Professional Engineers Ontario

Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), up to 1993 known as the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (APEO), is the self-regulatory body that governs Ontario's 73,000 professional engineers, and sets standards for and regulates engineering practice in the province. It has a statutory mandate under the Professional Engineers Act of Ontario to protect the public interest where engineering is concerned. It was created in 1922 and is mandated to educating its members to latest developments and maintaining a Code of Ethics that puts the public interest first. Licensed professional engineers can be identified by the P.Eng. after their names.

PEO consists of 37 chapters, each representing a different geographic area in Ontario. PEO is governed by a Council of 29 (17 elected by the licence holders and 12 appointed by the provincial government).

In August 1976, the Association sponsored a "Self-Sustaining Family Habitation Design Competition" through its Mission for Mankind program. The competition was open to all members of the APEO, OACETT and to students of engineering and technology in Ontario. The competition called for the design of components for a completely self-sustaining family habitation, that would generate its own heat and energy from the sun and wind, recycle its own waste material and grow its own food. Submissions were expected to employ the latest technology, seek simplicity, utilize natural resources and materials on the site and to look for comfort and adaptability.

The winning entry was submitted by Paul D. Tinari, a first year student in Engineering at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. He was the youngest entrant, aged 18. Tinari selected as his basic structure a spherical shape, constructed of interlocking, pre-fabricated concrete slabs, properly sealed and covered with a layer of earth 1 m deep, then sodded, with spherical greenhouse domes on the south-facing elevations, also used for food production. The judges noted that this simple design provided maximum strength/weight ratios, minimum surface/volume ratios, minimum foundation requirements and easy and rapid on-site assembly. The heat source consisted of solar collectors, and heat was stored in a device containing molten wax and water. The design also contained a wind generator and battery storage. Household waste was processed in a biodigester, and the resulting methane gas was used as another energy source.

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