The Canadian Society of Rheology has awarded Professor Ian Frigaard the prestigious Stanley G. Mason Award. The Mason Award recognizes contributions to Canadian rheology, and is only awarded once every three years. Dr. Frigaard is the tenth winner of the Mason award, and the second UBC researcher to receive this honour. Dr. Frigaard is cross-appointed between the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics, and is part of UBC’s interdisciplinary Laboratory for Complex & Non-Newtonian Flow.
As a prominent researcher in industrial applications of rheology — the flow of “soft-solid” matter, Dr. Frigaard has contributed to the understanding of shear-thinning fluids, viscoelasticity, and in particular to the mechanics of yield stress (viscoplastic) fluids. He has done significant work in the areas of hydrodynamic stability, multi-fluid flows, particles and bubbles and analytical and numerical methods. His research findings have been published in over 140 journal articles.
Dr. Frigaard’s contributions to Canadian rheology have also extended outside the research lab. As an educator, he has mentored graduate students and researchers, many of whom work at educational institutions and research facilities across the country and around the world. In his industry collaborations he has applied his expertise in complex fluid mechanics to help solve the environmental problems of petroleum well leakage, creating more effective methods of cementing wells and improved abandonment techniques. As leading researcher in rheology, he also shares his expertise on the editorial board of four journals, and is the co-editor in chief of the Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics. During the pandemic, he has contributed to the understanding of complex fluids by co-hosting an ongoing weekly online seminar, hosted by the Journal of Non-Netwonian Fluid Mechanics and reaching a global audience of researchers. Dr. Frigaard’s work in rheology was also recognized in 2019 when he was elected a Fellow of the US-based Society of Rheology.
Congratulations to Dr. Frigaard on this well-deserved distinction!