[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/2009-OCEPP.jpg” caption=”McMaster University student Sommer Abdel-Fattah is congratulated by Donald Wallace, executive director of the Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy, at OCEPP’s Public Policy conference in Toronto. Ms. Abdel-Fattah is a co-winner of the Centre’s 2009 Student Essay Contest.”]A PhD student from McMaster University and an undergraduate student from the University of Guelph have been declared co-winners of the 2009 Student Essay Competition sponsored by the Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy (OCEPP).

McMaster's Sommer Abdel-Fattah received $1,000 for her winning essay, titled “Privacy and Security of Medical Hospital Records: Communications Technology”, as did Guelph University's Victoria Sharpe.

“We all benefit from engineers and scientists like Sommer,” says Gail Krantzberg, director of the Centre for Engineering and Public Policy. “Excellence is being instilled into our future leaders to be agents of change.”

Abdel-Fattah, of Dundas, Ontario, 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, Abdel-Fattah has also conducted research in the Middle East on health policy, focusing on the identification of health policy issues.

Submissions had to focus on subject matter broadly related to engineering and public policy and were judged on originality, quality of research and clarity. The winners were also invited to present their papers at OCEPP's 2009 Public Policy conference, held in Toronto on May 8.

The Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy is committed to bringing the voice of engineering into public policy. The centre focuses on specific areas of research including smart infrastructure, tomorrow's energy solutions, healthy communities, and a new generation of engineering talent.