Dr. Bing Chen inducted as Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada

Jan 18th, 2021

By Jackey Locke

Dr. Bing Chen inducted as Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada

Dr. Bing Chen, professor and head, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, has been named Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC).

The EIC, founded in 1887, is a Canadian federation of 14 constituent societies in mechanical, civil, geotechnical, chemical and electrical engineering presenting over 30,000 Canadian engineering professionals.

The institute recognizes outstanding engineers among its academic and industry-based member societies by annually inducting up to 20 fellows for their “exceptional contributions to engineering in Canada.”

Dr. Chen is grateful for the recognition.

“I am thrilled and truly honoured to receive the award,” he said. “I regard this as not only a recognition of what I have done, but, more importantly, a stimulus for my continuing endeavours in making contributions to the engineering profession. As a civil/environmental engineering professor, I am always proud and passionate about my career to understand environmental pollution problems, develop and apply novel engineering solutions, train our next generation of professionals, and help grow our profession and society in a sustainable way.

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank Memorial University and the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science for the continuing support as well as my colleagues and students in the civil department and NRPOP Lab.”

Dr. Chen joined Memorial in 2006. He is currently a professor and head of the Department of Civil Engineering and director of the Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control Laboratory (NRPOP Lab). He is also the founding director of a pan-Canadian and global Network of Persistent, Emerging, and Organic PoLlution in the Environment (PEOPLE Network) funded by the NSERC CREATE Network program.

Dr. Chen is very active in providing service and leadership in professional societies and academic communities. 

He has acted as PI or Co-PI in over 50 research projects and contracts (with a total amount of over CA$16 million) from diverse sources nationally and internationally. He has authored or co-authored more than 390

publications including over 130 refereed journal papers, three books, over 200 conference publications, over 30 technical reports, and six patents/disclosures. He has supervised or co-supervised over 70 research-based, highly qualified personnel (HQP) including postdoctoral research fellows and graduate students. His students have received a large number of awards and are well placed in the field of their training in academia, industry and government worldwide.

Dr. Chen has been active in providing leadership and professional service to academic and professional communities. He has served as Vice-President of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE), Vice-President of the Canadian Association on Water Quality (CAWQ), Senior Advisor of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Member of the Royal Society of Canada Oil Spill Expert Panel, and Member of National Advisory Committee for Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan Multi-Partner Research Initiative (MPRI), etc. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Systems Research (Springer) and Associate Editor or Editorial Member for seven other refereed journals, and given over 70 invited keynotes and guest lectures in conferences and seminars globally.

As a registered professional engineer in Canada, he has extensive practical experience through engineering contracts and technology transfer from lab testing to field demonstration and application. He has provided consulting service to partners from governments and industry such as environmental, oil & gas, petrochemical, shipping, mining, and agriculture sectors in Canada and worldwide.

He has received many awards and recognitions including Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, elected Member of the Scientific Research Honor Society Sigma Xi, the Water Environment Federation A.S. Bedell Award, the Terra Nova Innovator Award, the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence, elected Member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, elected Member of the Global Young Academy, among others.

“Congratulations to Dr. Chen on this well-deserved recognition,” said Dr. Dennis Peters, acting dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. “Dr. Chen has made outstanding contributions to civil engineering education and research as well as to the profession and society.”

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the award will be presented to Dr. Chen in the spring of 2022 at an EIC Gala, which will honour and celebrate 2020, 2021 and 2022 awards recipients.