2000 Winner: Innovation In Oil Sands Research Sponsored By Syncrude Canada Ltd.
World Leader In Oil Sands Technology Blends Academia With Industry
Dr. Jan Czarnecki is one of the rare few who has a thorough understanding of oil sands technology. He is a world expert in the area of colloidal and interfacial science and is currently applying this knowledge to bitumen extraction as the leader of the Fundamental Studies group at Syncrude Research.
Leader in Oil Sands Research
Dr. Czarnecki has had a distinguished career in both academia and industry spanning two continents — he worked in Poland until 1987 and in Canada ever since. He has published over 70 refereed journal articles, a phenomenal record for a person who has spent half his career in industry. His insight on the importance of interfacial phenomena in oil sands extraction transformed the direction of research at the University of Alberta.
Today, we have a strong research group in this area headed by Dr. Jacob Masliyah, the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sands. This chair has two principal players — Dr. Masliyah on the University side and Dr. Czarnecki on the industrial side, with Dr. Czarnecki being an active contributor of scientific ideas. This successful Chair program was recently awarded a “University-Industry Synergy R&D partnership award”.
International Acclaim
Dr. Czarnecki’s expertise is sought after by international editors and funding agencies. He has served on the advisory board of the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, was a member of the Standing Committee of European “Chemistry of Interfaces Conferences” and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), and served on the NSERC Strategic Grants selection committee, ESTAC grant selection/technical advisory committee and AOSTRA/COURSE funding program of Alberta Energy.
