Fazle Sibtain is a Principal Scientist in the SCLAIRTECHTM Process Team at the NOVA Research and Technology Center (NRTC) in Calgary working in the areas of catalysis and process chemistry. Fazle holds a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Chemistry with German from Kingston University in England and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Ottawa, Canada. After spending a year as a Post Doctoral Fellow with the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Canada, Fazle began his career with NOVA Chemicals in December 1988 as a Research Scientist in the then Corporate R&D Group. His twenty plus year career at NOVA Chemicals has included research in support of the Petrochemicals, Gas Phase Polyethylene and SCLAIRTECHTM Polyethylene businesses of NOVA Chemicals Corporation.

~ Fazle's comments about working at NOVA: What motivates you to stay at NOVA Chemicals? It's really a combination of factors. Our senior leadership considers Technology as an integral part of the business and has invested in world class research facilities as well as high caliber personnel. For a scientist, it is very important not only to have the opportunity to work on exciting projects but also to have the right tools to play with and we have that at NRTC. We have a good mix of long and short term projects in our portfolio. The high of inventing or discovering something new is incredible but it is also very satisfying to help turn a challenging situation at a commercial plant into an opportunity via a few quick seminal experiments at the lab and/or pilot plant scales. After all, successful operation of the commercial plants pay for the longer term R&D work that anticipates the state of the art 5 to 10 years from now. And finally it's the people. I have had the privilege of working with incredible people in our Manufacturing, Technical Support, Business (sales and marketing) and Technology functions who work really well together. Our organization uses the cross-functional team coupled with a stage-gate business case approach in managing our project portfolio which keeps us focused on advancing our technology in concert with business goals. I can honestly say that I look forward to coming to work every morning because I know I will have something new and exciting to do - in some capacity or the other! What has been your most rewarding experience or project at NOVA Chemicals? I have been fortunate to have worked on a number of cutting edge projects and so this is a difficult question to answer - it's like asking a parent to pick a favourite child! However, the start-up of PE2 (the first Advanced SCLAIRTECHTM Technology world scale plant in Joffre, Alberta, Canada) was an incredible experience. It is not often in the life of a scientist that a first of a kind commercial plant is built on the basis of research carried out by a team you were part of! It was a mixture of quiet confidence and sheer terror (will it work?) that we watched the start-up of PE2 and the unforgettable sense of relief and joy at the first sight of white polyethylene pellets at the plant exit! I still have a sample bottle of the first batch of polyethylene produced at PE2 on April 2, 2001. In your opinion, what makes NOVA Chemicals a preferred company in which to work? Flexibility - both work and life balance. We work on focused short and long term projects that bring value to our business. We have "flex hours" at NRTC and so we manage our own time - we get the work done and not worry so much about when we came in and when we left! Responsible Care - safety is job one for us. The focus on safety has been a constant since I arrived from academia more than 20 years ago. We have instituted practical work processes with the simple goal of safely arriving home at the end of the work day - for self and co-workers. Facilities and people - both are a must. We have world class facilities and I am thankful for the incredible group of colleagues I get to work with - across all functions. I truly believe that our people are NOVA Chemicals' great assets - friendly, motivated and highly skilled. Culture - open and accessible. I have gone through a number of restructuring/reengineering episodes but one of the constants has been the nurturing of an open and accessible culture. We are encouraged to speak up and give feedback to our peers and leadership alike. I can literally call or knock on the door of any of our leaders including the VP of Technology and say "Got a minute?"! How are you making a difference at NOVA Chemicals? Working more than twenty years for one company does have its benefits - you get to know a lot of people! I believe my "can-do" positive attitude (I tend to see the positive sides of any given situation but I am also mindful of the challenges) as well as networks both internal and external to NOVA Chemicals has allowed me to contribute to the development of proprietary technologies over the years. As mentioned before, Technology is considered to be an integral and valuable component of NOVA Chemicals' business strategy. We can see that we are making a difference to the business in the short term and also playing a role in the future state of the company.