Theo Paradis

Fei's Bio

Fei Cheng | MSc student, Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta
Innovation Gallery (Saturday 11:15-12:15)

Fei completed her BSc in environmental engineering at the University of Alberta. Her research is related to the reuse of an industrial waste material (called bauxite residue produced from the alumina refinery industry) for wastewater treatment application (mainly oil sands process-affected water). Through her research, she wants to share the idea that all wastes are valuable products. 

Department of Environmental Engineering - University of Alberta

Jacob's Bio

Jacob Irving | President & Chief Executive Officer, Energy Council of Canada
Future of Energy Panel (Friday 10:30-11:30)

Following his longstanding participation on the Energy Council of Canada’s Board of Directors, Jacob Irving became the organization’s President in January of 2018. His nearly twenty-year career in the Canadian energy industry has been divided almost evenly between the petroleum and electricity sectors. He has spent more than half of this time, successfully leading prominent energy industry associations, including the Oil Sands Developers Group and the Canadian Hydropower Association.

Originally from the Huron and Franco-Ontarian community of Penetanguishene, Mr. Irving attended primary and secondary school entirely in French, which led him to pursue his post- secondary studies at the University of Ottawa. His education and work experience have taken him from South Africa, to Calgary, to Fort McMurray with a return to Ottawa.

Mr. Irving has significant knowledge of Canadian energy systems combined with a specialization in the areas of government policy, regulation, communications and stakeholder engagement. He is a passionate promoter of all forms of Canadian energy, particularly to international audiences, outside Canada. As the President of the Energy Council of Canada, he strongly believes that better energy conversations yield better energy decisions, especially in a sophisticated and ever-changing democracy like Canada.

Energy Council of Canada

Dr.Valerie's Bio

Valerie Miller | Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, University of Alberta Future Energy Systems
Innovation Gallery (Saturday morning)

Valerie Miller completed her PhD in land reclamation at the University of Alberta in 2019, working at a diamond mine in northern Canada to build soils using mine waste, before joining Future Energy Systems (FES).

As Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Valerie supports and mobilizes FES personnel seeking to share their research with external audiences through opportunities such as lab tours, talks, classroom programs, videos, and events. She is also the author of The Energy Adventures of Tommy and Remi series. 

Future Energy Systems

Ron's Bio

Ron Zieber | Lead Electrical Engineer, Hydro Operations, TransAlta
Offsite Tours (Saturday afternoon)

Ron started his career with TransAlta, and has worked in many different areas of the business over the years, including substation design, sustainable development, coal-fired and gas-fired generation, and most recently hydro. He is a subject matter expert on electrical safety.

TransAlta