The Iron Ring at 100: A New Era for the Calling of an Engineer
Kick off National Engineering Month 2025 with a celebration of the centennial of the Iron Ring and the unveiling of the newly modernized Calling of an Engineer. This 90-minute virtual event will honor the legacy of this cherished tradition while exploring how recent updates to the Obligation Ceremony reflect a more inclusive and forward-thinking engineering profession. Featuring a dynamic panel of engineers and thought leaders, with questions submitted by engineering students and early career engineers, we’ll discuss the history, significance, and future of the Calling of an Engineer (also known as the Obligation Ceremony) and its role in shaping ethical engineers. Be part of this exciting moment in engineering history!
The speakers and panellists will be speaking in English during this event. There will be simultaneous interpretation available in French.
When: Monday, March 3, 2025, 12:00-1:30 pm ET
Where: Zoom (register here)
Moderator: Adrian Harewood, MA, Associate Professor, Journalism & Communications, Carleton University
Panellists:
- Dharminderpal (Pal) Mann, CD, FCSSE, P.Eng., ICD.D., Chief Executive Officer and Registrar, Engineers Nova Scotia
- Leonard Shara, MBA, Eng., Chief Warden, Corporation of the Seven Wardens
- Mary Wells, PhD, P.Eng., Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo
Welcoming remarks: Jeanette Southwood, FCAE, FEC, LL.D. (honoris causa), P.Eng., IntPE, Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, Engineers Canada
Closing remarks: Philip Rizcallah, P.Eng., Chief Executive Officer, Engineers Canada
About the moderator
Adrian Harewood, MA
Associate Professor, Journalism & Communications, Carleton University
Adrian Harewood has been a journalist for over a quarter century. He was the host of CBC Ottawa’s drive home radio show All in a Day for 3 years, and then the anchor of CBC Ottawa News at Six for 13 years. In 2017 he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Interviewer, and in 2020 he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Local Anchor. Adrian has been the guest host of national programs on radio and television including The Current, As It Happens, Sounds Like Canada and The House, Counterspin, Hot Type and Power & Politics.
He has interviewed people like Salman Rushdie, Angela Davis, Bill Clinton, Alanis Obomsawin, Branford Marsalis, Naomi Klein, and Ken Dryden to name just a few and his writing has appeared in publications such as The Globe and Mail.
Currently, Adrian teaches the Video Journalism course and the fourth-year course “Journalism Now and Next” at Carleton University where he created the Journalism School’s first-ever course focused on race, a graduate seminar called Journalism, Race and Diversity. He also created the first course in Canada devoted to the study of the History of Black Canadian Journalism. He is a board member of Journalists for Human Rights.
About the speakers
Dharminderpal (Pal) Mann, CD, FCSSE, P.Eng., ICD.D.
Chief Executive Officer and Registrar, Engineers Nova Scotia
Pal is a civil engineering graduate of the Royal Military College, serving in the Canadian Armed Forces for over 32 years as an officer with the Royal Canadian Engineers. Service highlights include leading the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering, instructing as the Dean of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College, and commanding combat and infrastructure engineers with United Nations and NATO forces on two operational deployments to the Balkans.
Upon retirement from the Canadian Army in 2015, Pal spent five years with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) as the Director, Corporate Services, and then the Director, Professional Practice, responsible for establishing, enforcing, and advising on standards of practice and ethical conduct for the engineering and geoscience professions.
Pal joined Engineers Nova Scotia in 2020. As the CEO & Registrar, Pal is responsible to the public, Council, and Nova Scotia’s 9000 engineers and engineers-in-training in Nova Scotia for guiding and resourcing the team to license registrants who are qualified and competent, assisting them to fulfill their obligations to practice engineering in the best interests of the public.
In 2022, Pal was honored to be appointed as a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Senior Engineers, and in 2023 he successfully completed the ICD.D. program.
Philip Rizcallah, P.Eng. (he/him)
Chief Executive Officer, Engineers Canada
Philip Rizcallah has been a transformative voice in the public service for over three decades. Prior to joining Engineers Canada, he was appointed as Canada’s first Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Head of Accessibility Standards Canada where he spearheaded the development of several standards and research projects helping to remove barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities. Before that, he led teams at the National Research Council of Canada as both Program Director for Construction and Director for the Building Regulations.
Known for his ability to manage programs involving multidisciplinary teams effectively and efficiently, Rizcallah has led strategic project proposals, secured financial commitments, and built teams to execute these projects. He has developed and leveraged client relationships with many strategic government and construction industry partners, academia, and civil society groups.
Licensed as an engineer in the province of Ontario, Rizcallah holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia and a Bachelor of Science, Honours Mathematics from Dalhousie University.
Leonard Shara, MBA, Eng.
Chief Warden, Corporation of the Seven Wardens
Leonard Shara has been the Chief Warden of the Corporation of the Seven Wardens for nine years. Before this he was a Warden of Camp 2 Montreal for seven years. Leonard is a Chemical Engineering graduate of McGill University and holds an MBA from Western. His passions include precious metal recovery from e-waste, hockey, golf, good food matched with better wine, travelling to the Old World, and vintage cars. He is proud to be a part of the renewal of the Calling of an Engineer ceremony on the occasion of its 100th Anniversary, and hopes that many thousands of aspiring Canadian engineers will take the Obligation in the future and fulfill their greatest potential.
Jeanette Southwood, FCAE, FEC, LL.D. (honoris causa), P.Eng., IntPE (she/her)
Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, Engineers Canada
Award-winning engineer and leader, Jeanette Southwood is Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Engineers Canada. Before joining Engineers Canada, she led the Canadian Urban Development & Infrastructure Sector and the Global Sustainable Cities teams at an international consulting firm where she was the first Black woman to be appointed to the senior leadership position of Principal globally in its 50-year history at that time. At Engineers Canada, Jeanette’s team's portfolios include: Belonging and Engagement; Communications; and Public Affairs, Government Relations and Public Policy.
Also a longtime and dedicated volunteer with a number of organizations and on several boards over the years, Jeanette is a Fellow of Engineers Canada, a recipient of the Province of Ontario’s “Leading Women Building Communities Award,” an inductee into Professional Engineers Ontario's Order of Honour, and a recipient of the Governor General's Sovereign's Medal. Jeanette is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, which recognizes engineers contributing in exemplary ways towards their disciplinary fields and the wider community. She has received an Honorary Doctorate as well as the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards’ Engineering Excellence Medal. She was also honoured as one of Canada’s Clean50 for her work and dedication to sustainable development, leading change, championing innovation, and changing our world for the better. Jeanette has been inducted into the University of Toronto’s Engineering Hall of Distinction and was twice named one of WXN Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, as well as being recognized as one of the Women of Innovation. She was appointed by the federal government as an Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy, the first affiliated with the Naval Engineering Community. Jeanette sits on the TD Insurance Advisory Board on Climate Change.
Mary Wells, PhD, P.Eng.
Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo
Dr. Mary Wells, Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, is recognized for advancing engineering education and innovation. A champion of diversity and interdisciplinary collaboration, she has enhanced Waterloo Engineering’s global reputation in experiential learning, entrepreneurship, and industry partnerships. A strong advocate for women in STEM, Dr. Wells has been instrumental in increasing female representation and fostering inclusion in engineering programs. As a dedicated educator and mentor, she has earned numerous accolades for bridging academia and industry, preparing students for impactful careers in engineering.