guardian’s 2023 Reader’s Choice Awards.

V. Prem Watsa (LLD ’17) was inducted into the Order of Business Hall of Fame.

Dr. Rui Su (BSc ’18, PharmD ’18), co-founder of MedMe Health, was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in the health care category.

Tom Storwick (BASc ’19) and Kelly Zheng (BASc ’19), co-founders of Coastal Carbon, were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in the science category.

2020s

Chee Hau Teoh (MASc ’20) was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in the social impact category, recognizing his work in nanocoatings.

Ruslan Nikolaev (BCS ’20) and former student Griffin Keglevich, co-founders of Float Financial, were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Toronto.

As a recreational programmer for the Town of Orangeville, Nicole Desaulniers (BA ’21) implemented the Block Box, which delivers free, community-oriented programs to various parks in the town.

Hendrix Hanes (BMath ’21) joined the Calgary Flames as a developer and data scientist.

Kyne Santos (BMath ’21), known as TikTok’s “math queen,” was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Toronto and Toronto’s Rising Stars 2023.

Dr. Monika Snowdon (PhD ’21) joined the CAS Future Leaders Program, a unique opportunity for early-career scientists to gain leadership and communications training.

Susan Fish (MTS ’22) released her third novel, Renaissance, published by Paraclete Press.