Desh Deshpande (MScEng'85), Derrick (BScEng'94, PhD'01) and Jill Green (BScEng'95) and Suzanne Kresta (BScEng'86) are among the newest inductees into the Canadian Academy of Engineering. CAE comprises many of the country’s most accomplished engineers who have dedicated their careers to the application of science and engineering principles in the interests of the country and its enterprises. Desphande was inducted as an international fellow, and the Greens and Kresta were inducted as fellows.
Gururaj (Desh) Deshpande has combined his engineering expertise and financial skills to start and take over public multibillion-dollar companies (Cascade Communications, Sycamore Networks), and has co-founded and/or influenced the direction of at least seven more in the U.S. communications and technology sector. Through the Deshpande Foundation, he and his wife, Jaishree, have established university-based centres in Canada, including the Pond Deshpande Centre at UNB; the United States and India to encourage the use of entrepreneurship and innovation as catalysts for sustainable change.
Derrick and Jill Green are leaders in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology. They have transformed a technology developed at UNB into an international company, Green Imaging Technologies (GIT), providing NMR-based core analysis support to the international petroleum industry. GIT is the quintessential example of a Canadian success story in high technology, clearly demonstrating how engineering contributes to economic growth, and the Greens have provided the technical and entrepreneurial foundation of this success.
Suzanne Kresta is the dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan and has contributed to academic and industrial literature through a well-recognized handbook. Her leadership has been demonstrated through many academic appointments, industrial consulting and serving in engineering accreditation and regulatory bodies. Kresta is widely recognized for her passion for engineering education pedagogy and has received many awards for her contributions to improving the student learning experience. She is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and Engineers Canada.
