Engineering prof receives $5.3 million mining chair

There's oil in these parts, and it's Dr. Clayton Deutsch's job to figure out exactly where it is Using statistical analysis and risk assessment techniques, the professor in the University of Alberta School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering works with data supplied from traditional sampling to make predictions about what oil, gas, and mineral resources lie beneath the Earth's surface. His work can help mining companies work more efficiently and effectively, allowing them to save money and reduce their impact on the environment.

Deutsch has recently been appointed to the new Alberta Chamber of Resources Industry Chair in Mining Engineering.

"I am excited and thrilled by this announcement," said Deutsch, who already holds the Canada Research Chair in Natural Resources Uncertainty Assessment.

Along with the expected boost to his research capabilities, Deutsch said he is also excited about the new opportunities for students that the chair will create.

"This chair position offers a significant upside for teaching," Deutsch said. "For one, it will mean another professor position for us, and that just means more opportunities for students to work directly with a professor."

A consortium of corporations in the resource and technology sector have banded together to invest a total of $1.4 million in the chair. Additional funds of $2.25 million have come from the Canada Research Chairs Program and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, as well as other sources. Total investment in the chair will exceed $5.3 million.

"Given that Canada relies on research and innovation to make its resource and technology industry one of the top in the world...we take pride in knowing that Dr. Deutsch is on our side," said Jim Carter, chair of the Alberta Chamber of Resources' Mining Industry Advisory Committee.