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OTTAWA, May 13, 2010  —  Ruby Heap, a specialist in the history of women in engineering, received the Professional Engineers Ontario President’s Award last Friday — an honour always granted to a non-engineer.

“This PEO award has special meaning to me because it acknowledges that research in the humanities and social sciences does matter, as well as the importance of supporting interdisciplinary collaborations between scholars in these fields and their colleagues in engineering ,” said Professor Heap. “Indeed, this award also pays tribute to the wonderful women engineers with whom I have worked over the years in our common quest to bring more young women in this great profession”.

Professor Heap was granted the PEO award for her extensive work in building and sustaining an interdisciplinary program of research in the field of women’s studies, with a focus on the history of women in engineering.

“The inspiring work of Dr. Heap supports my vision that engineering becomes an inclusive profession that values, supports and celebrates the contributions of women,” said PEO Past President Catherine Karakatsanis. Her innovative work in encouraging young women to study engineering and sciences, and her commitment to enhancing the status of women in the profession make Dr. Heap a fitting recipient of this award.”

Ruby Heap is a full professor in the University of Ottawa’s Department of History. She is coordinator of the University of Ottawa Women in Engineering Research Group (UOWERG) and has been actively involved in the Ottawa chapter of Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES). Professor Heap is the founding director of the Institute of Women’s Studies and has been vice-pesident, Research, since 2009. In 2007, she was named Professor of the Year in the Faculty of Arts. In 2009, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research on gender and engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s from McGill University and a doctorate from the Université de Montréal.

The Council of Professional Engineers Ontario [external Website] instituted in 1997 a President’s Award, to be granted to outstanding Canadians who have been supportive of and contributed to the advancement of the engineering profession.