Michael Ranger:
CLASS OF 1966
South Shore Catholic High SchoolClass of 1966
Longueuil, QC
University of Alberta - GeologyClass of 1994
Edmonton, AB
Memorial University - Earth SciencesClass of 1977
St. john's, NF
Concordia University - GeologyClass of 1975
Montreal, QC
Royal George High SchoolClass of 1974
Greenfield park, QC
Michael's Story
Since so few of us from SSCH '66 have submitted their "Life Story" here, I thought I'd finally jump in with mine, and encourage others to do the same. I also list Chambly County High and Royal George High as my schools, because I had lots of friends who went there; however, I never attended either.
Went to Sir George Williams U. (now Concordia) after graduating from SSCH. Majored in Chemistry, but dropped out after 2 years due to immaturity (pre-CEGEP & started at age 16) and it turned out I really didn't like chemistry much anyway. Then worked for Sun Life for 6 years, and at the same time went back to Sir George taking night courses. Discovered my love for geology while taking a science option. Finally graduated with a BSc in Geology in 1975. Have always been a late bloomer! By that time I was a computer programmer at Sun Life, but quit and went to Memorial University of Nfld. for 2 years to do a Masters degree in geology. Graduated from MUN in 1977, and got married. Then went to Calgary where I worked for Gulf Canada as a petroleum geologist. There I was introduced to the Alberta Oil Sands Deposits -uneconomic at that time.
Worked at Gulf for 9 years. Got divorced and wanted a change in life, so ...Expand for more
I went up to the University of Alberta in Edmonton to do a PhD in geology. Did my dissertation on the Athabasca Oil Sands (yes, -I know everyone thinks it's evil, dirty, filthy, horrible, nasty, stuff, but really no worse than any other oil deposit, and geologically fascinating.) Moved back to Calgary in 1996 (actually Chestermere, a suburb of Calgary), and have worked for many years as an independent geological consultant, mostly in Oil Sands development, but also various international oil projects in China, Colombia, France, the Netherlands, Mongolia, Peru, North Sea, U.S. as well as the International Ocean Drilling Research Program. Also consulted for, and appeared in, two oil sands-related documentaries for the CBC (2008) and BBC (2010). Presently an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta, and starting to think about retirement. My other career is in computer programming, and I have a small side business creating geological software for commercial and research purposes. Never did re-marry; -no kids (except for my cat Atticus). Love classic English sports cars & recently bought a motorcycle to re-live my youth!
By the way: if you Google "Mike Ranger", "filmography"... that's definitely NOT me.
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