2024 UBC Engineering appointments
Three exemplary leaders are starting new appointments, or continuing on, in the Faculty of Applied Science this year.
Effective July 1, 2024, the Faculty welcomed these experts to provide strategic leadership in line with the mission and strategy of UBC, the Faculty of Applied Science and their respective departments and program.
Dr. Sheryl Staub-French
Head, pro tem, Department of Civil Engineering
Dr. Sheryl Staub-French has been appointed as Head, pro tem, Department of Civil Engineering for a one-year term while Dr. Bernard Laval is taking a well-deserved administrative leave following the completion of his first term as Department Head.
Dr. Staub-French, a professor of civil engineering, has been serving as the Associate Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI.I) in the Faculty of Applied Science since March 2019.
She has held a number of additional administrative and leadership roles, and has received several awards including the UBC Envisioning Equity Award in 2022 and BC’s Most Influential Women Award: 2018: Stem Stars in 2017.
The process to consider Dr. Laval for an appointment extension as Department Head is underway and should he be extended, his second term will begin July 1, 2025.
Dr. Charles Haynes
Head, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Dr. Charles Haynes’s appointment as Head of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering has been extended for a two-year term.
Dr. Haynes is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Interfacial Biotechnology within the Michael Smith Laboratories. He co-founded what is now the UBC BioProducts Institute and the UBC Centre for Blood Research.
Some of his honours and awards include his appointment as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He also received the Overbeek Medal, the Winnaker Technology Transfer Award and the Merck Bioseparation Sciences Award.
Dr. Scott McDougall
Director, Geological Engineering Program
Dr. Scott McDougall has accepted the position of Director, Geological Engineering Program for a five-year term.
Dr. McDougall is an associate professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences in the Faculty of Science. He received his doctorate degree in Geological Engineering from UBC and his Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining UBC in 2016, Dr. McDougall worked for a decade as a geotechnical engineer with BGC Engineering Inc.
He makes use of his significant experience in professional practice to impart to his students, postdoctoral fellows and research assistants the fundamental and specialized geohazard knowledge and skills that are in high demand in practice.
Dr. McDougall is highly regarded as a teacher and researcher and has received awards for teaching, scholarship and service.
