|
Dr O'Brien is a member of the Company's Board of Directors. He was elected to this position on August 30th 2004. Dr O'Brien grew up on a small farm in Nanaimo, BC, later moving to Vancouver. He joined the Canadian Air Force as an officer and was a pilot in the Pacific front of World War Two, primarily in Burma (now Myanmar). He continued to fly after the war while studying at the University of British Columbia where he met his future bride, Helen Treva Bryan. They married in 1952 and have five children. He is an enthusiastic racquet sports player, gardener, and beach front log salvager. Dr O'Brien received his Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1951; his Masters of Applied Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1952; his PhD in Metallurgy from the University of Manchester in 1955; and was a Post Doctoral Fellow in Pure Chemistry at the National Research Council from 1955 through 1957. He has held various academic positions since 1957 at the University of Alberta, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Victoria. Most recently, he was a professor of Chemistry at the University of Victoria from 1968 to 1986 at which time he was given the designation of Professor Emeritus. Dr O'Brien has published over 130 scientific papers and has more than 20 patents issued or pending. While teaching, Dr O'Brien acted as a consultant and served on the British Columbia Research Council. In 1987, Dr O'Brien founded the Vancouver Island Advanced Technology and Research Association.
| 