Milana Trifkovic
Role: Scientist
Site: CDL-Rockies
Stream: Energy
Milana Trifkovic is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Calgary, where she holds the UCalgary Research Excellence Chair. She also serves as the Schulich Energy Momentum Director, a role that connects research, industry partners, and scale-up pathways across the energy innovation ecosystem. She earned her BSc and PhD in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from Western University and completed an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Minnesota before joining UCalgary in 2013.
Her research program is focused on the design of advanced functional materials and the transformation of waste into valuable products, with several technologies now progressing into commercialization. She is widely recognized for her expertise in materials science and fluid dynamics and serves as Deputy Editor of the leading journal Physics of Fluids. An entrepreneur as well as an academic, Milana is an inventor on seven patents and co-founded EnviCore, a clean-tech start-up grown from her laboratory and led by highly qualified personnel from her group. EnviCore is also a proud graduate of CDL-Rockies, where it advanced its commercialization pathway.
Beyond research and entrepreneurship, Milana is deeply committed to mentorship, innovative teaching, and outreach. Her contributions have been recognized through numerous awards, including the Global Energy Show Research Excellence Award, the NorthX Women in Cleantech Challenge in support of EnviCore, the Killam Undergraduate Mentorship Award, the GEDC Airbus Diversity Award, and the ASTech Foundation Award for Excellence in Science and Technology Public Awareness.