HALCO Software Systems Ltd., founded in 1988, celebrates its Silver Jubilee this year! To recognize this milestone, and in honour of their founder, Howard Arthur Leach, HALCO recently established a $5,000 annual scholarship in the Faculty of Forestry. The Howard A. Leach Scholarship in Operations Research will be awarded to undergraduate students in the Wood Products Processing program, who have a demonstrated interest in the field of Operations Research.
Mr. Howard A. Leach graduated from the University of Cambridge, England with first class honors in Mechanical Sciences in 1953 and Chemical Engineering in 1955. He began to develop his computer programming and optimization skills working for IBM and other companies in England. Mr. Leach has always been interested in linear program modeling and began applying his programming skills to the North American forest industry in 1968. In 1970, he developed the SAWSIM® program – a very flexible computer program that can accurately model the processing of logs in any sawmill. SAWSIM® is widely recognized as the industry standard sawmill simulation program the world over, and has been continuously updated ever since to reflect changes in technology and operating practices in the industry. Howard continued to follow his passion by founding his own company H. A. Leach and Company Ltd. in 1970, which later became HALCO Software Systems Ltd. in 1988.
In celebration of the company’s 25 years in business and Howard’s 80th birthday, HALCO Software Systems Ltd. established an award to support students who would carry forward Howard’s legacy – students who are capable and interested in applying operations research in the forestry / solid wood sector. Covering the full costs of tuition, the Howard A. Leach Scholarship in Operations Research is one of the most prestigious and highly coveted scholarships available to an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Forestry.
The Faculty of Forestry is extremely grateful to HALCO for supporting student learning as a way to honour their founder; celebrate 25 years in operation; and encourage the forest leaders of tomorrow. Support like this is vital to the success of the Faculty and ensures that students are able to fully focus on their studies by easing the financial burdens of higher education.
If you are interested in learning more about how to support a student, please contact Debbie McPherson, Development Coordinator at debbie.mcpherson@ubc.ca or phone 604-822-8787 for more information.