Today, Professor John Corrigan begins his four-year term as Chemistry's new Chair. Corrigan joins Waterloo from Western University. He is the 15th Chair for the Department.
“John is an outstanding scholar and leader. He is an excellent fit to the role of Chair of Chemistry and he knows UW well, having earned his PhD with Arthur Carty in 1994," Bob Lemieux, Dean of Science. "I very much look forward to welcoming John to our Science leadership team.”
His research interests are located on the frontiers between coordination chemistry, materials chemistry and nanosciences: his team targets atomically precise (nano)clusters via the design of molecules that are incorporated into higher order architectures.
His research program focuses on the design of new reagents for the assembly of metal containing molecular species, which include nanometer sized, semiconductor architectures with specialized properties (functionalization).
The functionalities are incorporated into (or onto) the frameworks via a molecular precursor approach whereby small molecules are designed, prepared and integrated into higher order structures via controlled assembly. The preparation of such well-defined (re: size, shape and composition) results in molecular architectures with size-dependent properties and potential applications in areas encompassing energy (eg. photovoltaics), medicine (eg. bio-labels) and catalysis. Research in his laboratory works within a continuum of molecule to cluster to nanomaterial.
Corrigan has held several leadership positions during his career. He was the inaugural Director for the Centre for Advanced Materials and Biomaterials Research (CAMBR), which brings together more than 50 research groups to tackle key materials challenges. He was the Associate Chair Undergraduate in Chemistry and a mentor to new faculty. Additionally, he has served on numerous departmental and university committees.
He completed his B.Sc. studies in Chemistry at the University of Toronto and obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Waterloo under the guidance of Prof. Arthur J. Carty. After a NSERC post-doctoral fellowship in Germany at the Universität Karlsruhe (now Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) with Dieter Fenske, he joined the Department of Chemistry at Western.
"The make-up of my alma mater’s campus has changed significantly since I graduated. What has not changed is the tradition of innovation and excellence in teaching and research in the Department of Chemistry," said Corrigan. "I am humbled and excited to return to Waterloo as Chair of this awesome department and I look forward to working together with all of the students, staff and faculty that make this place great."
Please welcome John back to the University of Waterloo!