From Corrosion Research to Nuclear Innovation: How IMII Funding Sparked a Career in Applied Science

When Dr. Arthur Situm began his PhD, his focus wasn’t on nuclear engineering – it was on geochemistry. But thanks to support from the International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII), his research took a turn that would shape not only his career, but also how Saskatchewan’s mining industry approaches one of its most persistent challenges: corrosion.

At the time, IMII had issued a call for proposals focused on industry-driven research. Dr. Situm joined a team led by Dr. Andrew Grosvenor (University of Saskatchewan) and Dr. Ian Burgess (University of Regina), collaborating across disciplines to study corrosion caused by the highly saline environments common in potash solution mining. The project investigated how rebar and concrete structures respond to these harsh conditions and whether polymer coatings could offer a protective solution.

“It was exciting because IMII set out a real-world question from industry and gave us the freedom to explore it using advanced scientific tools,” said Dr. Situm. “We were able to run long-term corrosion tests both underground and in the lab and experiment with different materials. That’s not something you typically get to do in an industry setting.”

The collaboration offered more than funding. Through regular meetings with engineers and representatives from Saskatchewan’s potash companies, the research team received direct feedback on their work – a dialogue Situm described as “eye-opening.”

“It was fascinating to see how industry professionals interpreted our data and what they found useful, what questions they asked. IMII organized back-and-forth meetings between academia and industry that were incredibly valuable. It created a more dynamic and applied research process than the traditional academic route.”

The results of the project went beyond immediate findings. Dr. Situm developed a novel method for studying corrosion beneath polymer coatings without removing the polymer – a breakthrough that provided new insights into how coatings degrade over time. Though the mining companies ultimately chose a different corrosion mitigation approach, the research contributed valuable data to their decision-making.

Today, as a Canada Research Chair in Small Modular Reactor Safety and Licensing at the University of Regina, Dr. Situm continues to build on that foundation. The same techniques he developed with IMII funding are now being applied to the nuclear sector – examining how polymer-coated materials perform in the containment of radioactive waste.

“The fundamentals I learned through IMII’s project still guide my work. It’s come full circle,” he said. “What began as research to support the mining industry has evolved into methods that also strengthen Canada’s nuclear safety research.”

For IMII, that’s exactly the kind of impact its investments aim to create: applied research that advances industry performance while preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers for technical leadership.

“Having an industry problem to ground your science can be a powerful framework,” Dr. Situm reflected. “It keeps your work relevant and shows students how fundamental research connects directly to real-world challenges.”

From potash corrosion to nuclear safety, Dr. Situm’s journey is a testament to how IMII funding helps turn academic curiosity into practical, enduring innovation across sectors – for industry, and the people who power it.