News

Outstanding Undergraduates Recognized at Appreciation Event

On Tuesday, January 24th, outstanding first-year undergraduate students gathered together in the Chemistry Department to celebrate their achievements and learn about opportunities in chemistry.

The event, "Where do I go from here? Pursuing Chemistry in Second Year and Beyond" gave students the chance to discuss chemistry in a relaxed atmosphere with instructors, faculty members and graduate students.

Dr. Fryzuk receives the 2011 Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring

Dr. Michael Fryzuk, Head of the Chemistry Department, recently recieved the 2011 Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Awards were presented by Vice Provost David Farrar during the November congregation ceremonies.

2011 Faraday Show a Success!

For the very first time, the Chemistry Department teamed up with Physics & Astronomy to present the 2011 Faraday Show. On December 11^th, hundreds of children turned up to learn about Actions and Reactions and participate in some fun hands-on science demos.

UBC Sustainability: Shut the Sash Competition

Laboratories consume 10 times as much energy as other types of buildings on campus—from offices and classrooms to dorms. The biggest culprit? Fume hoods. Large amounts of energy are used to warm, cool and move air through fume hoods where researchers run experiments. A single fume hood can use over three times the energy of an entire household.

The Competition

CGSS Gingerbread House Contest

Happy Holidays from the Chemistry Department! There were some great entries in the 2011 CGSS Gingerbread House Contest. Congratulations to the Office Staff and the MacLachlan Group who placed 1^st and 2^nd respectively.

MacLachlan Group

Gates Group

Congratulations on Graduating!

Congratulations to the following undergraduate students from the Chemistry Department, who recently attended the November Convocation Ceremony:

Guina Chen
Yeon Jung Kim
Garson Lo
Louis Chun Yu
Elaine Yuen Ling Wong
Jean Frame
Moe Hirayama
David Joncas

Dr. Sherman makes inside cover of Chemistry – A European Journal

Dr. John C. Sherman’s research was recently featured on the inside cover of Chemistry – A European Journal. The article, “Conformationally Constrained Sequence Designs to Bias Monomer–Dimer Equilibriums in TASP Systems” was co-authored by Dr. Jon O. Freeman.

Dr. Schafer named Canada Research Chair in Catalyst Development

Congratulations to Professor Laurel Schafer who was recently named Canada Research Chair in Catalyst Development [Tier 2].

Dr. Schafer’s research is in developing catalysts that will minimize waste generation while maximizing energy efficiency, for a variety of applications from compostable plastics to the preparation of drugs. Most importantly, her research takes advantage of the reactivity of abundant and inexpensive metals of low toxicity to make targeted chemicals with reduced...

‘Take Our Kids to Work Day’ in Chemistry!

The Chemistry Department welcomed some young visitors today for 'Take Our Kids to Work' Day. This nationally recognized program provides secondary school students with the opportunity to spend a day in the workplace job shadowing their parents. Students are able to explore future career options and develop an understanding and appreciation for what their parents do at work.

Blades new Editor-in-Chief of Applied Spectroscopy

Chemistry Professor Michael Blades was recently selected as Editor-in-Chief of Applied Spectroscopy. His term will begin in the summer of 2012.

The Society for Applied Spectroscopy published the following article on Dr. Blades' appointment:

Department celebrates chemistry with Open House

Despite the chilly weather, kids of all ages turned out to the Department of Chemistry inaugural open house, “Chemistry: Beyond the Magic.” Families arrived from across Greater Vancouver to participate in the fun and celebrate chemistry.

Held on Saturday October 22, the event featured a number of hands-on activities, giveaways and chemistry shows, and was timed to coincide with the United Nations sanctioned International Year of Chemistry and Canada’s National Chemistry...

MacLachlan group discovers new type of chiral carbon

Kevin Shopsowitz, a PhD student working in Professor MacLachlan’s group, has discovered a new type of highly porous and chiral carbon, with a number of potential important applications.

UBC's Sustainability Research Fellowship

Dr. Laurel Schafer was awarded UBC's Sustainability Research Fellowship in recognition of catalyst development which focuses on atom-economic transformations that avoid the formation of wasteful byproducts

Our Graduate in Top 100

Congratulations to Prof Hua Chun Zeng (National University of Singapore, PhD 1989 with Keith Mitchell) who was 49th in the Thomson Reuters list of the world's top chemists for 2000-10 according to research impact.

Our Graduate in Top 40 Under 40

David Vocadlo, a former grad student of Dr. Withers, was recognized for his research in the area of chemical glycobiology for developing chemical tools to manipulate glycan processing enzymes in cells and in vivo

Grad Student's work featured in MedChemComm

Congratulations to Ying Li (Perrin Lab) whose work on one-step F18-labeling of a Cancer Drug, Marimastat, was featured on the inside cover of MedChemComm.

Perrin Lab research makes OBC Cover

The work of UBC Chemistry Professor David M. Perrin and his research group has made the cover of this month’s Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. Curtis H. Lam, Christopher J. Hipolito, Marcel Hollenstein and David M. Perrin authored “A divalent metal-dependent self-cleaving DNAzyme with a tyrosine side chain.”

The Muonic Helium Atom (The New Scientist, 2011)

Unique studies of isotopic mass effects in reaction rates: from Muonium (Mu=μ+e-), with a mass of 0.113 amu to muonic He (4Heμ), with a mass of 4.11 amu, a remarkable ratio of 36.4. The Mu atom has the same size and characteristics as the H atom, but with a positive muon as its "nucleus", instead of a proton. The muonic He atom is formed by negative muon (μ-) capture, the net effect of which is to replace one electron in He with a μ-.

Bob McDonald kicks off this year's LMC with "Science As I've Seen It"

Bob McDonald, award-winning and beloved Canadian science personality, gave a fantastic lecture yesterday, “Science as I’ve Seen It” to kick off the 2011/2012 Lectures in Modern Chemistry series. Bob kept the 300+ audience entertained as he recounted experiences spanning his 35-year career as a science journalist; transporting the audience all the way from Mars – millions of kilometers away – to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory 6,800 feet below the Earth’s surface.

UBC Earthquake ShakeOut!

It's the largest earthquake drill in Canadian history! This October 20, prepare to "drop, cover and hold" for the Great British Columbia ShakeOut.

Set to begin at 10:20am, the drill will require participants across BC to take cover for up to two minutes in response to a simulated earthquake event.

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