U of S Engineers to Hold Major NationalConference

Posted October 01, 1999


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Friday, October 1, 1999 99-10-02-ENG

U of S Engineers to Hold Major National Conference

More than 700 engineers from across Canada and around the world will attend the 49th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference that will be held Oct. 3-6 in Saskatoon.

Organized by the University of Saskatchewan Department of Chemical Engineering and local industry representatives, the conference will include sessions on mineral processing, pipeline transportation, heavy oil upgrading, separation processes, biochemical engineering and chemical engineering education. This is the first time the conference has been held in Saskatchewan.

"Being selected to host the conference is a tribute to the quality of the chemical engineering department and the support of the local chemical, mining, and oil and gas industries," said U of S Dean of Engineering Franco Berruti.

"Over one-quarter of the papers to be presented are from outside Canada and this will bring a significant international perspective to the conference," he added.

A highlight of the conference will be a banquet at the Western Development Museum to honor 20 top Canadian Chemical Engineering Achievers of the 20th Century. Three of the engineers to be honored have connections to the University of Saskatchewan:

  • Cliff Shook was a faculty member in the U of S Chemical Engineering Department for 35 years until he retired in 1995. He is now a teacher and consultant. He is recognized internationally as an outstanding authority on slurry pipeline research and development which is important to the potash and heavy oil mining industries. He has been involved in United Nations slurry flow programs in Chile, India and China.

  • Jacob Masliyah is also a former faculty member in the U of S Chemical Engineering Department (1969 to 1974). He is currently on faculty at the University of Alberta and has made significant developments to chemical engineering in the separation of oil and water, an important aspect in the recovery of heavy oil from the Athabasca Oil Sands. .

  • James Hay was born in Regina and graduated from the U of S in chemical engineering in 1950. He has made major contributions to chemical engineering through his many years at Dow Chemical where he helped pioneer new world-scale plants to produce ethylene and other chemicals used in the production of plastics. He became president and CEO of DOW in 1980 and chairman of the board in 1983.


The conference sessions will be held at the Delta Bessborough and Sheraton Cavalier Hotels. There will also be a chemical engineering exhibition featuring a number of companies and a student conference involving students from across Canada.

Financial support for the conference had been received from more than 30 companies and academic institutions both at the local and national level.

More details of the conference can be obtained from the conference web site at http://www.engr.usask.ca/dept/cen/CSChE49

For more information contact:

Doug Macdonald
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Saskatchewan
110 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5C9
(306) 966-4766 (Office)
(306) 966-4777 (FAX)