CANADA | TAC AWARDS
TAC AWARDS 2023
Lifetime contribution, individual work, and the tunneling project achievements were all recognized at the latest TAC Awards, held in Toronto in late September
LIFETIME AWARD Professor KY Lo, a former director of the Geotechnical Research Centre for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Western University, in Ontario, has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tunnelling Association of Canada (TAC). The Lifetime and other awards were presented at
TAC’s most recent national conference, held in Toronto in September. The judges said Prof Lo had dedicated his life to rock
mechanics and geotechnical engineering. His research has covered tunneling in soft ground and also deep excavation in rock, as well as soft clay engineering, slope stability, and dam safety. He has a portfolio of more than 150 publications in journals, conference proceedings and books. Prof Lo played a key role in the development and
design of the Niagara hydropower tunnel, the largest TBM-bored rock tunnel in the world. His research into high horizontal stresses and time-dependent deformation was instrumental to the success of the tunneling project. During his career, Prof Lo has received several awards,
including the RF Legget Medal Canadian Geotechnical Society, in 1989; the Keefer Medal and Casimir Gzowski Medal from the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, in 1994; and, the Professional Engineers Ontario Medal for Research and Development, in 2006. In 1997, the Engineering Institute of Canada
established the KY Lo medal, awarded annually to recognize outstanding Canadian contributions at an international level. Prof Lo has also been an active member of TAC,
including President from 1989-1993, and editor of TAC journal 1993-1998. He also played a pivotal role in organizing the World Tunnel Congress (WTC) in 1989, in Toronto.
TUNNELLER OF THE YEAR Mike Zegarac from Hatch was named Tunneller of the Year. Zegarac has worked on numerous major tunneling
projects in Ontario. He was lead tunnel inspector for the Toronto Transit Sheppard Subway Project; lead senior inspector of the 6.45 mile-long (10.4km), 46.25ft- diameter (14.1m) Niagara tunnel; lead senior inspector for the Southeast Collector Trunk Sewer Project and, lead senior inspector for the Eglinton Crosstown Tunnel. He also served as NATM/SEM tunnel construction
supervisor on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT Avenue and Laird Station for Dr Sauer & Partners. He is currently lead tunnel construction inspector for the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Tunnel for Hatch and the City of Toronto.
YOUNG TUNNELLER OF THE YEAR This year there were two recipients of the Young Tunneller of the Year Award – Michael Dutton and Riley McMillan. Michael Dutton is a senior tunnel engineer at Arup
Canada, specializing in advance analysis and design techniques. He is currently tunnel design lead for the advance tunnel of the Scarborough subway extension project in Toronto, and for the BART Silicon Valley Phase II extension in California. He also leads Arup’s R&D for bored tunnels. Riley McMillan is a tunnel engineer with Hatch, with
a track record spanning feasibility studies, preliminary and detailed design, and construction management. He has worked on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto, the Kemano T2 hydro project, and is currently tunnel design manager for Inner Harbour West Tunnel Project in Toronto. Both recipients are active members of TAC: Dutton
leads the Young Members’ steering committee; and, McMillan helps organize the TAC Ontario chapter events.
20 | Winter 2023
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