1932: Robert J. Gibb, P.Eng.

Born in Kinross, Scotland, Robert Gibb began his engineering career as an apprentice in Edinburgh then worked for several Scottish engineering firms, mainly on waterworks construction projects, before emigrating to Canada in 1907.

After serving with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway for seven years, Gibb was hired by the City of Edmonton in 1913 as a resident engineer. He was later promoted to waterworks superintendent and in 1937 became city commissioner, a post he held until retiring in 1946.

For the next four years he continued serving the city as a consultant, planning Edmonton's enormous post-war sewer expansion program. In working for a fraction of the standard consultant fee, Gibb saved taxpayers thousands of dollars during a time of expensive municipal developments and cash shortages.

Gibb was a key figure in founding the Association of Professional Engineers of Alberta (APEA; now The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta) and lobbying Alberta's legislature to incorporate The Engineering Profession Act. He was elected to the first council in 1920 and served the association a total of 12 years, including terms as vice-president in 1931 and president the following year. He passed away in 1958.