Gordon Winkel, PEng, MSc, FCSSE

Area of Study / Keywords

School of Engineering Safety and Risk Management

About

Retired as a Vice President for Syncrude Canada Ltd., Gord Winkel joined the University of Alberta in 2010 as Chair and Industrial Professor for the Safety and Risk Management Program in the Faculty of Engineering.  In this capacity he provides safety and risk management education to final year engineering students and has worked to make this a core competency requirement for all engineering disciplines; a unique accomplishment in Canada. In parallel, Gord leads the David and Joan Lynch School of Engineering Safety and Risk Management established in 2016.

Gord has worked extensively in the oil sands mining industry. He joined the Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil organization as a Vice President on Loan from Syncrude Canada Ltd. to advance the Kearl Oil Sands Project. Gord was Vice President, Aurora Bitumen Production at Syncrude Canada Ltd., served as General Manager of Extraction, was Manager of Extraction Operations and formerly Manager of Mine Maintenance/Operations again with Syncrude.

His work to improve workplace safety led to a Distinguished Lecturer Award from the Canadian Institute of Mining in 2002. His work to advance the Surface Mining Industry through sharing knowledge, technology, best practices and innovation has led to a second Distinguished Lecturer Award from the Canadian Institute of Mining in 2008. A third such award was received in 2013 for leadership in advancing safety excellence in the global mining industry. In 2019, Gord was awarded the national CIM Mining Safety Leadership Metal recognizing exceptional contribution by an individual or organization towards improving mining health and safety results within the mining industry in Canada through innovative means.

On the healthcare front, Gord recently completed a term on the Alberta Health Services Advisory Committee reporting in to the Official Administrator. He is also supporting the Alberta Agriculture Industry as an Executive Advisor on the AgSafe Alberta Board. In addition he Chairs the University of Alberta BioSafety Committee and the Engineering Faculty Safety Committee.

Gord was elected as National Board Chair for the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires Federation for Canada, supporting an organization with 22,000 plus employees that provides meaningful employment for our veterans and their families.

Gord supports the Canadian Institute of Mining through chairing the J.T. Ryan Mining Safety Committee and as an Executive Board member for their Health and Safety Society. Provincially Gord is an Executive Advisor for the Alberta Mining Safety Association.

Gord also works to provide support in safety, risk management and organization effectiveness to firms across Canada.

Research

Continuous improvement and leading practice development in safety and risk management.

Teaching

Lectures on Safety and Risk Management, Ethics, Human Rights and Sustainable Energy Transition at both the undergraduate and graduate level.