Interview with Steve Rose, P.Eng., P.Geo., D.WRE

February 2011

Mr. Steven Rose, P.Eng., P.Geo., D.WRE is a co-founding Principal and Senior Project Manager at Malroz Engineering in Ontario, Canada, with 30 years of professional engineering experience.

Mr. Rose has actively participated in professional societies such as the International Association of Engineering Geology, International Association of Hydrogeologists, Canadian Geotechnical Society, Engineering Institute of Canada, American Society of Civil Engineers, Environmental & Water Resources Institute and the National Ground Water Association.

Steve earned his Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada and a Masters in Civil Engineering at the University of Southern California. Mr. Rose has been an AAWRE Diplomate since March 2007.

Can you tell us where you were born and where most of your childhood and upbringing was spent?

SR: I was born in Ottawa, but was raised in a number of cities in Canada and overseas (Europe and Africa). When asked, I usually explain that I was raised in a 'gypsy' family, moving on average every second year. Consequently, my travels living in seven different countries were the greater part of my education as a child.

We know that you attended Queen's University in Ontario, Canada for your Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering and later earned your Masters in Civil Engineering at USC. What were the main influencing factors for you to study geological and civil engineering at the time?

SR: I 'discovered' the Geological Engineering program at Queen's during my first year of engineering studies. I was initially attracted to the program by the fact that I could include all of the 'fun' courses in the Civil Engineering program with additional exposure to geological systems and an expanded component of field studies to supplement the classroom and laboratory instruction offered to undergraduate engineering students.

When I enrolled for my Master's program at USC, I had been working for a couple of years on Arctic oilfield projects in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. I was fascinated by the complexities of ocean and coastal processes in cold regions that I was exposed to in my job as a junior civil design engineer. I used this work as the focus of my graduate studies. My research centred on studying groundwater movement in nearshore arctic coastal regions subject to discontinuous permafrost conditions.

What was the experience like for you studying and attending schools- first in your native Canada and spending time in southern California? Was there a significant difference in the cultures of the schools and what were the similarities you found?

SR: I was pleased to find that my undergraduate training had prepared me well for graduate studies. In essence, the engineering programs seemed more similar than different at the two schools, and I was again able to blend both geology and civil courses into my studies at the graduate level. However, transferring to the Civil Engineering program meant that I had to supplement my program with additional structural design courses to fulfill my requirements for graduation. Something I didn't relish at the time, but has been valuable in the years since.

A bigger difference was the setting for the two schools. Queen's is located in a small college town where it has a large presence and most students relocate to attend school. USC is a much bigger university in a major urban centre. Time in the library at USC sometimes took more discipline when I knew that there was a world class beach just down the road!

Would it be fair to say that you are a proud Canadian? What are some great traditions or facts about Canada that folks should know if visiting Canada?

SR: I am very proud to be Canadian and, after living in a number of other countries, consider that I am here by choice, not by chance. I expect that most people associate Canadians with ice hockey and that really is our national passion.

About 90% of the Canadian population lives within 100 miles of our border with the United States. So, we are very interested in our southern neighbours and follow US current affairs with great interest. However, we are quick to point out the (sometimes subtle) differences between Canadians and Americans!

Other 'facts' that may be of interest include our cultural heritage: although Canada is now a multi-cultural society, it is still very much defined by its founding cultures from Britain, France, and indigenous First Nations. Together, this creates a somewhat more European atmosphere than is commonly found in the United States, particularly in older cities such as Quebec and Kingston. We also have three national corporate institutions: Tim Horton's - coffee and donut shops; Canadian Tire - a hardware and automotive supply store; and the Hudson Bay Company - the original fur trading company of the 1600s, now a major department store across the country. ... and we LOVE ice hockey!

You've mainly worked in the private sector and have been part of some very interesting projects in environmental assessment & remediation, terrain analysis, arctic development, and offshore and coastal Engineering- which spanned many parts of the world- including Canada, U.S., Trinidad, and Kuwait. Can you tell us which project(s) stand out to you for being most fun or challenging at those time(s)?

SR: I've always worked in the private sector, but I have been fortunate over my career to have been involved in some extremely interesting and challenging projects. As a junior engineer, I was associated with the Arctic oilfield development in Prudhoe Bay, northern Alaska, as part of the design team building early northern structures along the Arctic coastline and in the Arctic Ocean. This work opened my eyes to the unique challenges of Arctic engineering. In particular, I remember being on-site when tanker trucks full of liquid nitrogen were shipped to the most northerly point of Alaska in the dead of winter in order to super-chill coastal permafrost because saline porewater depressed the freezing temperature below ambient conditions. As a junior engineer I also gained exposure to a number of international projects where my geology and remote sensing skills came in useful for evaluating potential project sites for major infrastructure developments.

I returned to work in Canada in the mid 1980s and was part of the project team for a large scale and complex refinery decommissioning/remediation project at the time when many of the regulatory clean-up criteria were still being established. This work provided a 'bridge' for my engineering work from petrochemical facility development to petrochemical facility remediation.

A third 'watershed' project in my career involves work that I led for the technical team providing expert analysis for a municipal client faced with Federal violations for discharges from a closed landfill site situated adjacent to a major waterway. This project involved tremendously detailed analyses of environmental conditions at the site and its surrounding environment in order to provide technical support at a lengthy trial that was ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. At times it felt as though we were living the story told in the book and movie titled "A Civil Action". It remains my benchmark for work in the legal arena - and is the reason that I have a great deal of respect for the litigators that distilled all of our engineering and scientific analyses into a compelling argument before the courts.

Can you tell us about your current duties at Malroz Engineering and some of the projects you are working on?

SR: My work now is a combination of responsibilities as a senior engineering specialist and as a senior manager. Those are both the benefits and challenges of being a senior principal in a small engineering company. On the technical side, we are currently working on a number of very interesting remediation projects, internationally. We are managing several concurrent in situ chemical injection projects - testing novel delivery systems to optimize contaminant degradation. Many of the sites that we work on are located in densely developed urban areas, so the task becomes an exercise in managing our work for meeting clean-up objectives with the help of in situ technologies while working around existing infrastructure on developed sites. We have also had good success with recent projects using a variety of phytoremediation technologies at sites in temperate climatic regions of Canada, demonstrating the ability of some plants to be effective even with Canadian winters.

You are one of the founding Diplomates of AAWRE- how did you hear about the program and why did you want to become a D.WRE?

SR: I first learned of AAWRE as a member of ASCE's EWRI which I have found to be a great technical resource over the years. As a senior consultant, it has been important for me to maintain my technical skills and capabilities through ongoing professional development. When the AAWRE was formed I recognized that the D.WRE credential was an opportunity for me to demonstrate my commitment to this industry as a practicing engineer in the water resources sector. In essence, the D.WRE has allowed me to differentiate myself from my competitors through this industry credential which few other engineers carry or qualify for.

What types of services or initiatives would you like to see AAWRE pursue?

SR: A significant amount of my work includes educating clients and potential clients on the value that engineers bring to every construction or remediation project. It would be wonderful to see AAWRE and ASCE develop a major public education initiative that highlights the value of engineering skills that can be leveraged over the life span of each engineering project. In this fashion, I think that the value of the D.WRE would be further recognized (by clients and the public) as a desirable credential of key project team members. Even more importantly, this type of public awareness initiative would reduce the commoditization of professional engineering services that adversely impacts the entire engineering profession.

We understand that in addition to you being a D.WRE, you are also a Licensed Professional Geoscientist and a Qualified Person in Ontario. Can you tell us more about what a Geoscientist and Qualified Person does?

SR: A "Qualified Person" (QP) is a defined title in Ontario under our provincial "brownfields" regulation that restricts the practice of environmental assessments and remediation work to licensed professionals - either a professional engineer or a professional geoscientist. Because of my undergraduate program in geological engineering, I have been able to register under both designations. This has been valuable in mentoring junior geoscientists as well as junior engineers. In our core business areas of assessing and remediating contaminated sites, the QP designation is a legal requirement. Geoscientists and engineers each bring a unique perspective to this work which is a great benefit for us.

We know that you have been actively involved in professional societies and activities throughout your career, such as serving on Committees for Professional Engineers of Ontario, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers Board of Directors and other Task Forces, Committees, and the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers. How actively are you still involved these days and particularly, what do you enjoy most about participating in professional society's committees?

SR: My participation on these committees and boards spans a couple of decades, so I certainly haven't done all of this work at the same time! From my perspective, part of the responsibility of being a professional is to support and give back to the profession. My way of doing this has been through committee work on behalf of engineers in my areas of practice and mentoring junior professionals and students. I find this extracurricular work to be quite rewarding in that it connects me with other like-minded professionals who are also passionate about the well being and future of the engineering profession. Over the years it has also allowed me to expand my professional network well beyond the reach that I have solely through my job function as a practicing consultant.

Although I am not currently involved with the Board of OSPE or any sitting PEO committees, I continue my involvement with the local section of the Canadian Geotechnical Society, and as an Adjunct Professor of Engineering at Queen's University. At the university, I have been involved with delivery of the capstone design project course for graduating engineering students over the past twelve years. Working with students is particularly rewarding as the spark of learning becomes quite infectious - at the same time as keeping my engineering skills sharp!

How do you see the state of the civil engineering field today and what would be your personal advice to students and kids to get them interested in civil engineering profession?

SR: From my perspective, civil engineering today is a very exciting field of work, while at the same time being a profession with a number of unprecedented challenges. We are witnessing much of our infrastructure across North America that is nearing the end of its useful lifespan. This is an opportunity for growth and renewal, but also a time of new pressures on practicing engineers. Competition for public funds seems to be greater now than I recall from my early career. This is especially true at the municipal and State/Provincial level where infrastructure and lands custodians are also responsible for delivering social programs on behalf of constituents. These multiple competing priorities often require additional insight and public involvement by engineers to ensure that the infrastructure upon which our social systems rely is adequately designed, built, and maintained. It is no longer 'good enough' to be a 'good engineer' as engineers we also need to be 'good (i.e. publically engaged) citizens'.

Other changes and challenges that face young engineers and students include our growing reliability on the built environment -access to sanitary water supply, clean power, transportation and communications. All of this demonstrates an increasing need for engineers in the foreseeable future and this need is increasingly being met on an international basis. Competition for engineering work will continue to be met by engineers from around the globe - not just across town. Going forward we, as engineers, will need to be the best in the world at what we do - this is both a daunting and an exciting challenge!

My advice to students and young engineers is to find that area of engineering that truly interests you. Look for early career opportunities to hone your craft - this will pay much greater dividends over time when compared to simply finding the highest paying job offer early in your career. Find an engineering mentor who is willing to spend time with you to share his or her knowledge of the profession. And look for opportunities to become involved with technical societies such as ASCE. Doing so will greatly enhance your professional satisfaction throughout your career.

You shared with us already that you are an avid fan of ice hockey. What are some of your favorite fond memories of hockey and did you play at all?

SR: I have very early childhood memories of playing hockey, but because I spent much of my youth overseas, hockey is a recreational activity that I picked up later in life. After spending a number of years in arenas as a "hockey dad" watching my children play, I braved the ice with local pick-up groups and have found it to be a great social as well as athletic activity. Some of my best memories of playing hockey are those that would fit in a Norman Rockwell painting - playing on a frozen pond with a group of friends on a crisp winter day or evening. Like many athletic pursuits, when enjoyed at the appropriate level - anyone can have fun. This week's local newspaper had an article on an octogenarian player who has a regular schedule of three games a week - that's inspiration!

Any predictions for this 2011 NHL hockey season?

SR: I always enjoy watching the Stanley Cup playoffs, but I'm not much for picking the finalists from year to year. My only prediction is that, once again, my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs will be one of the early teams to hit the golf course this spring!

What else can you tell us that most people may not know about you?

SR: My family comes to mind with this question. My wife and I have three children - all currently university students. Our two daughters are studying at Queen's University in our home town of Kingston which is situated in the Thousand Islands region of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River (one is a student of Mechanical Engineering, the other pursuing a degree in Biology-Psychology). Our son is studying sports Management at Brock University - in the Niagara Falls area. Rounding out our family are two dogs - a golden retriever and a chihuahua. It's a busy household when everyone is home!

American Academy of Water Resources Engineers
1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191 USA
Phone:703-295-6414 Fax:703-295-6415
E-mail:certification@aawre.org

AAWRE Privacy Statement