The Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy (OCEPP) announces co-winners of the 2009 Student Essay Competition. A PhD student from McMaster University and an undergraduate student from the University of Guelph are both awarded the $1000 grand prize.

Submissions had to focus on a subject matter broadly related to engineering and public policy and were judged on originality, quality of research and clarity. Winners Sommer Abdel-Fattah and Victoria Sharpe were also invited to present their papers at OCEPP’s 2009 Public Policy conference, held in Toronto on May 8th.

Ms. Abdel-Fattah’s winning essay is titled: “Privacy and Security of Medical Hospital Records: Communications Technology.” She is pursuing a PhD in civil engineering at McMaster, studying policy concerns and remedial action regarding climate change in the Great Lakes Region. In collaboration with the World Health Organization, Ms. Abdel-Fattah has conducted research in the Middle East on health policy.

Ms. Sharpe’s winning essay is titled: “Proposal for a Policy Framework to Transform Brownfields into Industrial Mustard Biofuel Production Sites.” She is a fourth-year environmental engineering student at Guelph and is involved in the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) and the Guelph chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

“The centre was very impressed by the high caliber of research exhibited by both winners,” noted Donald Wallace, the centre’s executive director. “The winners exemplify the amazing up-and-coming talent that will soon make its mark on the engineering and public policy professions.”