Dr. Jacob H. Masliyah, Professor Emeritus, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta

OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP IN ALBERTA TECHNOLOGY
For the Excitement of Discovery

 

Dr. Jacob Masliyah clearly loves his work. When he’s asked what motivates him to work in oil sands research, he responds with great enthusiasm.

“For the fun of it. Most of us in science and engineering are puzzle solvers,” he explains. “It’s the excitement of discovery or being able to explain a phenomenon. It’s also the excitement of doing something good for society and knowing you are being useful.” 

Dr. Masliyah, professor, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, has used his abundant enthusiasm and his strength in theoretical applications to improve recovery of bitumen from the oil sands. He holds the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sands Engineering and he is past holder of the Canada Research Chair in the same field.

When Dr. Masliyah, an officer of the Order of Canada, first came to Alberta from Saskatchewan in 1977 he hadn’t heard of the oil sands. Now he is credited with leading his team to become the world’s leading centre of bitumen extraction research, work that is critical to the oil sands industry’s ability to optimize recovery of oil while reducing environmental impact.

Dr. Masliyah combined his expertise in fluid particle dynamics with research into surface dynamics between clays and bitumen to reveal the true nature of bitumen interactions with solids and water. His research advanced the understanding of the bitumen extraction phenomenon, and was applied to guide operating efforts towards improved processes  in the fields of extraction, froth treatment and tailings.
He explains that his work put the “art of oil sands extraction” on firm scientific footing, the only way the process can be improved.

“From my point of view, if we improve the recovery of bitumen from the oil sands, we make better use of the resource,” he explains. “We are the guardians of the resource and we are beholden to improve the process of extraction to lower the impact of oil sands operations through emissions control, water usage and land foot print.