UWindsor prof inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering

Dr. Hoda ElMaraghy, a UWindsor professor and recent Order of Ontario appointee, has been named a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

As a fellow of the academy, the professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering and Canada Research Chair in Manufacturing Systems joins Canada's most distinguished and experienced engineers who provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada.

“I look forward to contributing to the important work of the academy, particularly in new and exciting areas of advanced manufacturing and productivity multipliers to enhance industrial competitiveness and impact public policy for the welfare of Canadians,” said Dr. ElMaraghy, the first woman in Canada to be appointed a dean of engineering.

The Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) inducted 43 new fellows on June 27 in Winnipeg during the academy’s 2016 Annual General Meeting and Symposium. Members of the CAE are nominated and elected by their peers to honorary fellowships, in view of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession.

“They are engineers of outstanding abilities,” said Douglas Ruth, president of CAE. “While they have widely varying backgrounds, from industry, academe and government, what they all have in common is the demonstrated desire and ability to go beyond the normal practice of engineering and contribute in exemplary ways towards their fields and to their communities.”

Dr. Ruth said he expects great achievements through the inductees’ participation in the academy’s activities. In the past, fellows of the CAE have produced major studies in the fields of education, energy and innovation.

“We look forward with boundless anticipation as to how these new fellows will build upon these good works and explore new and exciting areas of engineering and its impact on public policy,” he added.

Dr. ElMaraghy founded and is currently director of the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Centre at UWindsor. Her research on flexible manufacturing has helped manufacturers around the world adapt and respond to market changes by allowing companies to produce different products with the same flexible manufacturing system. Her current research on adaptable and reconfigurable systems can help companies scale their production and change products quickly avoiding the high costs associated with plant shut downs and reprogramming.

In addition to her pioneering research, ElMaraghy was invested into the Order of Ontario earlier this year and is a fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the International Academy for Production Engineering, as well as a senior member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.