Department of Chemistry
C2 280
200 University Ave. W
Waterloo, Ontario,
Canada N2L 3G1
Phone: (519) 888-4567 ext 32129
Fax: (519) 746-0435
Mónica Barra
Associate Professor & Associate Dean of Science, Undergraduate Studies
Mónica Barra’s research focuses on fundamental studies of organic reaction mechanisms and of supramolecular systems, with emphasis on structure-reactivity correlations and molecular recognition studies.
J. Michael Chong
Professor & Associate Chair, Undergraduate & Coop Programs
Michael Chong's research is focused on developing new methodology for organic synthesis. This involves creating new reagents to carry out transformations which are not currently possible using existing methodology or to improve upon known reagents.
Gary Dmitrienko
Professor Emeritus
Gary Dmitrienko's research involves the application of organic chemical, biochemical and microbiological techniques to the discovery of new treatments for infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems as well as the study of natural antitumour antibiotics.
Eric Fillion
Professor
Eric Fillion carries out research in catalysis, synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry. Eric's group has developed several highly creative approaches to a variety of chemical structures, many of which are the scaffolds for medicinal agents and/or complex natural products.
Steven Forsey
Continuing Lecturer & Medicinal Chemistry Undergraduate Advisor & Undergraduate Officer (Laboratory Operations)
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.
Bob Lemieux
Professor & Dean of Science
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.
Graham Murphy
Associate Professor
Graham Murphy carries out research in organic chemistry. His research is based on the development of hypervalent iodine reagents. Whether it's developing new methods for carbene formation, C-C bond formation or α-carbonyl functionalization, hypervalent iodine is the key. He is using this chemistry to develop designer electrolytes for battery technologies and to target natural products.
Derek Schipper
Associate Professor & Canada Research Chair Organic Material Synthesis
Derek Schipper carries out research in organic chemistry and materials chemistry. His research program is based on the development of novel synthetic methods that allow efficient access to important conjugated materials. Ultimately, he seeks to utilize these materials in applications such as organic photovoltaics, light emitting diodes and field-effect transistors.
Derek holds the Canada Research Chair in Organic Material Synthesis.
Scott Taylor
Professor
Scott Taylor's research is highly interdisciplinary ranging from synthetic organic chemistry to medicinal chemistry and enzymology, to the development of new bionanomaterials. He develops new synthetic methodology and applies it to the synthesis of novel biomolecules and materials such as modified steroids, carbohydrates, amino acids, peptides, nucleosides, nucleotides and starch nanoparticles. Novel biomolecules are evaluated as antibiotics and enzyme inhibitors, while the biomaterials are evaluated for their potential industrial applications.