It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Dr. William Crossley Purdy, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Chemistry, McGill University, on October 30, 2019, after a prolonged illness.


The Faculty of Science is celebrating McGill’s 200th anniversary with a student art exhibition on the theme of “Science!”. McGill students at all levels and all faculties are invited to submit works in any medium, expressing what science means to them.
Faculty of Science bicentennial committee member, Torsten Bernhard, says the aim of the exhibition is to celebrate science in all its forms.
- Dept. of Anatomy and Cell Biology
- Art Exhibit
- Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
- Dept. of Biochemistry
- Dept. of Biology
- Dept. of Chemistry
- School of Computer Science
- Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS)
- Dept. of Geography
- Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics
- Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology
- Dept. of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- Dept. of Physics
- Dept. of Physiology
- Dept. of Psychology
- Redpath Museum
- Faculty of Science

Cytochrome P450, and related iron-containing oxygenases, catalyze a broad range of oxidative bond-forming processes that create complex natural products. Well-known examples include ‘canonical oxidations’, which convert C-H bonds into their corresponding alcohol derivatives (C-OH) via a classical mechanism of rebound. In these well-known cases, C-H abstraction affords a substrate radical that recombines with the enzyme’s Fe-(III)-OH center to form the new C-OH bond.

One of most active research areas nowadays is the use of solar energy to produce hydrogen by so-called “water-splitting” reactions. Dr. Butler has co-authored with colleagues from the U.K. and Pakistan a comprehensive review on this topic entitled “Recent Developments and Perspectives in CdS-based Photocatalysts for Water Splitting”. This review examines recent work in attempts to improve the photocatalytic efficiency and stability of CdS for H2 production from water Journal of Materials A, in press (2020). Dr.

Researchers at McGill designed and synthesized the brightest fluorescent nucleobase analog (FBA) reported to date.

Scientists at McGill University have developed a solvent-free method for making oligonucleotides, short strands of DNA of growing significance in research and the pharmaceutical industry.

A team of ca. 30 diverse scientists from all around the world, and from all walks of life, have come together to compose the article A diverse view of science to catalyst change, highlighting and promoting the importance and benefits of equity, diversity and inclusion in science.

Dr. Hanadi F. Sleiman has been selected as a recipient of the COTTRELL SEED (Singular Exceptional Endeavors of Discovery). This honor carries with it an award of $50,000 to support the very first instances of highly creative projects. The Cottrell SEED Award, part of the competitive Cottrell Plus Awards of the Research Corporation (USA), recognizes outstanding teacher-scholars who engage in innovative activities to enhance their teaching or research programs. The research project supported by this award in Dr.
Congratulations to Prof. Auclair, Sleiman, McKeague and Friscic for being awarded prestigious chairs
The department of chemistry is proud to announce four of our professors are bringing home prestigious awards. Prof. Karine Auclair received a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Antimicrobials and Green Enzymes in the CIHR stream. Prof. Hanadi Sleiman saw her Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in DNA Nanoscience (NSERC) renewed. Prof Maureen McKeague received a Tier 2 Canada Canada Research Chair in Genomic Chemistry (CIHR). Prof. Tomislav Friscic was renewed his William Dawson Chair.

McGill University researchers are using cutting-edge computer simulations and analytical techniques to identify and validate promising compounds in the search for a treatment for COVID-19.
Nicolas Moitessier, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, is using computer simulation software that he has developed over the past 15 years to predict the properties of molecules that have yet to be made.

In a step forward for the field of quantum mechanics, McGill University researchers have achieved a breakthrough in sensitive measurements of the wave-like properties of electrons.

Interested in what’s happening in the Chemistry Department for Fall 2020? Check out this trailer for CHEM 267, which gives a hint of things to come!
As we reflect on issues of racism in science and society, #ShutDownAcademia, #ShutDownSTEM, and #Strike4BlackLives, I would like to emphasize that the McGill Chemistry Department remains committed to the high principles of equality and inclusivity. We are proud of our incredibly diverse population of students, staff, and faculty who came to McGill from 6 continents and over 30 different countries. The individual contributions of each member of our family make McGill Chemistry a very special place, both in Canada and worldwide.

It is with great sadness that the Department of Chemistry announces the passing of Professor Emeritus Arthur Saul Perlin on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, just a few days short of his 97th birthday. Professor Perlin was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia and spent all of his early years in the Maritimes, many of them working on the family farm, The Sanitary Dairy. He eventually came to McGill to study Chemistry and Music, where he obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees.

For the first time ever, McGill University will run a summer-semester version of CHEM 181, its enormously popular course on the chemistry of food.
Enrolments are now open for a June 2020 edition of the course that has been taken by tens of thousands of students over its nearly 40-year history.
Making sense of food