OSPE - The Voice - June 2017 - 32

careerS

MEMbEr PrOFIlE

Vic Pakalnis, P.Eng.
Sudbury, Ontario

VIC PAkAlNIS, P.ENg., IS A MININg ENgINEEr, DEDICATED OSPE
MEMbEr, AND PrESIDENT & CEO OF MIrArCO MININg INNOVATION
AT lAurENTIAN uNIVErSITy IN SuDbury, ONTArIO. hE IS AlSO ThE
ASSOCIATE VICE PrESIDENT OF lAurENTIAN MININg INNOVATION
TEChNOlOgy (lMIT).

IRARCO is a not-for-profit organization that conducts mining research through
its research centres: Geohazard Assessment and Risk Mitigation, Mining Safety
and Risk Management, Ventilation and Production Optimization, Energy, Renewables
and Carbon Management, and Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Communities.
Pakalnis joined MIRARCO in November 2015 to manage scientists, researchers,
academics, and other highly skilled individuals in research and innovation initiatives,
bringing his extensive connections in mining, government and academia to the table
to help each program succeed.
"I was born in the north and I've lived in mining communities my whole life - I
knew I was going to be an engineer from an early age," said Pakalnis. His father came to
Canada from Lithuania as a civil engineer but worked in mining all his life. His brother
is also a mining engineer: Dr. Rimas Pakalnis, P.Eng., who lives in British Columbia.
Pakalnis graduated with a B. Eng. and an M.Eng. from McGill University.
Pakalnis then started his engineering career working at several mining companies,
including Kerr Addison Mines, Inco Ltd., Iron Ore Company of Canada and Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd., to name a few, before holding several positions within the
Ontario Ministry of Labour as Chief Mining Engineer, Provincial Director of Mining
and Industrial Programs, and as Regional Director, Eastern Ontario.
After his time spent working in industry and then within government, in 2007, he
was appointed the Ontario Public Service Amethyst Fellow in Public Policy, School
The honest truth is that Canada is doing poorly in innovation and failing to invest in
research. Particularly in mining, we are losing our edge and becoming less competitive.
Industry and government leaders must renew investments in the mining industry. We
need to re-establish our leadership role in areas like mine safety and mine rescue, mine
ventilation and sustainable mining. If voluntary action isn't likely, then public policies,
such as improved financial incentives or the establishment of a research fund based on
one cent per tonne mined, should be instituted.
Such initiatives would ensure a sustainable future funding stream to once again establish
the Canadian mining industry's leadership role in mining innovation, technology and
mining expertise.

The VOICe

- Vic Pakalnis, P.Eng., canadian institutE of Mining M agazinE

June 2017

of Policy Studies at Queen's University, and taught courses in the MPA,
MIR and Mining Engineering: policy
implementation, project management,
occupational health and safety. In 2009,
he was appointed Kinross Professor in
Mining and Sustainability at the Robert
M. Buchan Department of Mining at
Queen's University, where he taught
undergraduate and graduate level
courses in the faculty of engineering and
applied science. Pakalnis' research interests included mining technology, safety,
public policy, and aboriginal access to
engineering.
All of this experience brought Pakalnis
back to the north to lead MIRARCO,
where his strong views about where
Canada should be in terms of innovation
and mining are key.
Having written a number of papers
on mine research and innovation, safety
and public policy, as well as maintaining
a dedication to volunteering and sharing his expertise, Pakalnis is known for
his passion for seeing Ontario's mining
sector succeed. He believes strongly in
innovation, and in the power of the engineering community's ability to make a
difference through OSPE.
"I am very proud to be an OSPE
member. I think it is the right way for
the profession to be structured; PEO
should regulate the practice of profes-

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