

Visualizing how polarons form in the best thermoelectric material yet developed
Thermoelectrics can generate electrical power from waste heat and could make an important contribution to sustainable energy production if their efficiency is improved. Engineering efficient thermoelectrics, however, requires a sophisticated understanding of the fundamental interdependencies between electrical and thermal transport, for which improvements in our understanding of how charge carriers are coupled to lattice vibrations (phonons) is needed.

Passing of Professor Emeritus Adi Eisenberg (1935-2022)
With heavy hearts, we announce that Professor Emeritus Adi Eisenberg (1935-2022) has passed away on January 12, 2022. A Holocaust survivor, Dr. Eisenberg has earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1960, worked as a NATO post-doctoral fellow at the University of Basel with Werner Kuhn (1961-1962), and joined UCLA in 1962 as an Assistant Professor.

The emissions of BC and other air pollutants in Montreal, and impacts of COVID-19
Graduate student Houjie Li and Professor Parisa Ariya discovered that the concentrations of black carbon (BC), PM2.5, CO, NOx decreased up to 72% in downtown Montreal during COVID-19 lockdown period, revealing those human activities account for most air pollutants in the cities.

Hassan Fakih Awarded the 2021 Dr. Alan M. Gewirtz Memorial Scholarship
Hassan Fakih who is a PhD Candidate in the Sleiman Lab has been awarded the 2021 Dr. Alan M. Gewirtz Memorial Scholarship.
To read more, please visit: https://www.oligotherapeutics.org/2021-dr-alan-m-gewirtz-memorial-scholarship-award-for-graduate-students/.

Passing of Dan Petrescu (1991-2021)
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Dan Petrescu on Sunday, October 3rd, 2021. Dan was born in 1991 in Germany but raised in France. He left Europe for the United States in 2009 to pursue his education. Dan studied for his B.A. in Chemistry from 2009-2013 at Boston University. He then went on to obtain his M.A in Physical and Biophysical Chemistry at Boston University from 2013-2015.

Two grad students win First Place Award for oral presentation at IUPCA/CCCE 2021 Virtual conference
The department of chemistry is really proud of graduate students Zi Wang, from the Ariya group, and Kayrel Edwards, from the Barrett group, for being award two first place award for the oral presentations they delivered at the virtual #IUPCA/CCCE conference on August.

Passing of Dr. David A. I. Goring (1920-2021)
A graduate of McGill and Cambridge, Dr. Goring has passed away at the age of 100. Dr. Goring joined Paprican Institute in 1955, with his labs on the third floor of the Pulp and Paper building. Through his affiliation with the Chemistry Department, he taught graduate courses and supervised approximately 20 graduate students, most of whom went on to research positions in the Canadian Pulp and Paper Industry. Dr.

Passing of Dr. James M. Fresco (1926-2021)
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Dr. James M. Fresco, a former Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, McGill University, on Sunday, May 23, 2021, just a few months short of his 95th birthday.

A Sustainable Technology for Quantification of Micro- and Nano-plastics in the Environment
Global plastic productions have increased remarkably over the past few decades. Unwanted plastic inputs, specifically, micro- and nano-plastics, into the environment become emerging concerns across the world. However, the quantitative analysis of micro/nano-plastics still remains a major challenge, especially in the complex environmental matrices.

Intelligent polymeric nanoformulations sense and deliver at precise locations
Delivering active pharmaceutical agents to target sites continues to pose tremendous challenges. Much effort has been devoted to formulating endogenous stimuli-sensitive nanocarriers that could load sufficient cargo, stay intact during their passage to desired locations, and provide controlled release pathways.

Resolution of the Passing of Emeritus Professor Mario Onyszchuk (1930–2021)
With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Professor Mario Onyszchuk on January 1, 2021. Mario was born in 1930 near Lviv in Poland, now a part of Ukraine. He grew up in Montreal, earned a BSc in Chemistry from McGill University in 1951, an MSc from U Western Ontario (1952; C. Sivertz) and a PhD from McGill under Carl Winkler (1954). He then moved to England where he received a second PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1956 (H.J. Emeléus).

Resolution on the Passing of Emeritus Professor William C. Purdy (1930-2019)
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.

New Synthetic Strategies to Mimic Biosynthetic Oxidative Bond-Formation
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.

The Future of Hydrogen as an Energy Source?
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”.

A fluorescent probe for all seasons; bright and sensitive
Researchers at McGill designed and synthesized the brightest fluorescent nucleobase analog (FBA) reported to date.
