Going Greener

Northern Ontario’s forestry and mining industries are about to get even more environmentally friendly and cost competitive thanks to work being done by Dr. Pedram Fatehi and his research group at Lakehead University. The Iranian-born chemical engineer, who arrived in Thunder Bay in 2011, is working with industrial partners including FPInnovations, Goldcorp and Resolute Forest Products to produce chemicals from waste forestry biomass that will create greener, more cost-effective pulping, mining and oil processes. Supported by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation by way of an industrial research chair, it is cutting-edge work that is attracting the best and brightest researchers from around the world to his lab in Northern Ontario. Fatehi’s current team of 24 includes scientists from Canada, the U.S., China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia. “Industry and academia all over the globe are watching what we’re doing,” says Fatehi. “It wouldn’t be possible without the support of both the university and the NOHFC.”