
"We want to understand what those differences are and why they occur, and use that information to develop strategies for placement of these materials that minimize their potential environmental impact."
The federal Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Syncrude, one of the world's largest oil sands producers, will each contribute almost $700,000 to the chair.Syncrude will also provide specialized sampling equipment and access to mine sites for field studies, enabling hands-on research that is not possible in the lab. Six graduate students and six undergraduate students will receive advanced training through the chair. They will be involved in collecting samples from sites around Syncrude's Mildred Lake facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta, and then analyzing them on the U of S campus.