CCIL News

At the April 27, 2026 Canadian Council of Independent Laboratories / Conseil canadien des laboratoires independants Annual General Meeting held in Mississauga, ON, CCIL’s Certification Program Manager Nabil Kamel was presented with a CCIL Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nabil Kamel has devoted over 50 years to advancing pavement engineering, asphalt research, and laboratory certification in Canada. His work has strengthened the technical foundations of the country’s transportation infrastructure and elevated the standards of independent testing laboratories nationwide. As CCIL’s Certification Program Manager over the last 19 years, he has been the driving force behind the development, administration, and continuous improvement of CCIL’s national laboratory and technician certification programs.

His career began in 1972 with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, where he worked as a Research Engineer focusing on pavement design and management. He then spent 25 years at Petro‑Canada as a Senior Asphalt Research Engineer, contributing to asphalt R&D and helping shape modern understanding of asphalt performance and testing. This rare combination of public‑sector, industrial, and certification‑program experience has made him one of the more influential figures in Canada’s paving and materials‑testing community.

When Nabil assumed the role of CCIL Certification Program Manager in 2006, the program was an Ontario based asphalt and aggregate testing certification program. Over the next several years, Nabil was instrumental in the expansion of the programs across Canada. Today, CCIL has over 1,100 laboratory certifications across Canada.

Over 10 years ago, Nabil initiated the concept of a computer-based system to track all activities of laboratory certification. Nabil and the certification office staff developed the concept of the lab portal, and it has been very successful with increased efficiencies that have also contributed to keeping certification fees down.

In 2020, the world shut down. The COVID pandemic disrupted business operations for all of us. Travel was restricted and the Certification Office was faced with a daunting task of ensuring that laboratories were able to maintain certification. The team at the Certification Office were quick to develop a Virtual Audit program, and it was likely the first program of its kind in North America.

At CCIL, Nabil has overseen the national rollout and evolution of laboratory and technician certification programs that now underpin quality assurance for construction materials testing across the country. His work has promoted ISO‑aligned practices, improved inter‑laboratory consistency, and strengthened the credibility of test results used in major public and private infrastructure projects. His leadership has helped make CCIL certification a widely recognized benchmark of technical competence in Canada.

Given Nabil’s efforts in stickhandling CCIL’s Certification Office through the pandemic without skipping a beat, and his contributions to the advancement of certification across Canada, Nabil was presented with a CCIL Award of Recognition in 2024.

Across more than half a century, Nabil Kamel has shaped the standards, practices, and professional culture of Canada’s materials‑testing and paving sectors. His legacy is visible in the laboratories he helped certify, the professionals he mentored, the national programs he strengthened, and the safer, higher‑quality roads Canadians rely on every day.

Nabil was presented with an original Gordon Harrison painting by Mr. Gib McIntee, Director of Certification Programs.

Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement, Nabil.