EnCana advances environmental and energy research at U of A.

EnCana Corporation is making a major contribution to the advancement of research on energy and the environment with a $7.5 million donation to the University of Alberta (U of A).

The U of A in Edmonton, AB, is one of the top 100 teaching and research universities in the world, serving

The donation establishes the endowed EnCana Scholars Awards and EnCana Research Chairs, one in water resources and another in environmental engineering. These endowments address the recognition that supplying energy to future generations will require building a critical mass of research on energy and the environment.

"Our world is continually demanding more energy, and Alberta is in a unique position to help. At the same rime, developing our natural gas and oil resources in an environmentally sound manner is essential. That's why we need the collaboration of great institutions like the University of Alberta to find new and better ways to efficiently develop our resources in a sustainable way," said Randy Eresman, EnCana's president and CEO.

"This donation will fund three important endeavours to help attract and support the best and brightest professors and students who will be advancing knowledge at the intellectual crossroads of energy and environment. It is hoped that EnCana's funding today will help the University of Alberta dare to discover and dare to deliver on Canada's goal of becoming a world leader in environmentally sustainable energy development," Eresman said.

U of A president Indira Samarasekera called the donation truly transformative. "[EnCana's gift] wfll propel the university to the forefront of energy and environmental research and will assist us in developing the future leaders in energy-related fields as we move into our second century. It is the knowledge energy of the EnCana Chairs and Scholars that will advance research and innovation to the benefit of ... those around the world who rely on energy generated in Canada."

The EnCana Scholars Awards were created in the spirit of the university's 100-year history of developing leaders who have had significant impact across many fields. For more than six decades, the U of A has been instrumental in developing Alberta's renowned oil and gas industry, from the education of its work force and leaders to geological discovery to technological innovation.

That innovation dates back to engineering professor Karl Clark's hot water process for separating bitumen from oil sands in the 1920s. Since then, alumni have played key roles in discovering Leduc No. 1 and the Pembina Field, and researchers across campus actively explore diverse issues related to resource development from the social and environmental to the scientific and technological.

Most recently, the university created its School for Energy and the Environment (SEE), which works in the public interest to educate people who will have a deeper and broader understanding of complex issues. SEE pulls together the university's extensive expertise across disciplines--including engineering, science, arts, agriculture, native studies, business, law, and public health--to collaborate in research and offer a range of perspectives to students.

EnCana Corporation