It has been a busy spring and summer for The University of Winnipeg’s Department of Chemistry, as 25 students and faculty members have presented their research work at conferences across the country, taking home a number of awards recognizing their research excellence.
“I am very proud of our students,” said Dr. Athar Ata, department chair. “They performed remarkably well at these conferences.”
Dr. Adam McCubbin’s drawing of the late Dr. Alfred Bader won third prize at the Canadian Chemistry Conference ChemiSTEAM contest.
UWinnipeg was well represented at the Magnetic North VI Conference in June. Magnetic North is an organization that includes magnetism researchers across Canada, as well as international collaborators. The primary function of the group is to organize periodic conferences that unite Canadian and international magnetism researchers to share their latest results and to promote new collaborations. At the conference, there were presenters from all across Canada, as well as the USA, Scotland, England, Czech Republic, Germany, and China.
UWinnipeg postdoc, Joey Lussier won second place at the poster competition and student Megan Rutherford placed fifth. Both are studying under the supervision of Dr. Chris Wiebe.
Also in June, the Canadian Chemistry Conference (CSC) and Exhibition brought together chemists from across Canada and the United States, including some talented UWinnipeg students and faculty.
Dr. Adam McCubbin won third prize in the ChemiSTEAM contest. His art work will also be published in the Canadian Journal of Chemistry. McCubbin’s graduate student and UWinnipeg alumnus, Jake Blackner, was awarded an NSERC post-graduate scholarship, and undergraduate student Brooke Richtik, supervised by Dr. Chris Wiebe, won best poster award.
Chemistry students and faculty also participated in the Manitoba Chemistry Symposium held at Brandon University in May. The symposium was an excellent opportunity to share research and to network with Manitoba chemists, as well as invited speakers from outside of the province.
“All of the chemistry students that participated represented the department well,” said Ata.
Uriah Wolf and Spencer Ferbers were among the award-winning presenters at the Manitoba Chemistry Symposium. ©UWinnipeg
The following students were recognized for their excellent presentations:
Ismael Elayan (supervisor: Dr. Joshua Hollett), graduate student oral presentation award.
Aisha Majeed (supervisor: Dr. Athar Ata), biochemistry graduate student poster award.
Chukwuebuka Onyema (supervisor: Dr. Athar Ata), synthetic chemistry graduate student poster award.
Spencer Ferbers (supervisor: Dr. Athar Ata), undergraduate student oral presentation award.
Rachel Willim (supervisor: Dr. Tabitha Wood), organic chemistry undergraduate poster award.
Uriah Wolf (supervisor: Dr. Athar Ata), organic chemistry undergraduate poster award.
This recognition is a great confidence boost for students, encouraging them to continue in their research.
“Whatever I end up doing, I hope to have a positive impact in the biomedical field and continue doing research,” said Ferbers, winner of the Manitoba Chemistry Symposium’s oral presentation award.
