Maja Veljkovic

Director General, NRC- Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation (NRC-IFCI)

 

Maja Veljkovic is Director General of the National Research Council of Canada’s Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation (NRC-IFCI).

 

NRC-IFCI is a Vancouver-based, federal research and development institute specializing in fuel cell and hydrogen technology. At NRC-IFCI, Maja leads a national effort to support the fuel cell and hydrogen industry through research leadership, state-of-the-art facilities and cluster development activities.

 

An internationally recognized research institute, NRC-IFCI is Canada’s flagship in fuel cell research. Her personal commitment to clean energy technologies and sustainability make the NRC -IFCI a natural fit for Maja’s talents and capabilities.

 

Prior to joining NRC-IFCI in 2001, Maja served as Senior Engineer and R&D Manager at Syncrude Canada, where she was responsible for major R&D and engineering projects. Most recently, she was Syncrude’s Senior Advisor, Upgrading Research Program.

 

Maja's academic training began at the University of Belgrade in Yugoslavia, where in 1972 she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. In 1976, she received her Masters of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia. 

 

Maja's professional achievements have been recognized by election to many prestigious professional societies, including the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) where she currently presides as President, working on the Vision for Canadian Engineers initiative and organizing of the Climate Change Technology Conference 2006. In the past, she has served as President of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering and Chair of the Upgrading Technical Planning Group of the Canadian Oil Sands Network for R&D (CONRAD). She has also received a number of awards recognizing her professional contributions, including the 1997 YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Science and Technology.