The honour of being the first member of the academy was accorded to 98-year-old retired engineer and EIC past president, John Stirling.
Robert Legget was elected the founding president of the academy, with Philip Lapp as president-elect, Larkin Kerwin as vice-president, and Léopold Nadeau as secretary-treasurer.
Election has always been through nomination by existing members, verification by Committee, and voting by the membership.
[3] The academy announced in 2017 that, partnered with SAE Foundation Canada, it had established two annual student awards aimed at recognizing the importance of aerospace, automotive and transport design engineering.
One, the CAE Bruce Aubin SAE Aerospace Design Award, valued at $800, and the other the CAE William G. Belfry Memorial SAE Scholarship, valued at $2000, would be given annually to top engineering students from across Canada.