Dr. Fathi Habashi obtained his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in Egypt, and in 1959 his PhD in mineral chemistry applied to the Vienna University of Technology in Austria. He taught at the Montana College of Mineral Sciences and Technology in the United States and joined the Anaconda Mining Company research center in Tucson, Arizona. In 1970, the Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering at Laval University welcomed him and he pursued a prolific career there for more than 30 years. He is the author of a dozen internationally recognized books, including Principle of Extractive Metallurgy, Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy. In addition to the four industrial patents he holds, he has written more than a hundred scientific articles and about a hundred others devoted to his most recent subject of interest, the history of metallurgy. As a sought-after communicator, Habashi has been a guest speaker on more than 70 occasions in research centers or conferences around the world. He has been very active in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, and in particular in the Metallurgical Society. The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum honored him by appointing him Fellow and, in 1999, awarded him the Silver Medal Award. The discipline at work of Mr. Habashi and his dedication to the Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering are remarkable. The St. Petersburg Institute of Mining in Russia awarded him an honorary doctorate of science in recognition of his immense contribution to the field of metallurgy.

His research interests are inspired by a desire to develop an integrated understanding of extractive metallurgical processes and to put them into a systematic order within a historical background.