Garry Macdonald (center) received the 2015 Angus Award for Water, Waste, and Amenities from Kevin Thompson (right), the 2014–2015 president of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ; Wellington); and Sulo Shanmuganathan (left), Opus International Consultants Ltd. (Wellington) award sponsor representative. Photo courtesy of Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (Wellington).
On March 13, Garry Macdonald, member of the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) 2014–2015 Board of Trustees, received the 2015 Angus Award for Water, Waste, and Amenities from the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ; Wellington). The award, which falls under the category of Supreme Technical Awards for Engineering Achievers, recognizes Macdonald’s expertise in water engineering and his contribution to the water sector.
Macdonald, a WEF member since 1993, has been a consulting engineer with Beca Group Ltd. (Auckland, New Zealand) for 38 years. He has led many technical and project teams in the delivery of improved wastewater schemes for cities throughout New Zealand. As business development manager in the company’s Water and Environment division, Macdonald has technical expertise and experience in strategic planning for wastewater management and leads peer reviews of major local authority wastewater systems, according to a Beca Group news release.
An honorary life member of the WEF Member Association (MA) Water New Zealand, Macdonald serves as WEF House of Delegates member representing the MA. He also has served as president, vice president, board member, and WEF director at Water New Zealand.
“I am very proud to have been recognized in this way by my peers, many of whom have become friends as well as professional colleagues. I have found that belonging to professional and engineering industry organizations such as WEF, Water New Zealand, and IPENZ has assisted greatly in building my professional network and has increased my expertise and experience,” Macdonald said. Belonging to professional organizations has allowed Macdonald to share knowledge and information with many people, he said. Macdonald truly began networking with WEF members when he attended his first WEFTEC in 1988 in Dallas, he added.
A long-time volunteer and leader, Macdonald currently chairs WEF’s Hot Topics/Emerging Issues Symposium Committee and WEF’s Future Insights and Global Issues Subcommittee. He is a member of WEF committees on Program, Program Steering, International Coordination, and of the WEF Sustainability Algae Technology Task Force. In the past, he has chaired WEF’s Globalization Task Force and the International Coordination Committee, and he has been a member of WEF’s Executive and International Program committees. He also has authored many technical papers and regularly presents at WEFTEC.
In recognition of Macdonald’s contributions to improving WEF activities internationally, he received WEF’s Richard S. Engelbrecht International Achievement Award in 2001.
Macdonald currently serves on the OXFAM New Zealand board of trustees. The organization specializes in emergency response, disaster recovery, and humanitarian development work in the South Pacific. He also is a past president and board member of IPENZ.
After receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand), Macdonald worked for more than 15 years in undergraduate and graduate recruitment programs in New Zealand engineering schools.
— Jennifer Fulcher, WEF Highlights
May 6, 2015
Achievements, Featured