Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb, ASME Past President, Receives CSA Group’s Highest Award

July 13, 2018

(Left to right) David Weinstein, president and CEO of CSA Group; Greg Weeres, chair of the CSA Group Board of Directors; 2018 John Jenkins Award winner Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb; and Mary Cianchetti, president, Standards, CSA Group. (Photo courtesy of CSA Group.)

The Canadian standards organization CSA Group recently presented ASME Past President Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb with its most prestigious honor, the 2018 John Jenkins Award, in recognition of her decades of service supporting public safety through codes and standards development and advocacy. Kotb, a resident of Montreal, Canada, received the award at CSA Group’s Annual Conference awards ceremony, which was held June 19 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The award, which was established in 1978, acknowledges individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the development, advancement, and application of voluntary standards; encouraged the development and advancement of standards both nationally and internationally; and helped to substantially advance the arts and sciences related to standardization.

Kotb, who was the former head of the Pressure Vessels Technical Services Division for Régie du bâtiment du Québec and is currently an independent consultant with Madiko Consulting, was recognized for her “visionary leadership, unparalleled professionalism, sweeping contributions to public safety, and commanding advocacy of standards and the standards development process, both nationally and internationally.” An active member of CSA Group for more than 34 years, Kotb has shown exceptional leadership in the CSA Group’s Nuclear, Construction & Infrastructure, and Health & Safety programs and has served on approximately 15 technical committees, subcommittees and strategic steering committees, according to the association. She had previously received the Award of Merit from CSA Group in 2003.

Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb gave Steven Lawrence, one of the 2018 CSA Group Award of Merit recipients, a high five as she made her way to the stage to accept the John Jenkins Award at the CSA Group’s Annual Conference awards ceremony on June 19. (Photo courtesy of CSA Group.)

Kotb, who served as the 132^nd president of ASME in 2013-2014, has held a number of leadership roles within the Society during her 23 years as a member. Currently the chair of the Committee of Past Presidents and an advisor to the Nominating Committee, she was also a member of the Board of Governors from 2008 to 2011, vice president of Conformity Assessment from 2003 to 2006, chair of the Sector Management Committee in 2012-2013 and member of the ASME Industry Advisory Board from 2012 to 2014. She has also served as chair of the ASME Presidential Task Force on Uniform (Financial) Reporting and as a member of the ASME Committee on Governance and Strategy, the Council on Codes and Standards, and the Committee on Ethical Standards and Review.

An ASME Fellow and licensed Professional Engineer, Kotb was also chair of ASME’s Quebec Section from 2000 to 2002 as well as a member of ASME’s Engineering for Global Development Committee and the lead volunteer member for the Engineering for Change (E4C) global development initiative.