2007 Chairman's Award for Career Achievement

Dr. Michael Isaacson

Dr. Michael Isaacson, Dean of Applied Science and Professor of Civil Engineering at UBC, is recognized around the world as a leader in the field of offshore and coastal hydrodynamics research. Throughout his 30 year career, Dr. Isaacson has been active in teaching, research, university administration and professional service.

He has authored over 200 technical papers and co-authored two textbooks, including Mechanics of Wave Forces on Offshore Structures, one of the most widely referenced and definitive works in the field. Dr. Isaacson has been a specialist consultant on over 100 engineering projects, and is one of the most cited experts on the topic of wave forces on coastal and offshore structures. Through a diverse range of methodologies and modeling techniques, Dr. Isaacson's work has found wide application in many practical engineering projects.

As Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC for the last 10 years, Dr. Isaacson administers a diverse faculty consisting of the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, the School of Nursing, the UBC Okanagan School of Engineering, six engineering departments, and various non-department programs and research centres. In this role, Dr. Isaacson has shifted his focus to assisting others in their technical accomplishments - by recruiting world-class engineering faculty to UBC; developing new professional programs; establishing research centres, initiatives and collaborations; building infrastructure; providing support for faculty members' research, commercialization and breakthrough activities; and championing the engineering profession in British Columbia and Canada.