Canadian Academy inducts underground expert 3 August 2014

The Canadian Academy of Engineering inducts Brian Garrod, Hatch Mott MacDonald Deputy Practice Leader for Tunnels, as one of 49 new Fellows of the Academy, in recognition of his “pivotal role” within the underground construction industry.

Founded in 1987, the Academy is the national institution through which Canada’s most distinguished and experienced engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada.

According to the Academy, Garrod “has played a pivotal role in some of the most challenging and innovative tunneling projects of the past several decades: the Channel Tunnel, Boston Harbor Outfall, Dulles Airport tunnel, San Francisco’s BART extensions and Toronto Transit Commission’s Sheppard Subway.

“From this background he has helped establish tunneling in North America as a cost-effective, predictable and safe construction practice, as is demonstrated by the portfolio of recent and current tunneling projects in Southern Ontario: Ontario Power Generation’s massive new Niagara Diversion Tunnel; the Spadina Subway Extension, York Region’s Southeast Collector tunnels; Metrolinx’s Eglinton Crosstown subway; and Metro’s Coxwell Bypass; as well as the long-awaited pedestrian tunnel to Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.”

Garrod is the only inductee from the underground construction sector, and joins leading engineers from a multitude of disciplinary backgrounds including aviation, oil exploration, electricity generation, space research, wastewater treatment, power, computing, transportation and research.

Brian Garrod

Earlier this year (2014) Garrod was awarded the prestigious Ontario Professional Engineers Engineering Medal – Engineering Excellence Award. The award is jointly approved by the governing Council of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and the Board of Directors of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE).

Nick DeNichilo, President and CEO of Hatch Mott MacDonald, said: “Brian is one of our most prominent and accomplished engineering professionals, and we are gratified to see him receiving the recognition he deserves.”

Garrod is a world-recognized expert on tunnels and tunnel technology. Many of his articles and papers have been published, and he is a sought-after speaker at technical conferences. He has 41 years of general civil engineering experience, the last 29 years devoted solely to transit and tunneling assignments.

Academy President, Richard Marceau, said: “The Academy warmly welcomes its new Fellows, all of whom are engineers of exceptional ability. These outstanding individuals come from a wide variety of engineering backgrounds, and no matter whether they work in industry, academia or government, they have demonstrated the ability to perform beyond normal engineering practice and contribute in exemplary ways towards their respective disciplinary fields, and to the wider community. The Academy, which recently has published major reports in education, energy and innovation, looks forward to the valuable contributions these new Fellows will make in helping it inform the public policy debate in Canada for the benefit of all Canadians.”