News & Events

News

Dr.Peter Wassell

In Memoriam of Dr.Peter Wassell

In Memoriam of Dr.Peter WassellJuly 1952 to April 2014

Born in Wolverhampton, England in 1952, Peter received his B.Sc (Honours) Chemistry from Exeter University, England in 1973.  He then earned his PhD from UBC in 1981. He later went on to teach chemistry to our first year students, and run the inorganic laboratories. Peter was also an enthusiastic member of the Chemistry Magic Team in the late 90’s.  Peter was a long time and valued member of the UBC Department of Chemistry. 

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Dr. Lawrence Mcintosh

Congratulations to Dr. Lawrence McIntosh!

2014 Faculty of Medicine Award 

Congratulations to Professor Dr. Lawrence McIntosh for being awarded the 2014 Faculty of Medicine Award for Excellence in Mentoring Early Career Faculty. 

 

 Dr.Stephen Withers UBC

Congratulations Dr.Stephen Withers

2014 Killam Research Fellowship

Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Withers for being awarded the 2014 Canada Council for the Arts Killam Fellowship. 

Dr. Stephen Withers is a world leader in the emerging field of engineering carbohydrate-modifying enzymes. He proposes a creative and original approach in his project, Development and use of ultra-high-throughput screens for directed evolution and metagenomics. He will go beyond the...

Dr.Chris Addison

Congratulations Dr.Chris Addison!

UBC Killam Teaching Prize

Congratulations to Dr. Chris Addison who was recently awarded a 2013-2014 UBC Killam Teaching Prize. UBC Killam Teaching Prizes are awarded annually, from the Killam Endowment Fund, to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching.

Congratulations Chris! 

Read more...

2013 Chemistry Department TA Award

2013 Chemistry Department TA Award

Drum roll please....The 2013 Chemistry Department TA Award recipients are:  
Zhengu Chen, Leanne Racicot, Amber Shukaliak, Andrea Terpstra and David Weekes.

Congratulations! 

 

 

Professor Ciufolini award lecture was published in the March 2014 issue of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry.

Congratulations to Professor Marco Ciufolini!

2013 CSC RU Lemieux Award lecture: Synthetic studies on heterocyclic natural products

This paper highlights ongoing efforts toward Erythrina alkaloids, himandrine, tetrodotoxin, and thiopeptide antibiotics such as nosiheptide and describes representative spinoffs in biomedicine that emanated from the author’s research in synthetic organic chemistry.

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Congratulations to William Cullen!

The 2014 winner of the CIC Environment Division R&D Award

William R. Cullen received a PhD from Cambridge University in 1959. He joined the Department of Chemistry at University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1958. He was promoted to professor in 1969 and received the CSC Noranda Award in 1974. In 1998, he became professor emeritus at UBC and adjunct professor at the Royal Military College of Canada in 2000. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His research has focused on...

Eric Price

Congratulations to Eric Price!

Eric  won a NSERC postdoctoral fellowship (PDF) to conduct research this summer at the US institution Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) with Dr. Jason S. Lewis. He will be doing research with radioactive metals towards new imaging agents and treatments for cancer.  Specifically, Eric will be working with the positron emission tomography (PET) imaging isotope Zr-89, towards antibody-based imaging of gastric cancer.  He also hopes to study the isotopes Y-90 and Ac-225 for...

A Lecture with Nobel Laureate Dr. Akira Suzuki: You’re Invited!

The Chemistry Department is delighted to announce a special Lecture on March 21st, 2014 at 4:00 pm in B250 with our renowned guest, Dr. Akira Suzuki, Nobel Laureate. This event is part of the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver 125th Anniversary Lecture Series and in association with our Department.

Dr. Akira Suzuki (Professor Emeritus at Hokkaido University in Japan) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2010 for his work on Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling...

Chris Orvig awarded a 2013 Jacob Biely Research Prize for distinguished record of published research

Congratulations to Professor Chris Orvig for being awarded the 2013 Jacob Biely Research Prize, UBC’s highest honour for research.

The 2014 reception will be held Tuesday, March 11 in the Glass Lobby of the Chan Centre.

bacterium

How a versatile gut bacterium helps us get our daily dietary fibre

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the genetic machinery that turns a common gut bacterium into the Swiss Army knife of the digestive tract – helping us metabolize a main component of dietary fibre from the cell walls of fruits and vegetables.

The findings illuminate the specialized roles played by key members of the vast microbial community living in the human gut, and could inform the development of tailored microbiota transplants to improve intestinal...

Chemistry gets a new website

We are excited to present a completely new Chemistry website!

The website was developed from scratch and built to take advantage of the latest in website development technology. It will offer researchers, alumni and students alike easy access to the most important information and perfect functionality on mobile devices across different platforms. Try the superb search capabilities offered under the "Our department" and "Research & Faculty" tabs!

The website was developed...

The Department Mourns the Sudden Passing of Our Colleague Moshe Shapiro

Moshe Shapiro, who was a research pioneer in the area of quantum control of molecular dynamics, passed away on December 3, 2013 in Israel. He was 69 years old.

Moshe did his PhD under the guidance of Professor Raphael D. Levine, in Theoretical Chemistry at the Hebrew University, working on photodissociation and molecular collisions. This was followed by a postdoc at Harvard University during the years 1970-1972, where Moshe worked with Martin Karplus, the 2013 Nobel laureate in...

Laurel Schafer awarded a 2013 Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring

Congratulations to Professor Laurel Schafer who was recently awarded a 2013 Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring. The award recognizes research supervisors who have provided sustained mentorship to numerous graduate students while researching at the mid-career level. Furthermore, the Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring is quite unique among other faculty awards, as statements provided by referees, such as past and present students, are highly regarded in the nomination process.

Chemistry Graduate Student Awarded 2013 NSERC Vanier Scholarship

Chemistry graduate student, Marcus Drover, was recently awarded a 2013 NSERC Vanier Scholarship for his project, entitled “Understanding Acetylene: Alkyne Functionalization via a Rhodium(I) Complex.” A vast number of chemical compounds contain nitrogen, including those required for everyday life e.g., amino and nucleic acids. In a laboratory setting, these chemicals are often generated through synthesis. Unfortunately, many synthetic procedures are replete with non-efficient, toxic...

Laurel Schafer launches CREATE Sustainable Synthesis program

UBC Chemistry Professor Laurel Schafer was recently awarded funding for a 2013 Industrial Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program in the area of Sustainable Synthesis.

Considering UBC for graduate school? Consider applying for the NSERC CGS-M.

Considering UBC for graduate school? Consider applying for the NSERC CGS-M.

 

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/students-etudiants/pg-cs/cgsm-bescm_eng.asp

 

Please contact any member of our recruitment committee for assistance on this competitive fellowship opportunity. The application deadline is December 1, 2013.

 

Michael Wolf and “Prometheus ” Collaborators featured in ACCN

Dr. Michael Wolf (UBC), along with Dr. Neil Branda (SFU) and Dr. Alexandre Brolo (UVic) were featured in the September/October 2013 issue of ACCN to highlight their collaborative project, “Prometheus”. The Prometheus Project is aimed at bridging gaps between academia and industry in such as way to make BC a global leader in materials science and engineering. For more information about the Prometheus Project please refer to the ACCN article, found ...

Positions Available: UBC Chemistry

UBC Chemistry is currently looking to fill several positions in the department.

 

Refer here for more information 

UBC Chemistry! You're invited to the PerkinElmer INspiring INovation Tour

The IN Tour is a North American PerkinElmer hosted road show that is an excellent opportunity for students and faculty to learn about new analytical chemistry applications and technologies. There is no charge for attending the event and it is open to all industry, government and academic organizations. It is a great networking event for people interested in learning about the Lower Mainland scientific community. More info and registration can be found  here: ...