Engineering student Mary Gallerneault has been declared a co-winner of the 2013 Student Essay Competition held by the Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy (OCEPP).

Gallerneault won in the undergraduate student category, for her essay “A Question of Policy and Priority in Melancthon, ON: Agriculture or Aggregate?” This fall she will enter her final year of study in McMaster’s materials and science engineering program.

Students could choose from five essay topics, such as municipal transportation or protection of Canada’s waterways, or select an issue broadly related to engineering and public policy. Submissions were judged for quality of research, development of argument, organization, clarity and writing ability. Gallerneault received $1,000 and registration to OCEPP’s 2013 Public Policy Conference, held in Toronto on May 31. Both papers can be viewed from the “For Students” page of the OCEPP website.

The annual contest, launched in 2009, is open to graduate and undergraduate students who are registered in an Ontario university engineering program. Details regarding the 2014 competition will be available in the fall.

OCEPP was founded by Professional Engineers Ontario in 2008 and it is the first institute of its kind in Canada. The centre is committed to encouraging Ontario’s more than 80,000 professional engineers and engineering interns to become more involved in public policy formation and review. The centre focuses on issues including engineering licensure and regulation, smart infrastructure, tomorrow’s energy solutions, water management and healthy communities.