Each year, invited speakers are welcomed to our Department to present their research to our community. Please join us in these engaging research talks on an exciting array of topics.
Campus maps are available, and for visitors driving to campus we suggest using the University Hospital visitor parking garage.
Invited Speakers
2023-2024 Speakers (Posted in chronological order - scroll down for upcoming speakers)
2023/09/20
Alexandra Velian, University of Washington
Topic Area: Materials
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Paul Ragogna
2023/09/26
David Giedroc, Indiana University
Topic Area: Chem. Biol.
Time: 10:30 am
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Martin J. Stillman
2023/09/26
Colin Bonduelle, University of Bordeaux
Topic Area: Materials and Biomaterials
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 9
Host: Prof. Beth Gillies
2023/09/27
Xuchun Wang, de Mayo Award Talk
Topic Area: General
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. T.K. Sham
2023/10/11
Erin Leitao, U Auckland
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Johanna Blacquiere
2023/10/18
Stefania Impellizzeri, TMU (Two talks: Research + EDI)
Topic Area: Materials, General
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Francois Lagugne-Labarthet
2023/10/25
Tim Storr, SFU
Topic Area: Chem. Biol., Synthesis
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Martin J. Stillman
2023/10/26
Kenneth Maly, Wilfrid Laurier University
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: P&AB 106
Host: Prof. Joe Gilroy
2023/11/15
Justin Lomax, G. Michael and Joan Bancroft Award Seminar
Topic Area: Materials / General
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Paul J. Ragogna
2023/11/22
Jake Magolan, McMaster
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Michael A. Kerr
2023/12/06
Gilles Arsenault, Western Chemistry Adjunct Professor
Topic Area: General
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Joe B. Gilroy
2024/03/06
David Lacy, U Buffalo
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Johanna Blacquiere
Previous Talks, by academic year.
2022/09/07
Dajana Vuckovic, Concordia, PhD External
Topic Area: Chemical Biology
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Ken Yeung
2022/09/21
Jeremy May, UT Houston (shared with Brock, McMaster)
Title: Electrophilic Deborylations in Synthesis
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Michael A. Kerr
2022/09/27
Hiroharu Ajiro, NAIST
Title: Molecular design for functional polymers using trimethylene carbonate with ester free structure
Topic Area: Materials
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Elizabeth R. Gillies
2022/10/12
Joe Gilroy, Chem Research Award Seminar
Title: Probing the Relationship Between the Structure, Bonding, and Optoelectronic Properties of Boron Formazanate Heterocycles
Topic Area: General
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Johanna M. Blacquiere
2022/10/20
Bruce Arndtsen, McGill
Title: Alternative Energetic Drivers for Metal Catalyzed Coupling Reactions
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 2:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Johanna M. Blacquiere
2022/10/25
David Emslie, McMaster
Title: From Alkyl to Silyl, Silylene and Silene Complexes of Manganese
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 3:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Johanna M. Blacquiere
2022/11/02
Sanjib Patra
Title: Wire-like Ru(II)-Alkynyl Organometallic Complexes with π-Conjugated Bridging Backbone
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 9:30 am
Room: Remote - Zoom
Host: Prof. Joe B. Gilroy
2022/11/09
Huck Grover, MUN
Title: C–H Functionalization and Catalytic Cascade Reactions in the Synthesis of Heterocycles
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Michael A. Kerr
2022/11/16
JP Lumb, McGill
Title: Studying Biosynthetic Aerobic Oxidations under Redox Neutral Conditions: Recent Lessons from Lignan and Melanin Biosynthesis
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 10:30 am
Room: ChB 9
Host: Prof. Kim Baines
2022/11/16
Andrew Beharry, UofT Mississauga
Title: Light-Responsive Probes: Guiding Clinician Decision-Making and Destroying Cancer
Topic Area: Chemical Biology
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Robert H.E. Hudson
2022/11/23
Paul Johnson, Laval
Title: Richardson-Gaudin Wavefunctions for Strong Correlation in Chemistry
Topic Area: Theoretical
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Viktor N. Staroverov
22/12/06
Ian Coulthard Senior Scientist, Canadian Light Source
Title: The Canadian Light Source: How a 3rd Generation Fish Can Swim and Thrive in a 4th Generation Pond
Topic Area: General
Time: 10:30am
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. T.K. Sham
2022/12/07
Adyn Melenbacher, Bancroft Award Seminar
Topic Area: General
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Martin J. Stillman
2022/01/11
Stella Constas, Chem Research Award (2021) Seminar
Topic Area: General
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Johanna M. Blacquiere
2022/02/08
Zac Hudson, UBC
Topic Area: Materials
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Joe B. Gilroy
2023/03/01
Drew Higgins, McMaster
Topic Area: Materials
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Samantha Gateman
2023/03/08
Louise Dawe, Wilfred Laurier
Topic Area: Synthesis
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Joe B. Gilroy
2023/03/15
Rustam Khaliullin, McGill
Topic Area: Theoretical
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Viktor N. Staroverov
2023/03/22
Avena Ross, Queens
Topic Area: Chem. Biol.
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: ChB 115
Host: Prof. Johanna M. Blacquiere
2021-2022 Speakers
2021/8/25
The 2021 Bancroft Award Lecture
Kenneth Chu
Title: Investigating and Optimizing the Performance of Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells Based on Graphene Quantum Dots
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Zhifeng Ding
2021/10/13
Christopher Thibodeaux (Assistant Professor of Chemistry, McGill University)
Title: Revealing the Mechanistic Roles of Enzyme Conformational Dynamics with Structural Mass Spectrometry
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Lars Konermann
2021/10/20
2020 Paul de Mayo Award Winner
Dr. Vanessa Beland (Postdoctoral Researcher, York University Dept of Chemistry)
Title: Tandem Work Towards Organic Electrodes & an Independent Career in Chemistry
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Paul J. Ragogna
2021/10/27
Darryl Klassen (Lab Manager, 3M Safety & Graphics Business)
Title: “3M Corporate Overview” followed by “Career Insights for Industry from a Western Chemistry Grad"
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Johanna Blacquiere
2021/11/17
Dr. Isha DeCoito (Faculty of Education, Wester University)
Title: Preparation and Inspiration – Integrative STEM Education in the 21st Century
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Yolanda Hedberg
2021/11/24
Dr. Athina Anastasaki (Assistant Professor in Department of Materials, ETH Zurich)
Title: Tuning Molecular Weight Distributions By ATRP And RAFT: A Discussion
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Joe Gilroy
2021/12/01
Dr. Annemieke Farenhorst (Associate Dean, Research for the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba)
Title: Assessments of Pesticide Mixtures in a Less Diverse Academy
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Kim Baines
2021/12/08
Dr. Gilles Arsenault (Arlanxeo)
Title: Post-functionalization of Synthetic Polymers of Interest to the Auto Industry
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Joe Gilroy
2022/02/16
2021 Paul de Mayo Award Lecture
Dr. Victor Yin (Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research)
Title: Single Particle Mass Measurement Methods: Weighing in on SARS-CoV-2/Antibody Interactions
Time: 11:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Lars Konermann
Seán Barry (Chemistry, Carleton University)
Title: Atomic Layer Depsition, It's Just Like Chemistry
Time: 1:30 pm
Room: Zoom
Host: Prof. Paul J. Ragogna
2020-2021
Distinguished CAMBR Lectureship
Professor Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Carnegie Mellon University
Title: ATRP: More active than dormant
2020/10/28
Dr. Ranjith Divigalpitiya
Title: Two-Dimensional Materials @ 3M: A retrospective of an industrial scientist
2020/11/11
The 2020 Bancroft Award Lecture
Dr. Vinicius dos Santos
17O solid-state NMR at 35.2 T: Ultrahigh spectral resolution unlocks ultrafine information on oxygen environments in MOFs
2020/11/18
Professor Chenguang Fan, University of Arkansas
Genetic code expansion in protein acetylation studies
Date: 2020/12/02
Professor Kalaichelvi (Kalai) Saravanamuttu, McMaster University
Title: Polymer microstructures that see and think: configuring enhanced fields of view and computational ability in soft materials.
Date: 2020/12/09
The 2019 Paul de Mayo Award Lecture
Dr. Ryan R. Maar, The Dow Chemical Company
Title: Chromium-Catalyzed Ethylene Tetramerization Using Phospholane-Based Ligands
2021/02/03
Prof. Anna Klinkova (Deparment of Chemistry, University of Waterloo)
Title: Nanoscale catalysts and electrocatalytic transformations for CO 2 utilization
2021/02/24
Prof. Robert J. Gilliard, Jr. (Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia)
Title: Electronic Tuning in the Main-Group: From Subvalent Organometallics to Novel π-Electron Materials
2019-2020
Past Seminars: 2019 - 2020
2019/07/12
Professor Stephen Westcott, Mount Allison University
A Life in Boron Chemistry
2019/07/23
Professor Zhen Liu, Menten Lecturer, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Advanced Molecularly Imprinted Materials for Affinity Separation, Disease Diagnosis, Single-Cell Analysis, Bioimaging and Cancer Therapy
2019/07/26
Professor Uwe Bergmann, Stanford University
New Science Opportunities at X-ray Free Electron Lasers
2019/08/07
Professor Ralf Schirrmacher, University of Alberta
Silicon Fluoride Receptor Radiochemistry: From bench to bedside in 15 years
2019/09/04
Professor Michael S. Silverstein, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology
Accessing Innovative Porous Polymers through Emulsion Templating
2019/09/18
Professor Terry W. Moore, University of Illinois
Optimization of Isoquinoline-based Activators of the Transcription Factor NRF
2019/10/15
Professor Daniel A. Foucher, Ryerson University
Datively Bound Rigid and Flexible Hypercoordinate Polystannanes
2019/10/16
Professor Aaron S. Rury, Wayne State University
Hybrid Molecular Platforms for Next Generation Quantum Technologies: A Rhapsody in Spectroscopy
2019/10/18
Professor Graham K. Murpy, University of Waterloo
Novel Reactivity Mediated by Hypervalent Iodine(III) Reagents
2019/10/21 & 22
Professor Omar Yaghi, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA , 3M Distinguished Lecturer
LECTURE 1 The Chemistry of Metal-Organic Frameworks
LECTURE 2 Extending Organic Chemistry to Infinite 2D and 3D
2019/11/04
Professor Ashlee J. Howarth, Concordia University
Metal-Organic Frameworks for Adsorption and Detoxification of Hazardous Analytes
2019/11/13
Professor Erin R. Johnson, Dalhousie University
Dispersion Interactions in DFT and Application to Molecular Crystal-Structure Prediction
2019/11/18
Professor Elizabeth (Beth) R. Gillies, Chemistry, Western University
Designing Degradable Polymers: Biomedical Applications and Beyond" - CRC Vision Talk
2019/11/20
Professor Deryn E. Fogg, University of Ottawa
Frontiers in Catalysis: From Decomposition, Knowledge
2019/11/27
Professor Lyudmila Goncharova, Western Physics & Astronomy
Ion beams as a synthetic tool for nanoelectronics and beyond
2019/11/29
Professor Mary Ryan, Imperial College London
Nanoparticles and the Environment: Friend or Foe?
2019/12/05
Professor Narasi Sridhar, Ohio State University
Localized Corrosion and Stress Corrosion Cracking of Steel in Alkaline Nitrate-Nitrite Solutions - An Old Problem Revisited
2020/01/08
Professor Jeff A. Reimer, University of Berkeley
NMR and the Grand Challenges of Metal-Organic Frameworks
2020/01/29
Professor David C. Schriemer, University of Calgary
Integrative structural biology using mass spectrometry
2020/02/12
Professor Simon Rondeau-Gagné, University of Windsor
New Strategies for the Design of Stretchable Semiconducting π-Conjugated Polymers
2020/02/26
Professor Ian Tonks, University of Minnesota
Ti-Catalyzed Nitrene Transfer Reactions: Harnessing the Ti II/Ti IV Redox Couple for New Transformations
2020/03/06
Professor Ashok K. Kakkar, McGill University
Endogenous Stimuli-Responsive Nanoformulations for Spatial Drug Delivery
2020/03/9
Jian Wang, Editor, M.Sc.
Life Perspectives from a Veteran Synthetic Chemist: Writing Your Research in English
2020/03/11
Professor Jeremy Rawson, University of Windor, Student Invited Speaker
Radicals: From pancake bonds to multi-functional materials
The following seminars were cancelled due to COVID-19.
2020/03/18 Professor Sanela Martic, Trent University
2020/03/25 Professor Jeremy May, University of Houston
2020/03/31 Professor Zachary Hudson, University of British Columbia
2020/04/01 Professor Rustam Z. Khaliullin, McGill University
2020/04/15 Professor Farshid Ramezanipour, University of Louisville
2020/04/30 Professor Jens Dilling, TRIUMPF
2018-2019
Past Seminars: 2018 - 2019
Date - Speaker
2018/09/20 - Professor Scott Hopkins, University of Waterloo
2018/09/28 - Professor Alison Flynn, University of Ottawa
2018/10/03 - Dr. Mathew Willans
2018/10/16 - Professor William R. Smith, University of Guelph
2018/11/02 - Professor Ian Burgess, University of Saskatchewan
2018/11/14 - Professor Jean-Michel Nunzi, Queen's University
2018/11/20 - Professor Leonard R. MacGillivray, University of Iowa
2018/12/05 - Professor Robert G. Kelly, University of Virginia
2018/12/11 - Professor Janine Mauzeroll, McGill University
2018/12/14 - Professor Anne Petitjean, Queen's University
2019/01/16 - Professor Andrew Nelson, Western Anthropology
2019/01/09 - Dr. Styliani Consta
2019/02/06 - Professor Paul Zimmerman, University of Michigan
2019/02/26 - Professor Molly Shoichet, University of Toronto [Student-Nominated Speaker]
2019/03/13 - Professor Joaquín Rodríguez-López, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2019/03/20 - Professor Sophie Rousseaux, University of Toronto
2019/03/21 - Professor Geraint Williams, College of Engineering, Swansea University
2019/03/27 - Professor Scott Kroeker, University of Manitoba
2019/04/17 - Professor Warren E. Piers, University of Calgary
2019/04/22 - Dr. Camilla Stitt, Imperial College London, Shell-Imperial Advanced Interfacial Science Centre
2019/05/16 - Professor Angela Casani, Cardiff University
2019/05/30 - Professor Don Spratt, Menton Lecture, Clark University
2019/06/10 - Professor Huangxian Ju, Nanjing University
2019/06/13 - Dr. Gregory Wallace [ 2018 Paul de Mayo Award Winner]
2019/06/14 - Professor Tebello Nyokong, Rhodes University
2019/06/17 - Professor Alex Adronov, McMaster University
2019/06/19 - Professor Renato Zenobi, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2017-2018
Past Seminars: 2017 - 2018
2017/09/06 - Professor Dongping Zhan, Xiamen University
2017/09/12 - Prof. Sylvain Canesi, Université du Québec à Montréal
2017/09/13 - Dr. Preston Chase, GreenCentre Canada
2017/09/15 - Professor Tong Leung, University of Waterloo
2017/10/04 - Professor Randall S. Dermont, McMaster University
2017/10/18 - Professor Thomas Baumgartner, York University
2017/11/01 - Professor Tim Newhouse, Yale University
2017/11/08 - Professor Zhehong Gan, The National High Magnetic Field laboratory, (MagLab)
2017/11/09 - Professor Charles L.B. MacDonald, University of Windsor
2017/11/14 - Professor Howard Alper, University of Ottawa
2017/11/22 - Professor Philip Britz-McKibbin, McMaster University
2017/11/29 - Professor Gerhard Erker, Universität Münster - Cancelled due to weather
2017/12/11 - Professor Aaron Rossini, Iowa State University
2017/12/12 - Dr. Ian Coulthard, Canadian Light Source (CLS) [Sponsored by: The Soochow-Western Centre for Synchronton Radiation Rsearch (SWC) and the Department of Chemistry ]
2018/01/10 - Dr. Björn Baumeier, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
2018/01/17 - Professor Caleb Martin, Baylor University
2018/01/24 - Professor Cathleen Crudden, Queen's University
2018/02/07 - Professor Ilja Siepmann, University of Minnesota
2018/02/27 - Professor Dr. Alex Speed, Dalhousie University
2018/02/28 - Professor Tamara L. Hendrickson, Wayne State University
2018/03/01 - Professor Tadeja Kosec, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute
2018/03/07 - Professor Robert E. Campbell
2018/03/13 - Professor Gerhard Erker, Universität Münster
2018/03/28 - Professor Jochen Autschbach, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
2018/04/04 - Professor Suning Wang, Queen's University
2018/04/11 - Mr. Kevin Seguin, CAS International Representative
2018/05/09 - Professor Nagao Kobayashi, Shinshu University, Ueda 386-8567, Japan
2018/05/23 - Dr. Stephanie Barbon, University of California, Santa Barbara [The 2017 Paul de Mayo Award Winner]
2018/06/04 - Professor Mike Pluth, University of Oregon
2018/06/06 - Professor Henrik Ottosson, Uppsala University, Sweden
2018/06/14 - Dr. Joakim Halldin Stenlid, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
2018/07/04 - Professor Jason L. Dutton, La Trobe University, Melbourne (Bundoora), Australia
2018/07/19 - Professor Jeffrey W. Keillor, University of Ottawa
2018/07/30 - Dr. Robert Matthew Asmussen, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
2018/08/02 - Professor Ulrich W. Fekl, University of Toronto, Mississauga
2018/08/14 - Professor Eric Price, University of Saskatchewan
2016-2017
Past Seminars: 2016 - 2017
Dates - Speaker
2016/07/25 - Professor Xiujuan Zhang, FUNSOM, Soochow University, China
2016/08/22 - Professor Stefan France, Georgia Institute of Technology
2016/08/23 - Professor Sasha Omanovic, McGill University
2016/09/06 - Professor Louis Barriault, University of Ottawa
2016/09/06 - Professor Yi-Tao Long, East China University of Science and Technology
2016/09/28 - Professor Heming He, State Power Investment Central Research Institute, Beijing and Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang
2016/09/28 - Professor Mark S. Taylor, University of Toronto
2016/10/05 - Dr. Mathew Willans, Western Chemistry NMR Facility
2016/10/24 - Professor Jonathan G.C. Veinot, University of Alberta
2016/10/26 - Professor Neil Burford, University of Victoria
2016/11/02 - Dr. Valérie Gabelica, Inserm/CNRS/Universite de Bordeaux, Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, Pessac, France
2016/11/03 - Professor Alex Brown, University of Alberta
2016/11/09 - Professor Dwight Seferos, University of Toronto
2016/11/23 - Professor John D. Brennan, McMaster University
2016/11/29 - Professor Blanca Martin Vaca, Université Paul Sabatier and CNRS, Toulouse, France
2016/11/30 - Professor Laura B. Sagle, University of Cincinnati
2016/12/09 - Professor Martin T. Lemaire, Brock University
2016/12/12 - Professor Micheal A. Brook, McMaster University
2016/12/12 - Professor Mahalingam Balasurbramanian
2016/12/14 - Professor Daniel A. Foucher, Ryerson University
2017/01/04 - Professor Dong-Ping Zhan
2017/01/24 - Dr. Floryan Decampo, Solvay Specialty Polymers
2017/02/08 - Professor David A. Kofke, University of Buffalo
2017/02/28 - Professor Steen Brian Schougaard, Universite du Quebec a Montreal
2017/03/08 - Professor Scott Bohle, Mc
2017/03/22 - Professor Dominika Zgid, University of Michigan
2017/03/27 - Professor Connie C. Lu, University of Minnesota
2017/04/05 - Professor Robin Hicks, University of Victoria
2017/04/19 - Professor Jean-Paul Desaulniers, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
2017/05/16 & 2017/05/15 - Professor James M. Mayer, Yale University The 3M University Lecturer in Chemistry 2017]
2017/05/23 - Professeur Nordin Félidj, Université Paris Diderot
2017/05/24 & 2017/05/23 - Professor Michael Sherburn, Australian National University [ 2017 Fred Pattison Senior Lecturer]
2017/05/25 - Dr. Pierangelo Gobbo [ 2016 Paul de Mayo Award Winner]
2017/06/19 - Professor Frieder Jäkle, Rutgers University-Newark
