Building engineering pioneer Paul Fazio passed away

Paul Fazio, the founder of building engineering at Concordia (and in Canada), a pioneer in building science and a SNEBRN Scientific Committee member (and Theme 2 co-leader) passed away on Sep. 28 peacefully in Montreal.

Paul became a professor at Concordia University in 1967 and forged a brilliant teaching, research and leadership career. Under his expert guidance, Concordia became the first Canadian University to establish an accredited program in Building Engineering at both the undergraduate, Masters and PhD levels. He created the Centre for Building Studies (CBS) in 1977 and served as its pioneering leader until 1997. Paul was recognized numerous times for his outstanding contributions to his field. He was the recipient of the Galbraith Prize and the Gzowski Medal; he was named a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineering. 

In 2007 he was invested into The Order of Canada.

He was a true inspiration for us here at Concordia and his impact and legacy will be felt for a long time. Several events are planned to honor Paul. A detailed article on Paul will appear in our upcoming newsletter (November, 2014). Until the last few days of his highly productive life he actively participated in the NSERC Smart Net-zero Energy Buildings Strategic Research Network and in the Concordia Centre for Zero Energy Building Studies, the successor research unit that evolved from CBS.

His full obituary is posted in the Montreal Gazette from Oct. 1st to 3rd, 2014

Paul Fazio: a visionary in building engineering – Community on campus and beyond mourns loss of a great leader, A news stories on Concordia website, October 1. 2014

ENCS dean's tribute for Dr. Fazio on September 2014

University flags at half-mast on October 4 and 5 – Flags will be lowered to mark the passing of Professor Paul Fazio