Awards

The designation of Canada Composites Fellow is an award given by CACSMA in recognition of the following:

• Outstanding contribution in the field of composite structures and materials through research, education, industrial development, major conference series, development of standards/design codes, and/or editorial work that is recognisable at the national or international levels.
• Other contributions to the field through contributions, such as leadership in outreach and collaboration, significant contributions to equity, diversity and inclusiveness, etc.

All Canada Composites Fellows are designated as Life Members of CACSMA.
All nominations shall be submitted by a member of the CACSMA Board of Directors or a current Canada Composites Fellow by March 31.

This nomination package must include the following:

• A curriculum vitae of the nominee.
• A digital professional photograph of the nominee to be used at awards ceremony.
• A minimum of three letters of recommendation:
  • At least one letter shall be from a CACSMA Board of Directors member outside the institution of the candidate.
  • At least one letter from academia.
  • At least one letter shall be from an expert in industry or government institution.
• A list of the nominee’s five most impactful contributions to the field.

All nominations shall be reviewed by the Awards Committee for accuracy of submitted documents.

The successful candidate will be presented with the Award at the upcoming CANCOM conference.

Past Recipients

2023
Dr. Anoush Poursartip, University of British Columbia
Dr. Brahim Benmokrane, University of Sherbrooke
Dr. Suong Van Hoa, Concordia University

2024
Dr. Pascal Hubert, McGill University

This award is in honor of the late Dr. Timotei Centea (1985–2019). Timotei Centea obtained his B. Eng. in Honours Mechanical Engineering at McGill in 2008. He then completed a PhD in 2013 in the McGill Structures and Composite Materials Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Pascal Hubert. After graduation, Tim moved to Los Angeles where he was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Southern California from 2013 to 2016. Since 2016, he has been a Research Assistant Professor at the M.C. Gill Composites Center at USC.

Tim was a rising star in the composites community. He was a gifted engineer technically speaking, but more importantly he was, himself, a natural mentor. Many of the people who worked with him have described him as a phenomenal colleague and teacher. The positive influence he has had on the lives and careers of students will continue for years to come.

The Timotei Centea Memorial Award for PhD Thesis recognizes outstanding dissertations completed at a Canadian institution in the field of composites and closely related areas. The eligible candidate must have his or her thesis accepted during the 15 months preceding the nomination deadline. Nominations shall be submitted by the candidate’s supervisor or co-supervisor by March 31. Membership to CACSMA is not required.

The nomination package must include the following:

• A curriculum vitae of the nominee
• A digital professional photograph of the nominee
• A copy of the nominated PhD dissertation
• A letter of recommendation from the candidate’s supervisor or co-supervisor

Assessment Criteria:

• Novelty (40%)
• Impact (30%)
• Presentation (20%)
• Recognitions & Awards (10%)

Prize value: $1500

Past Winners

2022 − Dr. Derek Harvey, McGill University
Thesis: “Development of a Topology Optimization Approach for Sandwich Structures with Anisotropic Shells”

2023 − Dr. Farzad Sharifpour, University of Waterloo
Thesis: “Micromechanical Modelling of Local Failure and Ply Crack Formation in Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Laminates”

2024 − Dr. Kirzar Rouf, University of Waterloo
Thesis: “Characterizing and Modelling the Strain Rate-Dependent Constitutive Response of a Unidirectional Non-Crimp Fabric Composite Material”

The CACSMA MSc Thesis recognizes outstanding dissertations completed at a Canadian institution in the field of composites and closely related areas during the calendar year. The eligible candidate must have his or her thesis accepted during the 15 months preceding the nomination deadline.

Nominations shall be submitted by the candidate’s supervisor or co-supervisor by March 31. Membership to CACSMA is not required.

The nomination package must include the following:

• A curriculum vitae of the nominee
• A digital professional photograph of the nominee
• A copy of the nominated MSc dissertation
• A letter of recommendation from the candidate’s supervisor or co-supervisor

Assessment Criteria:

• Impact (50%)
• Presentation (30%)
• Novelty (10%)
• Recognitions & Awards (10%)

Prize value: $1000

Past Winners

2022 – David Brezski, Polytechnique Montreal
Thesis: “Development of Thermosetting Composite Materials for Producing Multifunctional Coatings by Direct Ink Writing”

2023 − Jordan Kalman, Toronto Metropolitan University
Thesis: “Additive Manufacturing of Polymer Materials for Industrial Applications”

The CACSMA Undergraduate Awards recognize outstanding work in design, research, manufacturing, and testing completed by undergraduate students at a Canadian institution in the field of composites and closely related areas.

Nominations shall be submitted by a faculty member or a CACSMA member familiar with the student’s work by April 30. The work/project should have been conducted within the 17 months preceding the nomination deadline. A membership to CACSMA is not required to be nominated.

The nomination package must include the following:

• A description of the undergraduate work/project along with outcomes. The nominee should clearly indicate their contribution to the work in the case of a team project.
• A letter of recommendation from a faculty member or member of CACSMA.
• A curriculum vitae of the student.
• A digital professional photograph of the nominee.

Assessment Criteria:

• Initiative (40%)
• Experience (30%)
• Leadership (30%)

Total prize value: $1 000

Past Winners

The CACSMA mentorship award is to recognize exceptional effort and impact of a mentor or a team of mentors on mentees and the community through CACSMA mentorship program.

Nominations shall be submitted by March 31. A membership to CACSMA is not required to be nominated.

The nomination package must include the following:

• Nomination letter(s) from mentees clearly stating the positive influence and benefits they have experienced through the mentoring.
• A curriculum vitae of the nominee.
• A digital professional photograph of the nominee.

Please note that this is a non-monetary award (certificate only) and that there is no set number of awards per year.

The CACSMA leadership award is to recognize exceptional leadership of an individual or a team in CACSMA community building.

Nominations shall be submitted by March 31. A membership to CACSMA is not required to be nominated.

The nomination package must include the following:

• Nomination letter(s) from a CACSMA member clearly stating the leadership activities of the nominee in community building.  This could include, for example, major initiatives with tangible impact such as hosting CANCOM conferences, outreach, website development, membership engagement, etc.
• A curriculum vitae of the nominee.
• A digital professional photograph of the nominee.

Please note that this is a non-monetary award (certificate only) and that a maximum of one award will be given per year.

The Professor Suong V. Hoa Student Paper Award recognizes outstanding scientific contributions presented by Canadian students at the Canadian-International Conference on Composites (CANCOM) conference.

Candidates will be nominated by the CACSMA Awards Committee and the CANCOM Scientific Programme Committee based on the quality of the conference papers and presentations at the biennial CANCOM conferences.

Please refer to Call for Awards Nominations from the CANCOM conference website.

Total prize value: $1 750

Past Winners

CANCOM 2022
First Place – Sidharth Sarojini Narayana, McGill University
Second Place – Olivia Margoto, University of British Columbia – Okanagan
Third Place – Henri Schwalm, McGill University

CANCOM 2024
First Place – Klaas Peters, University of Calgary
Second Place – Romain G Martin, École de technologie supérieure
Third Place – Sanaz Saadatmand Hashemi, University of Waterloo