Engineers OK with professor's conduct
The organization that oversees engineers in Saskatchewan says a University of Regina professor is not guilty of professional misconduct after questions arose about the authorship of a paper submitted to the Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology in 2008.
Engineering grad student Ali Khan claims a paper he wrote was sent to the journal under the names of four other people, and failed to mention his name.
The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan conducted an investigation into the matter and has found no wrongdoing.
It said that Ezeddin Shirif, the student's supervisor, was entitled to be listed as co-author along with another colleague, and Shirif did not break any rules when he signed the names of two other professors on copyright release forms.
Khan told CBC News that he recently received a report from APEGS clearing his former professor.
Khan said he is not happy with the APEGS findings and will seek to have the case reviewed further.
In a note to CBC News, Khan also questioned how APEGS investigated his complaint.
"I was never given a single opportunity by APEGS, not even once over the phone or in person, to present my case," Khan said. "This seems very unfair and unprofessional to me by an organization that supposedly stands for professionalism and ethics."
"I strongly feel that this whole investigation was completed behind closed doors without any transparency and any feedback from me," he added.
Khan is now a petroleum engineer in Calgary.
In 2008 he submitted a paper to the professional journal based on research he did for his Master's thesis at the University of Regina, a document titled "A Simulation Study of Water-Coning Using Downhole Water Sink Technology."
Khan learned his submission closely resembled another paper received six months earlier, that bore the same title.
The earlier paper, which was never published, listed his academic supervisor — associate professor Ezeddin Shirif — and three other people as authors. Khan was not credited.
Shirif has characterized the episode as "an honest terrible mistake" that arose from a miscommunication.