Jan. 22, 2014
EIC fellowship for long-time civil engineering professor
Dr. S.C (Chan) Wirasinghe—a professor of civil engineering who has spent 40 years furthering transportation engineering—will be inducted as a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada on March 15, an award that recognizes his "exceptional contributions to engineering in Canada."
Wirasinghe has been a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering since 1976. He was the dean of engineering for more than a decade, and the founding dean (emeritus) of SSE.
His research interests include public transportation, air transportation, mitigating the effects of large natural disasters, transportation in developing countries and engineering education. Wirasinghe's work on urban public transport systems has led to basic insights regarding metro, LRT and bus route planning and design.
Wirasinghe has been a member of the Council of NSERC and the APEGGA Council. Over his long and distinguished career, he has received many honours and accolades including five more fellowships and Calgary's Citizen of the Year.
"I owe my success to my mentors, the many graduate students and post docs that have worked with me as well as my partner Dhamitha Wirasinghe and my family that have been unstintingly supportive throughout my career," he says.