Marek Pawlik

I obtained my first degree (B.Sc.) in Poland in 1994, in chemistry with specialization in environmental and colloid chemistry. After completing my PhD at UBC in 2002, in the area of the surface chemistry of froth flotation, I joined the Department of Mining and Mineral Processing Engineering as an assistant professor. The program was renamed in 2006 to Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, and I have remained with the Institute since then. I have taught a number of undergraduate courses in mineral processing (flotation, coal preparation, bitumen extraction) along with two graduate courses on the surface chemistry of fine particle processing. My research interests are also in the broad area of interfacial chemistry of mineral processing systems, as reflected in my publications record. I was granted tenure, with promotion to associate professor in 2008, and in 2016 I was promoted to full professor. I am also registered as PEng in the area of chemical engineering.

• University of British Columbia, 2002, Mineral Processing, Ph.D.
• Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland, 1994, Environmental

• MINE 333 Flotation
• MINE 462 Coal Preparation
• MINE 488 Heavy Oil Sand Mining and Processing (a block of three lectures on bitumen extraction)
• MINE 520 Advanced Coal Preparation (with Dr. Maria Holuszko)
• MINE 522 Processing of Mineral Fines

At UBC, I have served on various occasions on a number of committees in the Faculty of Applied Science and in the Faculty of Graduate Studies, related to graduate curriculum, scholarship adjudication, or research awards. I am also a member of the Metallurgical Society of CIM.

I provide short-term consulting services to the industry. I also offer a number of short courses on various aspects of mineral processing, e.g.,:

• -“Froth Flotation, Gas Phase, Interactions of Gas with Solid and Liquid Phases” – a one-day short course given to Air Liquide, Newark, Delaware (USA), 2016.
• – “Flocculation, Aggregation, Chemistry of Flocculants, Treatment of Suspensions of Fine Mineral Particles” – a short course given to HudBay Minerals, Flin Flon (MB), 2016,
• -“Froth Flotation” – a two-day short course given in Lima, Peru, 2013, in collaboration with EduMine Inc. (Vancouver, BC).

• Danesh, D. Mauran, S. Hojabr, R. Berry, M. Pawlik, and S. Hatzikiriakos; “Yielding of Cellulose Nanocrystal Suspensions in the Presence of Electrolytes”, Physics of Fluids, vol. 32, issue 9, 093103 (14 pages), 2020.
• R. MacIver, M. Pawlik, and H. Hamza; “Effect of Suspension Conductivity and Fines Concentration on Coarse Particle Settling in Oil Sands Tailings”, Can J Chem Eng. 2021;1–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.23935
• Engwayu and M. Pawlik; “Adsorption of Anionic Polymers on Hematite – a Study of Zeta Potential Distributions”, Minerals Engineering, vol. 148, 106225 (10 pages), 2020.
• Fromberg, M. Pawlik, and D. Mavinic; “Induction Time and Zeta Potential Study of Nucleating and Growing Struvite Crystals for Phosphorus Recovery Improvements within Fluidized Bed Reactors”, Powder Technology, vol. 360, pp. 715-730, 2020.

Conference papers

• R. MacIver, H. Alizadeh, and M. Pawlik; “Effect of lignosulfonate dispersant on high-clay content tailings structure”, Proceedings of the XXX International Mineral Processing Congress, Cape Town, South Africa, October 18-22, 2020 (conference cancelled, paper accepted for publication in proceedings).
• Alizadeh and M. Pawlik; “Behavior of low molecular weight polymers as dispersants of oil sand tailings”, Proceedings of the XXX International Mineral Processing Congress, Cape Town, South Africa, October 18-22, 2020 (conference cancelled, paper accepted for publication in proceedings).
• Ghaffari and M. Pawlik; “Aggregation/dispersion phenomena in apatite-hematite system: the effect of dissolved ions”, Proceedings of the XXX International Mineral Processing Congress, Cape Town, South Africa, October 18-22, 2020 (conference cancelled, paper accepted for publication in proceedings).