Merv Fingas is a scientist working on oil and chemical spills.

He was Chief of the Emergencies Science Division of Environment Canada for over 30 years and is currently working on research in Western Canada.

Dr. Fingas has a PhD in environmental physics from McGill University, three masters degrees; chemistry, business and mathematics, all from University of Ottawa.

He also has a bachelor of science in Chemistry from Alberta and a bachelor of arts from Indiana.

He has published more than 850 papers and publications in the field. Merv has prepared 7 books on spill topics and is working on 2 others.

He has served on two committees on the National Academy of Sciences of the United States on oil spills including the ‘Oil in the Sea’. He is chairman of several ASTM and inter- governmental committees on spill matters.

Importantly, he was the founding chairman of the ASTM sub-committee on in-situ burning and chairman of oil spill treating agents and another on oil spill detection and remote sensing, positions he holds today.

Dr. Fingas’s specialities include; oil chemistry, spill dynamics and behaviour, spill treating agents, remote sensing and detection, and in-situ burning. He has about 100 papers in each of these topics. He continues to work on developing new technologies in these fields.