People profiles

Steven Forsey's interests are in chemical education. He teaches a variety of organic chemistry courses to Chemistry, Science, Chemical Engineering, Nanotechnology and distance education students. He explores different teaching techniques and try new technologies to enhance the learning experience of students.

He is the main author and head editor of an online interactive organic textbook.

Guy Guillemette carries out research in the area of biochemistry. His research focuses on the synthesis of nitric oxide by nitric oxide synthase. Nitric oxide is an important endogenous messenger in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes.

Laura Ingram is a Lecturer and the Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Chemsitry. She is an engaging instructor who promotes and practices evidence-based teaching and learning strategies. Her knowledge about current teaching and learning approaches in higher education allows her to successfully integrate educational technologies into the classroom and laboratory.

Vassili Karanassios' interests are in the area of micro- and nano-analysis (e.g., metrology), in micro- and nano-technology (e.g., micro- and nano-fluidics, nano-materials), and in development of miniaturized instruments that can be used on-site (i.e., in the field).  Such instruments are typically fabricated on-chips so that they can fit in the palm of a hand or in a shirt pocket, thus allowing users to take “the lab to the sample”. The sample may be a “patient” (for early diagnosis of disease) and the field may be a health clinic or the environment (e.g., the air we breathe or the water we drink).  In addition, such instruments are being developed to have wireless-capabilities, so that they can be included in the Internet of Things (IoT) and to have some smarts (via Artificial Intelligence, primarily using Artificial Neural Networks and Deep Learning approaches).

Professor Anna Klinkova’s research is focused on developing efficient and scalable synthetic approaches to advanced nanomaterials for applications in sustainable energy and catalysis. Her current research goals include: (1) gaining a systematic understanding of the effects of nanocrystal composition, morphology, and surface chemistry on their physicochemical properties relevant to conventional thermal catalysis, photo- and electrocatalysis, and (2) building functional (electro)catalytic devices for addressing current energy and sustainability challenges.

In addition to his administrative duties, Dean Lemieux remains an active researcher, designing advanced liquid crystal materials found in high-performance microdisplays.

His research into fundamental chemical properties that power LCD screens have resulted in displays with faster response times and fewer manufacturing defects. These contributions earned him the 2012 Samsung Mid-Career Award by the International Liquid Crystal Society.

Today, his group is one of only a few chemistry groups in the world with the expertise to design and synthesize new liquid crystal materials, characterize their physical properties, and evaluate their potential as active components of electro-optical and photonic devices.

​Juewen Liu’s research uses DNA and lipids as functional polymers and catalysts at the nano-scale.

Liu has found DNA molecules can be altered to serve as highly selective biosensors and reaction catalysts. Applications include detecting heavy metals instantly in water samples and targeted drug delivery. He is also interested in interfacing lipids with nanoparticles to create hybrid nanomaterials.

Rick Marta is a continuing lecturer and Materials and Nanosciences (MNS) academic advisor for the Departments of Chemistry and Physics and Astronomy.  He is a passionate and enthusiastic teacher who strives for his students’ success.  He implements the use of technologies in his classes and provides extensive online support materials to his students.  He travels yearly to Beijing,

Liz Meiering’s research is focused on protein folding, dynamics, function, engineering and design.

Her research targets understanding neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, as well as engineering proteins to understand their fundamental characteristics. She also develops proteins for applications in biotechnology, including protein drugs.

Graham Murphy is a research organic chemist, investigating the development and application of hypervalent iodine reagents. This work focuses on finding new, metal-free methods for carbene formation, on developing strategies for blue LED-mediated C-C bond formation, or on developing new reactions that use organoiodine catalysts as transition-metal surrogates. Novel fluorination and chlorination reactions are also central to his research. Dr. Murphy also has significant collaborations with industry, specifically concerning new deuteration strategies for small molecule organics.

Marcel Nooijen carries out research in theoretical chemistry. His goal is to develop accurate wave function based electronic structure methods that are applicable to general open-shell systems, in particular transition metal compounds.

Marcel has been elected to the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences (IAQMS) in 2016 for his work in theoretical chemistry.

Janusz Pawliszyn's research focuses on the development and application of state-of-the-art, integrated and automated analytical methods and instrumentation, for on-site analysis and monitoring.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, University Professor and holds the Canada Research Chair and NSERC Industrial Research Chair in New Analytical Methods and Technologies.

Eric Prouzet carries out research in material chemistry and nanotechnology. His research is focused on the synthesis of nanostructured materials such as porous materials and nano-objects. His main domain of research is using soft matter such as micelles, liquid crystals and biogels, as adaptive soft templates or molds. He has great expertise in particle and porosity size analysis, and created the Waterloo Structure Analytical Platform (WatSAP) that offers up-to-date equipment for these analyses. His research has applications in a range of areas including membrane processes, catalysis, photovoltaic or magnetic devices.

Pierre-Nicholas Roy carries out research in theoretical chemistry. His research involves the development of new computational methods to simulate the dynamics of complex molecular systems. His interests encompass various levels of theory from classical molecular dynamics to extreme quantum mechanical situations. 

Pierre-Nicholas holds the Canada Research Chair in Quantum Molecular Dynamics.

Germán Sciaini is a world expert in the field of ultrafast structural dynamics. He is developing state-of-the-art instrumentation to capture atoms in motion. He heads the Ultrafast Electron Imaging Laboratory, home of a time-resolved electron diffraction setup and an ultrafast high-resolution electron microscope.

Germán holds the Canada Research Chair in Atomically Resolved Dynamics and Ultrafast High-Resolution Imaging.

Shirley Tang carries out research in nanotechnology. Central to her effort is the creation of materials and devices based on graphene, carbon nanotubes, and their chemical derivatives, primarily for biomedical applications.

Conrard Tetsassi’s research is focused on computation, machine learning and AI methods for materials in sustainability-related domains, gas sensor, aerospace , and automotive. His research group mainly engages multiscale simulations, including First principle calculations,  Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo,  and Phase-field model together with machine learning to unravel the structure–property relationship.