By Vanessa Parks
Internal Communications and Engagement Specialist
It has been an exciting year in Chemistry, with the department welcoming several new faces to its dynamic team. As we close the year, we are also saying goodbye to some beloved colleagues who are taking on their next challenge: retirement!
A fond farewell to Dara Gilbert
Professor Dara Gilbert, a much-loved instructor in the department, is retiring at the end of December after twenty years of teaching biochemistry at the University of Waterloo. She will be greatly missed. Read more about her career and plans for retirement in her own words.
What motivated you to pursue a career in academia, and how did you choose your specific field?
I didn’t set out to be an academic, it just happened. I studied history before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in geology, a field I decided wasn’t for me. I then wanted to study sports medicine, so I worked for my doctor and enrolled at UCLA taking non-degree courses in biology and chemistry. This is when I discovered my love for biochemistry, and I haven’t looked back. As a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, I realized I didn’t want to run a research group. I returned to UCLA to teach in the Chemistry department, and I’ve been teaching ever since.
What are your plans after retirement, and are there any projects or interests you’re looking forward to pursuing?
Play with and walk my dog Bandit. Read – I’ve bought so many books I haven’t gotten to yet. I will take more tap dance classes (because three a week isn’t enough!), and I promised a friend I would learn to mountain bike. I also toy with the idea of going back and finally getting my history degree. I will continue to work with the chemistry outreach program and maybe start a science club at my local elementary school.
Dara Gilbert and her dog, Bandit.
What advice would you give students who want to take Chemistry at UW?
Be curious. Even if classes seem unrelated to what you want to do, you may see connections later. Learning how the world works at a very small scale is so cool!
Be engaged. We can teach, but you need to do the work to learn. Do the reading, pay attention in class, ask questions if you’re confused, and make friends with your classmates. As an undergrad, I learned as much from discussing the class material with my peers as I did from attending lectures. We would hang out in the geology library and work through the assignments.
Enjoy yourself. You are in an amazing program! Be amazed by the world and how it works.
Other departing faculty and staff
The department also said goodbye to Professor Mónica Barra in October. Mónica had been with the department for 29 years and her research focused on understanding fundamental thermodynamic and kinetic properties of organic systems. She served as Undergraduate Associate Chair of Chemistry from 2011 to 2020 and as Associate Dean of Science, Undergraduate Studies from 2020 to 2023.
Other recently retired and retiring faculty and staff include:
- Mario Gauthier, Professor Emeritus, Polymer Chemistry (retired September 1, 2021)
- Guy Guillemette, Professor Emeritus, Biochemistry (retired September 1, 2020)
- Val Goodfellow, Analytical and Bioanalytical Services Technician (retiring December 31)
- Richard Smith, Manager, Mass Spectrometry Facility (retiring December 31)
Best wishes to everyone in their retirement!
Mario Gauthier, Guy Guillemette, Dara Gilbert, Val Goodfellow, Richard Smith
Say hello to some new faces
Our retirees have left some big shoes to fill, but the newest members of the Chemistry team are up for the challenge. The department welcomed several new faculty and staff members in 2024.
New faculty include:
- David Sychantha, Assistant Professor, biochemistry (started March 1)
- Jung-Ho Yu, Assistant Professor, bioanalytical chemistry (started January 1)
- Yangju Lin, Assistant Professor, polymer chemistry (started April 1)
- Evgeniy Panzhinskiy, Associate Professor, teaching stream, biochemistry (started December 1)
New staff include:
-
Elisabeth Esson, Administrative Assistant to the Chair (started January 29)
- Joshua Featherstone, Analytical and Bioanalytical Services Technician (started October 7)
- Yiming Xiao, Manager, Mass Spectrometry Facility (started October 7)
Welcome everyone!