Our History
The Canadian Society of Rheology was founded as the Canadian Rheology Group/Groupe canadien de rhéologie (CRG/GCR) in July 1982 by a group of well-known Canadian rheologists, including John Dealy, Henry Scheiber, Leszek Utracki, Pierre Carreau, among others. The first elected Chairman was John Dealy. Distinguished rheologists served as Chairmen of the CRG, including L.A. Utracki, J. Vlachopoulos, P.J. Carreau, D. DeKee, M. Dumoulin and D.F. James. The CRG was affiliated with the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division of the Chemical Institute of Canada and hosted successfully the XIIth International Congress on Rheology in Quebec City, in 1996.
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It was renamed the Canadian Society of Rheology/ Société Canadienne de Rhéologie (SCR) in 2001, during the presidency of the late Abdellatif Ait-Kadi. After Ait-Kadi’s tragic death, Pierre Lafleur served as president until 2004, followed by Savvas Hatzikiriakos (2004-2008) and Abdellah Ajji (2008-2012).​​
The Society currently has close to 100 members, which includes academics, members from industry and students/post-doctoral fellows. Its membership includes many internationally-renowned, distinguished rheologists from various institutions within Canada and abroad.
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The CSR is a member of the International Committee on Rheology and is involved in events on an annual basis, including conference participation, continuing education activities and hosting workshops. One of the most important activities is the competition for the Mason award prize, in honor of Stanley G. Mason, a prominent Canadian colloid scientist, who is considered as one of the founders of the science of microrheology.
About Stanley Mason...
Professor Mason was born in Montreal and he received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1939 at McGill.
​After working for several years for the Department of National Defense and the Atomic Energy Division of the National Research Council, he returned to Montreal where he joined the Pulp and Paper Institute of Canada, while at the same time he started to teach at the Department of Chemistry at McGill university. Until his retirement in 1978 he was Director of the Applied Chemistry Division of the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada. In 1979 he was named Otto Maas Professor in Chemistry, and in 1985 Professor Emeritus.
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During his time at McGill Prof. Mason supervised over 60 Ph.D. students in physical chemistry and published over 270 publications. The results of his work on microrheology and wetting found applications not only in the pulp and paper industry, but also in medicine, meteorology and environmental science.
The Mason Award
The Canadian Society of Rheology solicits nominations for the Stanley G. Mason Award. This prestigious award is given every three years to a distinguished Canadian rheologist or a rheologist who has worked in Canada.
Previous Winners
Ian Frigdaart, University of British Columbia, 2022
Miroslav Grmela, École Polytechnique de Montréal, 2018
Savvas G. Hatzikiriakos, University of British Columbia, 2014
Alejandro D. Rey. McGill University, 2011
John Vlachopoulos, McMaster University, 2007
David F. James, University of Toronto, 2005
Michael Williams, University of Alberta, 2001
John Dealy, McGill University, 1997
Pierre J. Carreau, École Polytechnique de Montréal, 1994
Harry L. Goldsmith, McGill University, 1992
Our Past Presidents
Canadian Society of Rheology
Société Canadienne de Rhéologie
Presidents / Présidents
Giovanniantonio Natale (2024-2027)
Ian Frigdaart, University of British Columbia (2021-2024)
Alan Jeffrey Giacomin, Queen’s University (2017-2021)
Marianna Kontopoulou, Queen’s University (2012-2017)
Abdellah Ajji, École Polytechnique de Montréal (2008-2012)
Savvas Hatzikiriakos, University of British Columbia (2004-2008)
Pierre G. Lafleur, École Polytechnique de Montréal (2001-2004)
Abdellatif Aït-Kadi, Université Laval (2001)
Canadian Rheology Group
Groupe Canadien de Rhéologie
Chairs / Présidents
Abdellatif Aït-Kadi, Université Laval (2000-2001)
Abdellatif Aït-Kadi, Université Laval (1998-2000)
Michel Dumoulin, Industrial Materials Research Institute (1996-1998)
Michel Dumoulin, Industrial Materials Research Institute (1994-1996)
David Fielding James, University of Toronto (1992-1994)
Daniel Camiel Roger De Kee, Université de Sherbrooke (1990-1992)
Pierre Jean Carreau, École Polytechnique de Montréal (1988-1990)
John Vlachopoulos, McMaster University (1986-1988)
Lechoslaw "Leszek" Adam Maria Utracki, Industrial Materials Research Institute (1984-1986)
John Michael Dealy, McGill University (1982-1984)