Engineering alum to join Order of Canada ranks

Don Mavinic poses in front of wastewater treatment equipment

UWindsor grad Donald Mavinic (BASc 1969, MASc 1971, PhD 1973), a professor emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia and an internationally recognized expert in water treatment, received a call to the Order of Canada from Gov. Gen. Julie Payette on Dec. 28.

Membership in the order is extended to people “whose service shapes our society, whose innovations ignite our imaginations, and whose compassion unites our communities.”

The announcement praised Dr. Mavinic for his contributions to environmental engineering science and technology in Canada, notably in the areas of liquid wastewater and residuals management.

It is the latest in a series of honours for Mavinic. In 2010, he received the Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Synergy Award. The following year, he was given the Meritorious Achievement Award from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. He is the only Canadian to be named a Water Environment Federation Fellow. In 2016, he received the Engineers Canada Gold Medal Award.

He will be invited to accept the insignia at a ceremony to be held later.

Read more about Don in the inaugural issue of WE - Windsor Engineering on pages 14 and 15.