Jennifer van Wijngaarden, professor of chemistry at 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science, has been named a fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC), a prestigious recognition awarded to members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of chemical sciences. 

This distinction acknowledges her impact across multiple areas, including scientific research, mentorship and public outreach.

The CIC fellowship is a senior class of membership reserved for individuals who have demonstrated excellence in scientific and technical contributions, service to the CIC and its affiliated societies, leadership in science and engineering management and efforts in education and public awareness. Fellows are selected through a rigorous nomination and peer-review process before being approved by the CIC Board. 

Van Wijngaarden鈥檚 internationally recognized research employs cutting-edge spectroscopic techniques in the microwave and infrared regions to explore molecular structures and dynamics. Her work has advanced the understanding of short-lived molecular species relevant to astrochemistry, combustion and chemical vapour deposition. 

Her research directly supports global sustainability efforts by contributing to advancements of two key United Nations鈥� Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 7 鈥� Affordable and Clean Energy; and SDG 13 鈥� Climate Action. 

Beyond her research, van Wijngaarden has made significant contributions to the chemical sciences community. She has played a pivotal role in the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) through positions on the accreditation committee, including as a Physical, Theoretical and Computational Division executive and as director of conferences on the board. She has also provided leadership on scientific grant evaluation panels and governance roles with Canada鈥檚 largest national science facility, the Canadian Light Source. 

鈥淚 am deeply honoured to be recognized as a CIC fellow,鈥� says van Wijngaarden, who also serves as the Chair of 91亚色's Department of Chemistry. 鈥淪cientific progress is driven not only by research but also by collaboration, mentorship, and knowledge-sharing. I am grateful for the opportunities to contribute to the CIC community and to help inspire the next generation of scientists.鈥�

Courtesy of聽YFile

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In the Faculty of Science, we continuously strive to deliver high-quality education and experiential learning opportunities that our students need to become future global leaders. In this issue of Innovatus, I am excited to share some of the ways in which we are prioritizing excellence in teaching and learning in the Faculty of Science. 

Our Faculty has been working hard to expand co-op opportunities for our students so they graduate with real-world experience. For instance, we have launched an innovative work-integrated learning program open to all science students that has doubled its intake each year. 

Our instructors are enhancing student learning and experience by introducing new technologies and methods of teaching, such as using virtual reality to augment students鈥� understanding of concepts and creating podcasts to increase the accessibility of course content. They are also creating new programming to support our students in becoming future scientists, such as a new transformative course for undergraduates to learn about the structure of a research career and how to conduct responsible research. 

We have an incredible community of instructors and staff in the Faculty of Science who are committed to providing our students with the knowledge, skills and credentials they need and desire to successfully transition into rewarding and impactful careers.鈥疧ur faculty members and staff are the drivers of teaching and learning innovation in our Faculty, and I am immensely proud of and grateful for their efforts. 

Thank you,  

Rui Wang
Dean, Faculty of Science 

In this issue:

91亚色 professor pioneers podcast-based learning in biology 
Professor Elizabeth Clare swaps traditional textbooks for dynamic podcasts, offering students a fresh, interactive and accessible way to learn complex biology concepts.

Using VR in chemistry to 鈥榝uture-proof鈥� students
A new fourth-year chemistry course at 91亚色 is changing the way students learn, moving beyond traditional methods to embrace modern technology and deeper learning.

New biology course prepares 91亚色 U students for ethical research
Learn how a new fourth-year biology course is addressing scientific misconduct and teaching students the importance of integrity in research.

91亚色 U enhances science co-op through national grant 
91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science will expand work-integrated learning opportunities and enhance experiential learning to prepare students for diverse careers in the field.

Courtesy of聽YFile

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A team of 91亚色 researchers has uncovered a critical flaw during the drug development process that, if addressed, could make drug discovery faster, more reliable and less expensive 鈥� and ultimately save lives.

The findings by a team led by Sergey Krylov, a Distinguished Research Professor of chemistry at 91亚色 U, reveal that measurement errors in the early stages of drug discovery can lead to further errors 鈥� in decisions 鈥� as pharmaceutical companies work to develop new drugs.

鈥淧eople are used to doing things a certain way, and they just keep at it, even when it鈥檚 not working,鈥� Krylov says. 鈥淲e need to make people aware of these measurement errors and why it鈥檚 so important to fix them. It鈥檚 time to stop and think about the damage these mistakes cause and start making changes.鈥�

His team is now working to raise awareness of the findings, urging drug developers and academic researchers to change their practices.

鈥淚f we can cut down bad decisions in drug development by even half, we鈥檇 see twice as many drugs making it to market,鈥� Krylov says. 鈥淭hat means saving twice as many lives and making much better use of time and money.鈥�

Pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars a year on drug-discovery research. The process begins with identifying disease-related proteins and then searching for molecules that can bind to those proteins and change their function. For example, fever-reducing drugs work by lowering the production of chemical signals that cause the body鈥檚 internal thermostat to raise its temperature during inflammation.

Vast libraries of chemical compounds are screened and measured to see how strongly each one binds to the target protein. The strength of the binding is quantified and molecules with the strongest interactions go to the next stage of development.

Despite advances in technology, this process remains painstakingly slow, costly and prone to errors.

Krylov鈥檚 team has discovered that these binding measurements are often grossly inaccurate, sometimes off by as much as a factor of 1,000. The molecules identified as having the strongest bindings are particularly susceptible to these large errors.

鈥淭hese mistakes mean promising drug candidates get rejected too soon,鈥� Krylov says. 鈥淲hen the strongest binders are ruled out, it sets off a chain reaction of missed opportunities and expensive delays in research and development.鈥�

To address this, Krylov鈥檚 team developed a practical method to verify whether specific molecules are measured accurately. Their approach allows researchers to flag compounds for reassessment under more rigorous conditions, potentially salvaging overlooked drug candidates.

The team鈥檚 discovery, made just a year ago, has yet to gain widespread traction in the pharmaceutical industry or the academic community. However, Krylov is optimistic about the potential for change.

In the coming years, the researchers plan to publish the findings of their ongoing research in scientific journals, engage with industry partners and present their work at conferences. They have also created a free online software tool that evaluates the accuracy of binding measurements and can even reassess data for molecules previously discarded, offering a second chance for overlooked candidates.

鈥淭his is a long game,鈥� Krylov says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no quick fix here. It鈥檚 going to take years of education and getting the message out. But if we stick with it, we can really change how drugs are discovered and save a lot of lives."

Courtesy of聽YFile

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For decades, scientists knew there was a huge swath of undetected and unaccounted for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the atmosphere, often referred to as PFAS dark matter, but no one knew how much was missing or how to measure them. Now, a 91亚色 atmospheric chemistry research team has devised a way to test for one of the most ubiquitous elements of these potent greenhouse gases.

By measuring for gaseous fluorine, one of the most prevalent and overlooked contaminants, scientists can better understand the extent of previously unaccounted for PFAS, comprised of thousands of organofluorine compounds. These compounds, used in a wide range of products from food, paint, paper packaging and dental floss to cosmetics and agrochemicals, can off gas fluorine.

The researchers measured how much fluorine was released into the air both in the lab and outside using chemicals, such as fluorosurfactant liquids, and found 65 to 99 per cent of the fluorine in the air inside the lab was not normally unaccounted for, while outside that number was about 50 per cent.

鈥淚 expected missing fluorine, but I didn鈥檛 expect it to be so much. This new technique can measure all fluorinated things in the atmosphere, which has never been done before and shows the majority cannot be accounted for using our usual measurements,鈥� says senior author of the study Professor , an atmospheric chemist and Guy Warwick Rogers Chair in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important as missing gaseous fluorine accounts for a huge part of airborne PFAS compared to what we actually measure at the moment, which means a lot of the PFAS aren鈥檛 being detected.鈥�

Most PFAS, known as forever chemicals, include fluorine bonded with carbon, a bond that doesn鈥檛 naturally break down in the environment. Testing for fluorine is an easier way to assess how many PFAS are present in the air rather than measuring all 4,700 or so PFAS contaminants individually.

The high quantities of previously unknown PFAS points to a gap, not only in measuring them, but also in understanding their sources and the impact on the environment. Gaseous fluorine is a byproduct of chemicals used in a wide range of products from food, paint, paper packaging and dental floss to cosmetics and agrichemicals.

鈥淥ur lack of focus on this has been mostly because we didn鈥檛 have the techniques to look at it properly. It鈥檚 not that people hadn鈥檛 thought that this might be important, it鈥檚 that we didn鈥檛 know how to do it, but now we do,鈥� says lead author RenXi Ye, a PhD student in .

While there are techniques to measure total fluorine in soil and water, there wasn鈥檛 one to capture it in its gas state in the atmosphere. The researchers used a method that they previously developed to test for total gaseous chlorine and adapted it to measure gaseous fluorine.

鈥淢uch of the focus of research on PFAS was on what鈥檚 happening in the water in the soil, not as much on what happens in the air, despite the fact that these fluorinated compounds, by the nature of their chemical properties and that they are in so many commercial products, are more likely to go into the air,鈥� says Young.

The question of how much gaseous fluorine is going unaccounted for piqued the interest of 91亚色 researchers last year while they were working on their .

Should we worry?

Most people are highly concerned about PFAS exposure, but Young says it鈥檚 too early to know what the effects are of from the off gassing of fluorine into the environment, either human or on the environment.

鈥淎ny fluorinated gas is a potent greenhouse gas, but the impact of that depends on how long it lasts in the atmosphere, but what is the impact of breathing this? When it comes to outdoor air and human exposure, we don鈥檛 know a lot about how much we breath in,鈥� she says, adding she doesn鈥檛 think anyone should panic, but it is an area that needs more research and could certainly have important implications.

The research 鈥� 鈥� published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters points out that unknown fluorinated chemicals emitted into the atmospherecould not only contribute to the transport of PFAS around the globe but also impact climate change.

PFAS in the Arctic in sometimes surprising quantities found in 50-year-old ice cores

PFAS is the atmosphere are even finding their way into pristine environments like the Arctic. In a recent study led by 91亚色 PhD student Daniel Persaud with Young and team looked at perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in ice cores in the Arctic, from 1967 to 2016, on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut.

鈥淭he measurement covers the longest time period and so you鈥檙e seeing that it has been accumulating for a very long time,鈥� says Young. The surprising part? 鈥淚n the early part of the ice core, there was more than I thought there would be. I expected it to be accumulating since the 1990s, maybe the 1980s, but in the early part of the core, I thought there would be less鈥�

As the longest deposition record in the Arctic for perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and the longest record globally for perfluoroalkylsulfonic acids (PFSAs), it allowed for observations not previously possible.

Before the 1990s, the ice core showed some variable pulses of accumulation, which the researchers at first weren鈥檛 sure about, but now think it may be linked to Arctic military activities of the time. Starting in the 1990s, however, the ice core shows a steadier accumulation of the chemicals up to the present.

The study shows that most PFAAs are present in the ice at Mt. Oxford icefield on Ellesmere Island and that over 50 years, there is a steady increase of PFCA deposits, but it also highlighted how ice cores are helpful in understanding how PFAS are transported long-range.

鈥淲e were able to confirm that the PFCAs we found in the ice cores are formed primarily through long-range atmospheric transport and oxidation of volatile precursors in the atmosphere,鈥� says Persaud.

The issue now, says Young, is that as the permafrost melts, this resource is disappearing which creates an urgent need to collect more ice cores to further illuminate temporal trends and possible sources of PFAAs.

The paper, , was published in the journal Environmental Science: Processes and Impact.

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Chemistry Professor Kim received $100,000 for the project 鈥淢ethods to Create Mutations in Cells to Understand and Treat Disease.鈥� Kim鈥檚 project will involve the creation of new technologies and special tools for protein engineering and genome editing, enabling him and his lab to alter the genetic code of cells. This type of innovation will advance Kim鈥檚 study of the genetic differences of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease, in the hope it can also be used to help find better treatments. In addition, the researchers believe this new technology holds the potential to grow more climate-resilient plants and could be adopted by Canadian pharmaceutical companies and agriculture businesses for future applications.

Biology Professor Logan Donaldson received $155,000 for the project 鈥淎n Advanced Platform for Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy.鈥� The funding will support an upgrade of the electronics to the high-field 700 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer in the Life Sciences Building. The Avance-Neo platform upgrade will provide a new opportunity for Donaldson and 12 other researchers affiliated with the 91亚色 U YSciCore facility to obtain the most sensitive and detailed information of biomolecules linked to neurodegenerative disease, biosensor design, antibiotic resistance and vaccine development. The funding also provides support for an intensive computing platform that will enable AI design of new biomolecules with therapeutic and diagnostic potentials.

Courtesy of YFile.

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91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science is welcoming five new full-time, permanent faculty members this year.

鈥淭he Faculty of Science has hired fantastic new faculty members that will contribute to enhancing our Faculty鈥檚 academic excellence, diversity, and research and teaching capacity,鈥� says Faculty of Science Dean Rui Wang. 鈥淚 look forward to working with our outstanding new colleagues, who bring diverse experiences and perspectives that will strengthen our Faculty as a destination of choice for students and aspiring scientists.鈥�

Divya Sharma

Sharma joins the Department of Mathematics & Statistics as an assistant professor in the data science stream. She holds a PhD in computer science with a specialization in machine learning (ML) from the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur.

Following her doctoral studies, Sharma completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Biostatistics Department at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, part of the University Health Network, in Toronto. During this time, she was awarded the Canadian Institutes of Health Research STAGE (Strategic Training for Advanced Genetic Epidemiology) Fellowship for 2020-22. Following that, she worked as a senior biostatistician and clinician investigator at the University Health Network, where she developed artificial intelligence models to address various health outcomes, including liver disease, cancer, sepsis and osteoarthritis. She did so through interdisciplinary collaborations at Toronto General Hospital, the Krembil Research Institute and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Sharma鈥檚 research program focuses on developing novel deep learning models for integrative, high-dimensional modelling of multi-modal big health-care data, comprising clinical, imaging and genomic domains. Her work places a strong emphasis on clinical interpretability and deployability, with innovative ML modelling approaches published in high-impact journals such as Lancet Digital Health and Bioinformatics.

Sharma has recently received the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant and Launch supplement for 2024, as well as a Resource Allocation Grant 2024 from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, which will help steer her research program at 91亚色 and provide computational resources to develop deep learning models for guiding personalized medicine. In her teaching at 91亚色, she wants to provide students with a strong foundation in statistics, mathematics and computational principles behind complex concepts in machine learning and data science. Her goal is to equip students so they can become future leaders in the application and development of robust modelling approaches.

Yi Liu

Liu joins the Department of Mathematics & Statistics as an assistant professor. He received his PhD in statistical machine learning from the University of Alberta in 2023, following his postdoctoral fellowship and experience as an assistant lecturer at the same institution. Liu also holds a master鈥檚 degree in mathematics from Beijing Normal University.

Liu鈥檚 research focuses on developing robust algorithms for differential privacy, functional data analysis and reinforcement learning. His work seeks to balance data utility with privacy preservation, exploring innovative approaches to protect user information while maintaining the integrity of statistical analysis. His research has been presented at top-tier conferences and published in leading journals like Statistica Sinica and Bernoulli.

Liu鈥檚 contributions are advancing both theoretical and applied aspects of statistical machine learning, particularly in privacy-preserving technologies and optimization in dynamic environments.

Tianyu Guan

Guan joins the Department of Mathematics & Statistics as an assistant professor. Guan received her PhD in statistics and MSc in actuarial science at Simon Fraser University. Before joining 91亚色, she was an assistant professor at Brock University from 2020 to 2024. Guan鈥檚 research spans several cutting-edge areas, including sports analytics, functional data analysis, machine learning and data science. She specializes in developing novel statistical and data science methods to analyze data across various fields such as sports, public health and economics.

In recent years, Guan鈥檚 research interest in sports analytics has particularly grown. She analyzes sports data to craft better strategies, improve team and player performance, and influence betting odds. She has collaborated with various organizations to advance the use of statistical techniques in sports decision-making. Her goal is to use sports analytics to help teams and players gain a competitive edge.

Bruce Howard

Howard joins the Department of Physics & Astronomy having received his undergraduate degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Pittsburgh and his PhD in physics from Indiana University. Following this, Howard held a postdoctoral position as a research associate at Fermilab, near Chicago.

Howard鈥檚 research focuses on experimental particle physics, specifically neutrinos. His main interest is in furthering our understanding of the properties of neutrinos and antineutrinos, especially around the properties at work in the process known as neutrino oscillation. Neutrino oscillation is the phenomenon where a neutrino or antineutrino created as one type can later interact as another type.

Howard鈥檚 research efforts at 91亚色 in the next years will primarily use liquid argon (LAr) time-projection chamber (TPC) detectors to study neutrinos. One focus is on realizing and performing studies with an upcoming, powerful neutrino experiment (DUNE) in which an international collaborative effort will deploy detectors near the beam at Fermilab and far away in South Dakota. The other focus will be on conducting studies with a smaller LAr TPC detector that is currently operating and enabling interesting neutrino studies as well as key opportunities to prepare for the next-generation experiment.

Stephanie Jones

Jones will join the Department of Chemistry as an assistant professor in February 2025. Her research is focused on atmospheric aerosols and environmentally relevant surface films. In particular, she is interested in understanding how atmospheric transformations impact the fundamental properties of aerosols and films. Jones uses single particle levitation methods, as well as neutron and X-ray scattering, to study transformations of aerosols and films in the laboratory to determine their fundamental physicochemical and optical properties.

Jones has an integrated master鈥檚 in chemistry from the University of Bristol and a PhD from Royal Holloway University of London. Following her PhD, she undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Victoria in Canada, before moving back to the U.K. where she worked in industry for a brief period as a product manager at Laser Quantum. She then transitioned back to academia and chemistry, completing a second postdoc in environmental chemistry at the University of Toronto where she expanded her research interests to include the indoor environment.

After successfully obtaining funding for her own position from the German Research Foundation, Jones then moved to the Institute of Meteorology & Climate Research鈥檚 Atmospheric Aerosol Research Department at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, where she is currently based. Her research at KIT involves the study of photochemically induced transformations of wood smoke aerosol using single droplet studies and large-scale cloud simulation chamber experiments.

Jones is excited to return to Canada and looks forward to contributing to the atmospheric chemistry community.

Courtesy of YFile

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Thirty Faculty of Science researchers received Discovery Grants totalling more than $6.0 million, with 10 of these faculty members also receiving Discovery Launch Supplements (valued at $12,500 each). Additionally, four Science researchers received a total of more than $2.1 million in Sub-atomic Physics Discovery Grants. For a complete list of recipients, see below.

Discovery Grant (including Discovery Launch Supplements) recipients:

Andrew Donini, Department of Biology
Salt and water balance in aquatic insects
$47,000 per year for a five-year term

Gordon Fitch, Department of Biology
Tritrophic interactions in a changing world: understanding how urbanization shapes plant-pollinator-parasite interactions to influence pollinator health and pollination services
$38,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Katalin Hudak, Department of Biology
Regulation and activity of plant ribosome inactivating protein
$48,000 per year for a five-year term

Kohitij Kar, Department of Biology
Probing the mechanisms of primate visual intelligence
$38,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Terrance Kubiseski, Department of Biology
Regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans Stress Response
$40,000 per year for a five-year term

Raymond Kwong, Department of Biology
Understanding the homeostatic regulation and neurophysiology of essential trace metals in zebrafish
$39,000 per year for a five-year term

John McDermott, Department of Biology
Nucleolar Regulation and Function in Myogenic Cells
$48,000 per year for a five-year term

Eryn McFarlane, Department of Biology
The interplay between genetics and the environment on hybrid fitness
$29,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Sandra Rehan, Department of Biology
Integrative genomics for pollinator health and social evolution
$65,000 per year for a five-year term

Gary Sweeney, Department of Biology
Examining cellular consequences of excess iron on skeletal muscle
$33,000 per year for a five-year term

Yongjoo Kim, Department of Chemistry
Methods to Create Mutations in Cells to Understand and Improve Protein Function
$37,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Arturo Orellana, Department of Chemistry
Modern Approaches to Electrocyclization of Heptatrienyl Anions
$36,000 per year for a five-year term

Derek Wilson, Department of Chemistry
Advancing Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry to Explore the Dynamic Origins of Protein (mis)Function
$36,000 per year for a five-year term

Cora Young, Department of Chemistry
Characterizing the abundance, sources, and fate of fluorinated gases in the atmosphere
$62,000 per year for a five-year term

Tao Zeng, Department of Chemistry
Theoretical studies of vibronic and spin-vibronic couplings: methodological development and applications in materials science
$36,000 per year for a five-year term

Nantel Bergeron, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Quasisymmetric varieties, Schubert polynomials and other algebraic combinatorial systems
$27,000 per year for a five-year term

Miles Couchman, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Turbulent mixing in stratified flows
$26,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Ilijas Farah, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
K-theory reversing automorphisms of the Calkin algebra. Disintegration of von Neumann algebras
$48,000 per year for a five-year term

Xin Gao, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Statistical learning methods for multi-task and network data
$27,000 per year for a five-year term

Jane Heffernan, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Towards an immuno-epidemiological framework: Tradeoffs between biological detail and mathematical complexity
$31,000 per year for a five-year term

Paul Skoufranis, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Linearization in Bi-Free Probability
$24,000 per year for a five-year term

Jianhong Wu, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Delay Differential Equations: Theory of Global Dynamics with Applications to Public Health of Zoonotic Diseases
$60,000 per year for a five-year term

Kaiqiong Zhao, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Novel statistical methods for complex data-enabled learning and causal discovery
$23,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Scott Beattie, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Optical Frequency Combs and Atomic Clocks for Frequency and Time Metrology
$19,900 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Charles-Eduoard Boukar茅, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Solidification Dynamics of Rocky Planets Interiors
$28,500 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Eric Hessels, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Tests of Fundamental Physics Using Atoms and Molecules
$61,000 per year for a five-year term

Matthew Johnson, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Fundamental Physics from Microwave Background Secondary Anisotropies and Quantum Simulation of Vacuum Decay
$75,000 per year for a five-year term

Rahul Kannan, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Modelling high redshift structure formation and reionization
$39,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Adam Muzzin, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Resolving Galaxy Growth with Canadian-Built Astronomical Instrumentation
$50,000 per year for a five-year term

Paul Scholz, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Revealing the nature of Fast Radio Bursts and unlocking their potential as probes of the Universe
$33,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Sub-atomic Physics Discovery Grant recipients:

Nikita Blinov, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Three Directions Toward the Discovery of Dark Matter
$55,000 per year for a five-year term

Deborah Harris, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Paving the way for Neutrino Oscillation Measurements at DUNE
$300,000 per year for a three-year term

Eric Hessels, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Probing PeV-scale physics: Measuring the electron electric dipole moment using barium monofluoride embedded in an argon solid
$165,000 per year for a three-year term

Randy Lewis, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Lattice gauge theory on classical and quantum computers
$90,000 per year for a five-year term

Read the about all of the 91亚色 recipients.

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Undergraduate students from this year鈥檚 CHEM4000 and BCHM4000 Research Project Course travelled to Western University on Saturday, April 6 to present their senior thesis projects at the 52nd Southwestern Ontario Undergraduate Chemistry Conference. 91亚色鈥檚 Chemistry and Biochemistry undergraduate students Juan Valencia (Wilson Lab), Arman Parham (VandenBoer Lab), Kristina Gremi (Hili Lab), Samin Tavokoli (Johnson Lab), Hannah Le (Baumgartner Lab) and Manisha Kumari (van Wijngaarden Lab) were among 150 undergraduates from 15 universities who presented on a broad range of modern topics in chemistry and biochemistry.

Congratulations to Manisha Kumari, who received first place in the Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry division, and Hannah Le, who earned second place in the Materials Chemistry division. As well, congratulations to all of our undergraduate students on their research projects and to their research mentors who have supported them all year.

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Making chemistry courses and labs more engaging and accessing science lab spaces 鈥� regardless of physical ability 鈥� are becoming easier to accomplish, thanks to Faculty of Science initiatives sponsored by Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) grants.

In the Department of Chemistry, Tihana Mirkovic, an assistant professor, and Hovig Kouyoumdjian, an associate professor who is also the associate dean of curriculum and pedagogy, are developing modules using e-learning tool Adobe Captivate to improve students鈥� learning experiences. Meanwhile, biology professors Tamara Kelly and Paula Wilson and their colleagues 鈥� project manager Jessi Nelson, accessibility expert Ainsley Latour and educational development specialist Ashley Nahornick 鈥� are identifying and supporting improvements that make labs more accessible.

Kouyoumdjian first identified the potential of Adobe Captivate as a tool for the generation of an interactive learning environment in chemistry classes. Together with Mirkovic, the pair recognized that the laboratory experience through pre-laboratory activities in undergraduate classes could be substantially improved by leveraging the multimedia learning process that could be incorporated into modules generated in Adobe Captivate.

鈥淥ur goal is to allow students to integrate their conceptual and procedural understanding of their labs through active learning opportunities. We hope that the newly developed modules, featuring slides, videos, hotspots, 360-degree navigation, software simulations and knowledge check assessments, will provide a learning environment that motivates our students and maximizes their learning potential,鈥� Mirkovic said.

鈥淲e aim for students to stay engaged, even when the material is presented virtually,鈥� said Kouyoumdjian. 鈥淣ow, we possess an e-learning tool with an interactive component that complements the static elements of the course. It is applicable for both blended and online courses.鈥�

The pair also collaborated with an instructional designer to craft customizable templates to help with the process of repurposing and reusing the modules across various courses.鈥�

The professors have has initiated a pilot in the courses CHEM 2020 (Introductory Organic Chemistry I) and CHEM 3001 (Experimental Chemistry II) this term. 鈥淲e hope to gather valuable information from the initial student experience and feedback collected from Adobe Captivate activities and linked self-reflection surveys,鈥� Mirkovic said. During the summer, they will reflect on the pilot鈥檚 successes and explore the reusability of the created templates.

They are optimistic that the new software will contribute to student engagement, leading to increased student motivation and greater retention.

Meanwhile, the accessibility team is moving forward with its own initiative to improve 鈥� in a different way 鈥� the accessibility of biology, chemistry and physics labs for students in the Faculty.

鈥淧aula and I have directed labs, and something we come up against regularly is accommodation,鈥� said Kelly, the project lead and the Pedagogical Innovation Chair, Science Education. 鈥淪tudent Accessibility Services typically addresses lectures, but has limited expertise to support providing clear accommodations for labs.鈥�

Added Wilson: 鈥淪tudents with accessibility issues have the burden of negotiating with their professors for every lab, and it鈥檚 exhausting. Also, even if professors are eager to assist, they aren鈥檛 experts in accommodation.

鈥淚n addition, by the time faculty members get a letter about accommodating a student, it may be the second or third week of the term, which leaves no time for finding and arranging creative solutions.鈥�

The group plans to survey Faculty of Science students and faculty to learn more about needs and accommodations that work. Latour and Nelson developed a checklist of barriers to accessibility in labs and then, with Nahornick, toured first-year science laboratories with the technicians who run the labs. They looked for barriers and what was missing to make accommodation easier.

鈥淭here were a lot of things that were quick fixes, so Ashley emailed the lab managers to suggest changes to make before the start of the term,鈥� said Kelly. 鈥淭hese included the readability of signage, repairs to broken automatic doors, among other things.鈥�

The team also brought in Pamela Millett, an audiologist from the Faculty of Education, to determine what the sound issues might be for those with hearing concerns.

鈥淭here is a lot of ambient sound in labs, from fans and other equipment, that make it hard for students to hear instructions,鈥� said Nahornick. 鈥淩epairing or using their microphones is an easy fix.鈥�

The next step will be to create professional development support for instructors, technicians and teaching assistants, so they understand how to best support accessibility in labs.

Wilson said they would also like to prepare a series of recommendations for the Faculty. 鈥淪ome issues may require infrastructure changes that will require additional funding. We want to take away the鈥痯ressure鈥痮n instructors to handle this on their own by鈥痬aking changes where we can and sharing best practices,鈥� she explained. 鈥淥ur aim is to make it easier for all students to have valuable lab experiences that meet course outcomes.鈥�

Kelly added, 鈥淚f we have a clear understanding in advance about what is needed, that鈥檚 a big step. Some things must be personalized, but there are some general things we can implement for our students. Students with disabilities are often driven away from science in high school because of barriers, and we don鈥檛 want to be part of that cycle. We want to enable people.

鈥淔or a lot of students, their first experience in a lab turns them onto science. We鈥檒l lose talent if they don鈥檛 feel as if they can function in this setting.鈥�

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Congratulations to Professor Tao (Toby) Zeng, Department of Chemistry, for receiving the 2024 Tom Ziegler Award from the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC). Sponsored by Software for Chemistry & Materials, the award recognizes scientists residing in Canada who have made an outstanding early-career contribution to theoretical and/or computational chemistry.

Zeng鈥檚 current research focuses on developing Hamiltonian formalisms for vibronic interactions and using the formalisms to simulate vibronic and relativistic effects in optoelectronic materials. His goal is to develop a unified Hamiltonian formalism for all symmetry-induced vibronic and relativistic vibronic problems. Toby has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles. He has received numerous invitations to give seminars at universities, research institutes, and conferences. He is a member of the International Steering Committee of Jahn-Teller Effect Conferences.

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