He has an M.Eng. in Chemical Engineering with German from UMIST, UK, an MSc in Instrumentation and Analytical Science also from UMIST and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham, researching into the effect of thermal treatment on the physico-chemical properties of minerals He then spent 2 years as a post-doc at Imperial College London working with Prof. Jan Cilliers on fine particle flotation and PEPT. In 2009 he moved to McGill as Assistant Professor, and was awarded tenure in 2015. His current research is quite varied, covering the majority of separation techniques and some water treatment, his recent research targeting the beneficiation of rare earth bearing minerals.