2025 Strem Chemicals Award Winner: Dr. Johanna M. Blacquiere
The 2025 recipient is Dr. Johanna M. Blacquiere, MCIC, an Associate Professor at The University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Blacquiere began her independent career at Western in 2013. Her passion for chemistry was ignited during her undergraduate studies, where she gained early research experience with the Wild Toads under Prof. Steve Westcott and through a summer position with Prof. Tom Baker. She honed her expertise during her PhD with Prof. Deryn Fogg and her NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship with Prof. Jim Mayer.
Her research focuses on the design and mechanistic understanding of transition metal catalysts for low-waste organic synthesis. A pioneer in cooperative homogeneous catalysis, her work leverages ligands that adapt their protonation state or coordination mode to improve catalyst performance.
Dr. Blacquiere’s innovative research has earned her numerous accolades, including the Western University Faculty Scholar Award (2024) and a Discovery Accelerator Supplement (2020). Beyond research, she has been an active leader in the Inorganic Chemistry Exchange (ICE) program, serving as Student Recruitment Coordinator (2019–2022) and National Coordinator since 2022.
Congratulations to Dr. Blacquiere for this well-deserved honor!