CONFERENCE CO-CHAIR

Chris Powter
Oil Sands Research and Information Network, Canada

Biography of the Conference Co-Chair

Chris is the Executive Director of the Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN) in the School of Energy and the Environment at the University of Alberta. His work involves identifying research and information gaps related to environmental impacts of oil sands mining, filling those gaps through research and knowledge synthesis, and disseminating information to regulators, industry and the public.
Chris has a B.Sc. in Ecology and an M.Sc. in Plant Ecology from the University of Guelph. Chris worked for Alberta Environment for 29 years, including duties in land reclamation from 1981 to 2002, then in policy and legislation development from 2002 to 2007 and finally as the head of the provincial environmental assessment program from 2007 to 2010. He joined OSRIN in April of 2010.
Chris was the recipient of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association’s Edward M. Watkin Award in 1988, the Noranda Land Reclamation Award in 2001, and two special awards for outstanding service (2000) and leadership (2010). Chris also received the Alberta Chamber of Resources 2004 Reclamation Citation for lifetime achievement.
Chris is also the author of the Curmudgeon’s Corner series in the Canadian Reclamation magazine and a member of the National Energy Board’s Participant Funding Program Funding Review Committee