Message from the Director

As the Director of BRI, I am committed to fostering a world-class centre of excellence that is among the national and international leaders in forest innovation and biomass research. My work is rooted in being determined to facilitate the generation of sustainable materials and processes to serve society while protecting the environment. In the past few years, we have developed partnerships with many top-quality institutes globally, have exchange programs, and are a member of larger initiatives in generating lignocellulose-derived advanced materials. In collaboration with industry partners, we have many projects from the bioconversion of lignocellulosic materials and platform chemicals to hydrothermal production of liquid and gas fuels, green sustainable chemicals, functional polymers, and advanced biomaterials including bioplastic films, advanced bio composites and aerogels, and smart hydrogels and sensors. 

I strongly believe that excellent outcomes thrive in environments where both research teams and research facilities are made available and accessible. Thanks to federal and provincial governments, and private sector investments, we have created a state-of-the-art centre that can accommodate top-quality fundamental complied research on biomass conversion to value-add ducts. Relying on the support of the institute’s excellent research team, my focus is to create an educational infrastructure for train bright-minded high-quality personnel with excellent knowledge of biorefining operations. In collaboration with other faculties, we have created top-quality PhD and MSc programs as well as an environment for top ranked researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and interns to join us and pursue their research training in top-ranked multidisciplinary institute that works to develop knowledge, technology, and processes for a wide range of applications. Whether we are supporting students with their own research or helping a company to develop a new process/product - we offer our expertise in addressing the wide range of research and development challenges/needs in the area of biorefining. 

We are always looking to grow our team in BRI. If you are interested in joining us for a placement or would like to work towards your goal of obtaining a graduate degree, we have programs that can serve your needs. We have a variety of opportunities within the centre that include local and international applicants, collaboration in person or remotely, projects of ongoing research to join, or space to develop your own. Should you be interested in any further information please reach out to our research team at admin.bri@lakeheadu.ca. We look forward to hearing from you.

Dr. Pedram Fatehi
Director, Biorefining Research Institute 
PhD, P. Eng
Canada Research Chair (Tier II)
Industrial Research Chair
Chemical Engineering Department