Accolades
Congratulations to Xavier-Henri Herve (BEng 87), President, and Joaquim Frazao, (BEng 82, MASc 94 Engineering), Vice-President, and Fernando Petruziello, (BEng 84), CEO of Mechtronix Systems, which has won a major prize for industrial innovation. The Prix INNOVATION Produit is given annually by ADRIQ, the Association de la recherché industrielle du Québec.
Mechtronix Systems, of Ville St. Laurent, was founded in 1987. It employs 140 people and makes flight simulators. They developed a simulator completely controlled by computer — unlike traditional simulators, which use actual parts of the plane. Their innovation resulted in a 50 per cent saving in cost, and easier, more economical maintenance. The new simulator can be installed right at the airport, making it much easier for pilots to train on site.
Congratulations to Diana Discepola, who was one of only two students from Quebec on the national honour roll for the UFE, the devilishly difficult uniform final exam for aspiring chartered accounts. Diana is a perennial top student. She finished the Diploma in CA program this summer and is currently working for KPMG in Montreal.
Murray Sang, Director of Continuing Education, was front and centre in a Gazette feature on Nov. 25. He said Concordia has a demand for certificates in management and business com-munications. Introductory Mandarin and Japanese language courses are popular among business people going to Asia, and software courses continue to proliferate, the latest being visual studio programming.
Raymonde April (Photography) has been recognized for her contribution to the evolution of photography in Canada. She was recently awarded the $35,000 Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Art Photography. Awarded every two years, the prize recognizes excellence by professionals in music (keyboardists or classical vocalists) and art photography. At right is a portrait of her friend, Hélène, taken while they were students and shown as part of her 1994 archival exhibit, Les pèlerins de la croix lumineuse. April has taught photography at Concordia since 1985.
Congratulations to Marketing student Jenviev Azzolin, who has been granted a $5,000 Scholarship for her academic achievement, leadership and community involvement. Her Futures Fund Scholarship for Outstanding Leadership is one of 10 prizes awarded to business students nationwide. In addition to being a regular on the Dean’s List, Azzolin is a member of the JMSB Sports Marketing Committee and the Marketing team for the 2006 Commerce Games.
Students in the Graduate Diploma in Journalism program collaborated with Reporters sans frontières to write reports on individual journalists around the world for The Gazette’s acknowledgement of Jailed Journalists Support Day on Nov. 17.
Ailie Cleghorn (Education) has co-edited a book with Ali A. Abdi, of the University of Alberta, called Issues in African Education: Sociological Perspectives, published by Palgrave MacMillan. It brings together the views of 14 African academics in an analysis of major issues in sub-Saharan education.