News & Events

News

Dr. Katherine Ryan Appointed the New CRC in Biosynthetic Enzymes

Dr. Katherine Ryan, a professor at UBC Chemistry, has been appointed the new Canadian Research Chair (CRC) in biosynthetic enzymes.

Dr. Ryan’s research focuses on understanding how natural products are made, including those with applications as antibacterial agents and anti-cancer drugs. Her lab works to isolate new biosynthetic pathways from microbes, to engineer enzymes that catalyze new reactions, and to generate natural...

Dr. Tao Huan appointed as an Early Career Advisory Board Member

Assistant Professor Dr. Tao Huan has been appointed as an Editorial Early Career Advisory Board Member for Analytical Chemistry - the top journal in the analytical chemistry field. 

As a Editorial Board Member, Dr. Huan will support the journal by serving as a reviewer, promoting the journal in the community, and contributing to special projects for the journal.

The advisory board of Analytical Chemistry is consisted of world-renounced analytical chemistry professors who are...

An AI-powered Revolution in Clean Energy Chemistry

UBC Chemistry professors Drs. Jason Hein and Curtis Berlinguette founded Project Ada, and are powering an AI revolution in clean energy chemistry.

In 2018, an $8 million Natural Resources Canada grant enabled Dr. Berlinguette and Dr. Hein, along with Dr. Alán Aspuru-Guzik of the University of Toronto, to assemble “Ada”, the first self-driving lab for clean energy materials. The multidisciplinary team chose the name in honour of Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer. Self...

Congratulations Dr. Tao Huan!

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Dr. Tao Huan for receiving the Metabolites 2023 Young Investigator Award! This is an outstanding achievement as a rising star in the field of metabolomics.

Read more here.

Dr. Ilsa Cooke Receives LAD 2024 Early Career Award

Assistant Professor Dr. Ilsa Cooke has been awarded the The Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 2024 Early Career Award. The LAD Early Career Award is given to an individual who has made significant contributions to the field within 10 years of receiving their PhD.

Dr. Cooke has made significant contributions to the discovery of new molecules in space, providing a detailed understanding of their reaction mechanisms, thermodynamics, and...

2023 Alumni Award Winners

Congratulations to the 2023 UBC Chemistry Alumni Award winners, Dr. Mark Namchuk (Alumni Award of Distinction) and Dr. Love-Ese Chile (Young Alumnus Award)!

 

Alumni Award of Distinction | Dr. Mark Namchuk, PhD '93

This award recognizes an alumnus whose accomplishments are of such excellence that they provide inspiration and leadership to students and other alumni. The recipient has shown significant leadership either in their professional...

Fall Chemistry Alumni Reunion

Our November 2023 Alumni Reunion was a great success! Thank you to all our attendees who joined us virtually and to Emily Seo and Jolene Reid for their inspiring talks.

We look forward to our next Alumni Reunion in the Spring, stay tuned for more details.

Congratulations 2023 Graduate Student Award Winners!

Last week at our November 2023 Alumni Reunion, we announced this years Graduate Student Award winners- Congratulations to you all! Our winners are as follows:

F.J. Nicholson Scholarship – Brian Low

Arthur S. Hawkes Scholarshp in Chemistry – Rajneesh Bains

Ed Shuter Scholarship – Seth Keenan

Edward Piers Memorial Award in Organic Chemistry – Ryoga Hojo

Brian and Jane James Graduate...

Corinna Schindler and Corey Stephenson to join UBC Chemistry Faculty

We are pleased to welcome Professor Corinna Schindler and Professor Corey Stephenson to the faculty, jointly appointed in the Department of Chemistry and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, starting in summer 2024.

Prof. Schindler earned her Diploma degree at the Technical University of Munich and her PhD at ETH Zurich working with Erick Carreira. She completed postdoctoral work at Harvard University...

Dr. Allan Bertram Receives UBC 2023 Distinguished University Scholar Award

Congratulations to Dr. Allan Bertram for being named as a UBC Distinguished University Scholar for 2023!

The Distinguished University Scholar program takes place every two years and recognizes members of UBC Faculty who have distinguished themselves as exceptional scholars. An adjudication panel recommends the individuals, who are then have the designation conferred by the President.

Dr. Bertram is an outstanding and innovative scholar whose accomplishments have had a...

Chemistry LST Wins the Safety Achievement Award

Congratulations to the Chemistry Local Safety Team (LST) for being awarded The Safety Achievement Award this year at Safety Day!

Specifically, the award recognized the 2-point seismic upgrades for large equipment housed in the Chemistry Complex, such as chemical fridges, compressed gas cylinders, liquid nitrogen Dewar’s, etc. Over 175 upgrades with the collaboration of the CHEM Machine Shop, Building Operations and the CHEM LST were done since the start of the project. This is a major...

Does antimatter fall up or down? Scientists observe the first gravitational free-fall of antimatter

UBC Chemistry Professor Dr. Taka Momose and researchers have proven that anti-gravity does not exist.

Read the full story here>

Congratulations to the Graduate Research Symposium Poster Winners

Congratulations to the poster prize winners of the Chemistry Graduate Research Symposium 2023! 

 

Chie Nakayama - Poster Title: Infrared Depletion Spectroscopy of Methyl Lactate in Superfluid Helium Droplets

Seiya Ota - Poster Title: Pt Chemistry with a Twist: Extended π-Conjugated Ligands in Cyclometalated Complexes

Siyuan Xie - Poster Title: Exploring Metal-Metal Cooperation in CO2 Electrocatalysis: From Surface...

Congratulations Dr. Tao Huan!

Congratulations to Dr. Tao Huan on being named the 2023 Michael Smith Research Scholar! His lab will develop cutting-edge mass spectrometry methods to interrogate the effects of maternal sugar overconsumption on pregnant rats and their babies. Read more here>

New Portable HPLC Drug Testing Robot at Shambhala Music Festival

Prof. Jason Hein discusses the new, portable drug testing machine that will be rolled out at the Shambhala Music Festival in the Kootenays this weekend. To learn more, check out the following links:

iHeartRadio

Daily...

Congratulations Raksha Kandel!

Raksha Kandel (PhD student in the MacLachlan group) won first prize for her poster at the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC) held June 25-29, 2023 in Reykjavik, Iceland. The photo shows Raksha receiving her award from Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, 2016 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

Congratulations Raksha!

Congratulations UTA Award Recipients!

Congratulations to Raymond, Ava, Navreet, Kate, Jenicia, and Luigi for receiving this year's Undergraduate TA awards. This award is given to undergraduate TAs who go above and beyond when teaching students taking our courses. Their exceptional dedication, leadership, and passion when engaging and helping our students is invaluable in supporting our teaching mission. Well deserved!

Russ Algar Receives the 2023 PerkinElmer Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy Award

Professor Russ Algar has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 PerkinElmer Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy Award.

This award is given to a Canadian Scientist for significant achievements in the fundamental development of instrumentation or techniques, or for the novel application of spectroscopy, spectrometry or analytical sciences to analytical problems in industry, medicine, the environment, or related fields.

Congratulations Russ!

Biodegradable Gel Shows Promise for Cartilage Regeneration: Prof Hongbin Li & Team

Professor Hongbin Li and his team have developed a new approach to stiffen a protein gel- a step forward in the bid to create biodegradable implants for joint injuries.

Read the full article here>

Read the full reasearch article published in ...

Sammis, Bizzotto, and Hein Research Groups Combat B.C.’s Toxic Drug Supply

Professors Glenn Sammis, Dan Bizzotto & Jason Hein's research groups are re-envisioning existing techniques and technology to make drug checking and entering treatment quicker and easier by developing a mobile drug checking device the size of a shoe box.

Read the full story here>