ICE Fellow recognised by the Order of Canada

Nigel Shrive, O.C. has been appointed Officer of the Order of Canada for his groundbreaking contributions to structural mechanics, notably his translational and multidisciplinary research in biomedicine and civil engineering.

Officers of the Order of Canada are recognised for an outstanding level of talent and service to Canadians.

Shrive became a Fellow of the ICE in 1992 via the research route open to those working in academia.

He is Professor Emeritus at the Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary and chairs the Canadian Prairies Group of Chartered Engineers.

He is renowned for research on the use of structural mechanics to understand civil and biological structures.

This includes testing, modelling and analysis of structures and the materials from which they are constructed.

Shrive said: “I was asked by colleagues in medicine to help them understand the structural/mechanical function of various tissues, first in the musculo-skeletal system and later, in addition, in the cardiovascular system.

I think colleagues in the faculty of medicine at Calgary must have realised that they needed input on the structural/functional side of tissues.”

The research Shrive collaborated on has since brought about changes to clinical practice and our understanding of how some tissues ‘work’.

Shrive’s civil engineering research is also recognised and has been included in codes of practice.