ALGONQUIN COLLEGE
Algonquin employee wins OACETT Outstanding Technical Achievement Award

Algonquin College building performance analyst Graham Timperon has been recognized with the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists' (OACETT) Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.

The award is given to those who have achieved exceptional accomplishment in the engineering and applied science fields. Timperon has played a significant and leading role in the College's energy efficiency and sustainability advancements, and his various initiatives have led to campuses that are more reliable, more affordable to maintain and more environmentally sustainable.

"Graham has shown technical excellence throughout his three years at the college," said Jamie Hopkins, the College's associate director, Facilities Operations, Maintenance and Engineering Services. "He has continuously found innovative solutions that have reduced the energy we use, which range from things as simple as turning off backup boilers that are seldom required for heating buildings to working with his supervisor, peers and contractors to increase the efficiency of our combined heat and power cogeneration units which helped the College meet the requirements for a major financial incentive that we had been chasing since 2018."

Timperon is leading the Ottawa Campus' decarbonization plan, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050 and providing a living lab for applied sustainability learning. Additionally, his contributions to the Pembroke Campus' energy and sustainability infrastructure led to the campus becoming the first post-secondary school in Canada to receive Energy Star certification and recognition from Natural Resources Canada.

"[This award] is a culmination of all the hard work that I've been doing for the College. It means we're moving in the right direction toward energy efficiency and sustainability through actions toward decarbonization and energy reduction," said Timperon.

OACETT's mandate is to promote the interests of technologists and engineering technicians and is the provincial body that provides occupational certification for these industries. The 2026 OACETT President's Awards took place on Saturday, May 30. In addition to the award, Timperon and his work will be featured in OACETT's magazine, Ontario Technologist, providing an even broader recognition of his efforts and the ongoing sustainability efforts of the College.