Catherine Karakatsanis, P.Eng., a Senior Vice-President with Morrison Hershfield and President-Elect of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) is this year’s recipient of the Lauchland Engineering Alumni Medal. The Lauchland Medal is a prestigious award established in 1979 to mark the retirement of Professor Stuart Lauchland, founding member of the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Western Ontario and Past President of APEO. The medal is awarded to a graduate of Engineering from Western on the basis of outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, business leadership and community involvement, as selected by a volunteer committee of Western Alumni.

Catherine has been involved in numerous community volunteer positions and has been the guest speaker at many engineering events in Ontario and Canada, including Western Engineering’s Go Eng Girl Inaugural Keynote Speaker in 2005. She has been an active volunteer in the Engineering community for over a decade, having served on the board for five years of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE), the advocacy body for the 70,000 Professional Engineers in Ontario. Catherine was also President/Chair of OSPE and she has chaired and been a member of numerous engineering committees. She is currently President Elect for Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), the body that regulates Ontario’s Professional Engineers; Vice President of the Foundation For Education Board of Directors, a not for profit charitable foundation that grants scholarships to engineering students and administers a benevolent fund for Professional Engineers in need; and a Member of Western Engineering's Advisory Committee.

The medal presentation by University President Davenport will take place during the Engineering Alumni Reception at the Station Park All Suite Hotel in London, ON, on Saturday October 4, 2008. The event will begin at 6:00 pm.

For more information, please visit the UWO website.