We are the OC!

Kyle graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in mechanical
engineering in 2019. He is in the process of banging rocks together as he completes his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at UBC Okanagan. His Ph.D. is focused on metal casting, using novel materials in the automotive industry. Because of this position, he is also the focal point for communication with the University.

Dr. Rteil’s main area of expertise is on prestressed and reinforced concrete however, he has impressive and extensive experience in the assessment, design and retrofit of a variety of infrastructure systems.

One of the many goals Dr.Rteil has had for the School of Engineering at UBC was to facilitate and support the creation, development and continued operation of a successful concrete toboggan team. As such, Dr. Rteil has been the faculty supervisor for UBC-O’s Concrete Toboggan Team from the beginning. The success and continuation of UBC-O’s team is not possible without the expertise, dedication and guidance of Dr. Rteil.

Educational Background
∙ PhD – Civil Engineering (Structural)- University of Waterloo, ON
∙ MEng – Civil Engineering (Structural)- American University of Beirut, Lebanon
∙ BEng – Civil Engineering- American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Alecia graduated from UBCO in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. After graduation, she moved back to her hometown, Calgary, and currently works as a Project E.I.T. in the oil and gas industry. Alecia's GNCTR experience first started back in 2015 when she volunteered at the opening ceremony held in Kelowna. In 2018, she officially joined the UBCO team and became a member of the technical interaction sub-team, where she spent countless hours in the woodshop helping out with the tech-ex display. In 2019, she was voluntold into the position of frame design lead by Jessie. No regrets were made.

Aidan joined Tbog in 2014, where he began his unhealthy habit of skipping class to work in the machine shop day after day. During his four years on the team, he held Superstructure lead and Technical Interaction Team lead positions. He graduated in 2018 with his BASc in Mechanical Engineering and is currently employed as an Engineering and Sales Assistant for Zulin Formworks Canada.

Jamie graduated from UBC Okanagan with a degree in mechanical engineering and has spent time working in the construction industry, most recently with Vancouver Pile Driving as a Construction Engineer. He joined concrete toboggan in his first year of university and never looked back, competing in 5 competitions from 2015 to 2019, and serving as club president for one year.

Colin Graduated from UBCO with a degree in mechanical engineering and is currently employed as a Project Coordinator in the Oilsands. Colin Joined GNCTR after transferring to UBCO from the University of Regina. In his first year with the club, Colin spent more time in the machine shop than in his classes. Over his time with UBCO GNCTR, Colin held the title of Mechanical Design Lead , Vice-President, and President of the club

Jenny graduated with her degree in civil engineering in 2019 and now works as a civil EIT at VDZ + A Consulting in Vancouver. Jenny's GNCTR career started sadly late, joining the team in 2018 and attending one solitary tbog in Edmonton 2019. During her brief sojourn in tbog life, she spent countless in the woodshop putting together the tech-ex display.

Marko joined Concrete Toboggan in 2019 as a general member, progressing to Spirit Captain and Brake Design Lead in 2020. During 2021, a Toboggan-less Covid year, Marko graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering. He now resides in Northern California, designing manufacturing equipment that build surgical robots at Intuitive.

Janessa graduated from UBCO in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and French (toboggan de béton!), and from the University of Saskatchewan in 2021 with a Master of Public Health degree. She also took a year of unclassified studies before starting her masters, and a big part of that was because it meant she got to spend one more year in tbog :heart:. Despite not being an engineer, she has valuable skills to bring to the table as a member of the OC. She currently works as a Project Coordinator for the provincial government.

Currently, Rynelle is a Management student at UBCO after transferring from Biomedical Engineering. While she is no longer an engineering student, she found a home with GNCTR and has learned numerous skills and gained valuable experiences. Rynelle has been a part of tbog at UBCO since 2018 and attended GNCTR Edmonton 2019 and GNCTR Calgary 2021. Rynelle is hoping to continue to be involved in GNCTR for as long as possible.

Sarah graduated with her degree in mechanical engineering in 2018 and now works as a mechanical production engineer in Vancouver. Sarah’s GNCTR experience started when she volunteered at the first Kelowna-hosted GNCTR competition in 2015. Her primary role as a volunteer was to taste test all the cakes submitted by the teams.

Keynan will graduate...? CNRL currently employs him as a reliability engineer intern working on all rotating equipment in the oil sands plants. Keynan joined the superstructure stream, where he learned additional 3-D modelling skills like FMEA and was taught how to weld from other team members. Keynan also participated in spirit by building the crate display.

Dylan Graduated from UBCO with a master's in Civil Engineering. He is currently employed as a structural engineer, working for infraTECH Engineers and Innovators in Houston, Texas. Dylan originally heard about GNCTR during his college days at NAIT. However, the school had no team, so his dreams of concrete downhill action went unfulfilled. After bridging into the Applied Science program at UBCO in 2016, Dylan discovered UBCO did have a concrete toboggan team, and his dream would come true. Dylan joined the concrete team and would go on to help the team win the best concrete mix design in 2018 with his co-lead Tanya Fraser.

Mackenzie is finishing his degree in Mechanical engineering. He joined GNCTR in 2017, where he spent three years welding and fabricating toboggans. Starting as a general member, he progressed to be a steering design lead and later as a superstructure lead. Mackenzie is currently working as a research assistant on the Northern Energy Innovation project through Yukon University.

Devin graduated from UBC Okanagan with a BASc (2016) and MASc (2018) in Civil Engineering and now lives in Calgary working as a Structural Engineer/Project Manager for Fast + Epp. After attending a GNCTR meeting in his first week at UBCO, he became passionate about concrete, toboggans, and everything else that comes along with this competition. This is the fifth competition Devin is involved with including Kelowna 2015, Ottawa 2016, Winnipeg 2017 and Waterloo 2018.