Our Team

President and CEO

Stephen Lougheed, who held leadership roles at Alberta Innovates and Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, has been appointed President and CEO of CMC Research Institutes (CMCRI). The architect of several successful award-winning business and innovation initiatives, Lougheed is well-known for his strategic vison, business expertise, and proven ability to facilitate partnerships. He is especially skilled at the development of unique shared services initiatives crossing business and government customers.

Developing emissions monitoring and reduction technologies will produce multiple benefits. Made-in-Canada technology solutions to industrial GHG emissions positions the country to feed a growing global market for low carbon innovations. In addition, there is increasing pressure from investors and shareholders on companies to demonstrate they are making environmentally sustainable decisions. Canada’s attractiveness to investors will increase as technologies are commercialized and employed to meet GHG targets. Stephen says that CMC, with its experts and facilities, can help lead the country to develop and supply innovations that will foster this demand for sustainable clean growth.

Director, Programs and Partnerships

As an entrepreneur, not-for- profit executive, and community leader, Brian has actively helped organizations accurately assess their strengths and value propositions, while developing proactive strategies to achieve corporate goals. He devotes his professional time to program and partnership development for CMC Research Institutes. Prior to his current role at CMCRI, Brian held the Interim Managing Director position at CMC Research Institutes. He is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of CalAgua Innovation Corp., a start-up technology company developing commercial applications for university research.

Brian holds a Master’s degree from the University of Calgary and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Western Ontario.  He is the National Board Chairman of Trout Unlimited Canada and sits on the Business Development Task Force of the United Way of Calgary & Area.

Director, Containment and Monitoring Institute

Don Lawton is a Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Calgary. In 2013, he was appointed Director of CMCRI’s Containment and Monitoring Institute to lead research into improved monitoring technologies for secure geological carbon storage. Decades ago, Don had a vision for a research facility where measurement and monitoring equipment could be developed and demonstrated. In the fall of 2017, he saw this dream realized with the official opening of CMCRI’s Field Research Station near Brooks.

Don’s research interests include acquisition, processing and interpretation of multicomponent seismic data, seismic anisotropy, integrated geophysical and geological studies in complex geological settings, and in advancing monitoring methods for the geological storage of CO 2 . He’s an Associate Director of the Consortium for Research in
Elastic Wave Exploration Seismology (CREWES). A highly regarded expert, he was awarded the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (CSEG) Medal in 2000 and received Honorary Membership in the Society in 2014.

Business Manager

Shamez has worked for over 20 years helping companies leverage technology solutions to increase their decision making capability and enhance operational effectiveness. Past positions held by Shamez include roles in strategic planning, program management, project management, and technical leadership. He has worked with both private and not-for-profit companies, covering a wide range of projects in industries such as telecommunications, defense, energy (oil/gas, pipelines, and utilities), agriculture, manufacturing, security, labor, and health.  He is involved in a wide range of volunteer work, including with Technology Alberta, an Industry Association that is building communities that facilitate the growth and networking of strong technology companies.

Shamez is a graduate of the University of Calgary, with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He also holds a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Chief Financial Officer

Karim is an accomplished financial and operations executive with almost two decades of success in technology commercialization. He has an extensive background bringing new products to market, manufacturing and distribution of technologies, and mergers and acquisition work. In 2006, Karim was one of the winners of the coveted Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (and was a Finalist in 2005) for his instrumental work in rapidly commercializing and distributing globally a new healthcare product.

Karim is recognized for his financial expertise, strong negotiating skills, providing excellent customer service and meeting fiduciary obligations to Board of Directors and shareholders. He is able to capitalize on his strong business acumen and experience to resolve critical financial and business decisions. Karim has significant experience in environmental related issues and technologies through holding executive positions at Aqua-Pure (a publicly traded environmental technology company), Fountain Quail Water Management (an oilfield services company), WaterSMART Solutions Management Consultants (a consulting company dealing with water issues in industrial and municipal use) and Alberta WaterPortal Society (a charitable organization dealing with environmental education in Alberta, Canada).

Programs Development Manager

Kirk is an internationally recognized sedimentary basin geoscientist and a leader in the Calgary geoscience community (Past-President of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG) and Secretary of the CSPG Foundation). He has advised Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) on innovative technology opportunities and was a major contributor to the PTAC Unconventional Gas Technology Roadmap, for which he received a PTAC Volunteer Achievement Award (2009). Kirk has led and participated in numerous industrial JIP’s at the leading edge of petroleum geoscience and industrial research that were subscribed to by Canadian, American and European multinational and large petroleum companies (e.g. Institut francais du petrole’s “Subtrap” Industrial Consortium).

In his Geological Survey of Canada roles he provided both laboratory and interpretational support to dozens of Canadian petroleum companies, including Cenovus at Weyburn, as well as several hundred proprietary laboratory studies for Canadian, American and European oil companies. He and Dr. Frank Stoakes taught a three-week course in China and a three-month professional development program for visiting Chinese petroleum industry staff, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency.

Kirk has worked as an exploration geologist at PetroCanada Exploration Inc. and Gulf Canada Resources Ltd.  He has made more than 130 contributions to the peer-reviewed journal, monographic and conference literature, which are easily found on the web or databases found using his distinctive surname.

Project Manager

Greg began his geophysics careers at Encana in 2005, progressing through the Exploration, and Scientific Best Practices groups. From 2014 to present Greg worked at Hunt Oil and Enerplus as Exploration Lead, and Geophysical Lead, trying to expand the geo-sciences impact on business decisions on both sides of the border. He graduated from the University of Calgary in 2005 with a B.Sc. in geophysics and completed his MBA at the Australian Institute of Business in 2016.

An accomplished athlete, Greg took part in track and field in high school and university. As a U of C Dino, he won Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championships in pole vault and pentathlon. He was also named and picked for the Olympic and National Skeleton teams, with a highest world ranking of 2nd. He’s still active in sport, coaching the U of C Track team and biking with his kids.

Research Associate

Marie completed her M.Sc. in Planetology in 2011 at the University of Nantes (France) and graduated with her PhD in Geophysics in 2014 from ISTerre laboratory, University Joseph Fourier (Grenoble, France). By then, she was working on the crustal tomography of mountain ranges. She changed the focus of her work again in 2016 when she started with CREWES (University of Calgary) and CMC Research Institutes and began focusing on the geophysical monitoring of the subsurface applied to CO2 sequestration.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Seyed Mostafa Jafari Raad holds a BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering- Gas Industries and Hydrocarbon Reservoirs both from Persian Gulf University, and a PhD in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Calgary.
He has been a Research Scholar at John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, USA. He also worked as a Research Fellow at Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia.

His research interests include experimental and computational aspects of transport phenomena in porous media with applications to energy and water resources, geological CO2 sequestration, and waste disposal. He joined CMC Research Institutes- Containment and Monitoring Institute in January 2020 as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working on development of non-isothermal coupled reservoir geo-mechanical simulation methodologies for CO2 storage in shallow reservoirs practiced at the CaMI site.

Research Associate

Franki is a recent graduate from the University of Calgary. She obtained her BSc in Natural Sciences with Energy Science and Geoscience concentrations. Much of her research and work has been with nuclear energy, attending many nuclear conferences through the Canadian Nuclear Society and Canadian Nuclear Association. She is a strong advocate for Women In Nuclear, winning the 2019 WiN Undergraduate Student Scholarship. Her studies have included clean energy sources and the implementation into society.

Franki enjoys learning new programs and data analytics. She has worked on a lifecycle assessment for the CaMI field research station as her main project this summer as a summer student with CMC. As a research associate, she is involved in data calibration and analysis, and her favorite part of her position is attending the field research station to do hands on work.

Senior Manager, Communications and Engagement

Ruth is a versatile communications professional with experience as an editor, researcher, journalist, and project manager. She thrives on working with collaborative groups to develop and implement communications strategies and plans to further the business goals and objectives of CMCRI.

Prior to CMCRI, Ruth was Communications Director at the Arctic Institute of North America where she designed and implemented a media-relations program to promote and popularize Arctic science research to Canadians. An expert in media analysis, she managed the first Canadian study examining the public relations strategies of the Supreme Court of Canada and also explored former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein’s media strategies. She’s taught professional communications at the college and university level and has a background in print journalism. Ruth has an MA (Communications) from the University of Calgary.

Research and Policy Analyst

Rachel is a sustainability specialist with four years of qualitative and quantitative research experience in greenhouse gas emission accounting, environmental technology, fossil fuel divestment, process mapping, scenario analyses, and economics. She is passionate about bridging knowledge gaps between researchers, investors, government, and the public. Rachel has international presentation experience, and is a published author in the journal Sustainability. Rachel also has project management, stakeholder engagement, and consulting experience from her manager role with the Academy for Sustainable Innovation (ASI).

Rachel completed a Master of Applied Science in Environmental Applied Science and Management at Ryerson University, and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Economics at Dalhousie University.

Executive Assistant and Office Coordinator

Denise was born and raised in Calgary, and graduated in 1997 from Mount Royal University with a Physical Fitness & Leadership Diploma. She worked at the Calgary Winter Club as a membership & sales coordinator and fitness consultant while studying at the University of Calgary. In 2003, Denise graduated from U of C with a BSc in Physical Anthropology and a minor in Archeology.

Denise then went on to work in the oil & gas sector as a Research Assistant at Thomas Weisel Partners and then an Executive Assistant at Bankers Petroleum Ltd. She went on maternity leave in 2015, and chose to extend her leave so she could stay home and focus on being a mom. She started at CMC Research Institutes in 2019. In her spare time, she plays in a women’s touch football league, she loves to ski in the winter, and she enjoys hanging at her cabin in the summer where she boats, bikes, and spends time with family.