New director of Bradshaw Research Initiative in Minerals and Mining announced 

John Steen, an associate professor of mining engineering and the EY Distinguished Scholar in Global Mining Futures at the University of British Columbia, has been named the director of UBC’s Bradshaw Research Initiative in Minerals and Mining (BRIMM). His five-year term begins this month.

Established in 2017, BRIMM aims to support cross-disciplinary research across the entire mining process. Among other things, the initiative provides seed funding for UBC-industry collaborative research projects and advanced training to UBC research students throughout the mining project lifecycle. Project areas supported by BRIMM include biotechnology, carbon dioxide capture, water economics and the societal impact of mining operations. 

Steen came to UBC in July 2019 from the University of Queensland, where he headed the strategy and entrepreneurship department at UQ Business School and was a senior research fellow in the university’s Australian Institute of Business and Economics. Since September 2019, Steen has advised the development of the BC Mining Innovation Roadmap for the Mining Association of BC.

The recipient of numerous awards for teaching and collaborative research, Steen currently leads major international research studies on innovation and sustainable development in the resources sector and has given talks on strategy and innovation to businesses and governments in Australia, the Americas, Asia and Europe. He is also a senior editor for the Project Management Journal, the research journal of the Project Management Institute. 

Steen holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Tasmania and a Ph.D. in business strategy from the University of Queensland.