Dr. Murray Gray has over 30 years of research experience in upgrading of heavy oil and oil sands bitumen. During his career at University of Alberta, he served in a number of roles, including Director of the Institute for Oil Sands Innovation and Vice-Provost (Academic). He served as Provost of the Petroleum University in Abu Dhabi, before joining Alberta Innovates in 2017. His current interests are partial upgrading of bitumen and heavy oil and processing of asphaltenes and heavy fractions to produce materials. His success in collaborative research with industry has been recognized by numerous awards, including Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Engineering.