Green Chemistry @ MUN

Looks like there will be a great conference in St. John’s this September: http://www.aquacultureassociation.ca/aac-conferences/aquaculture-canada-and-cold-harvest-2016/aquaculture-canada-and-cold-harvest-2016-intro/

Dr. Kerton is now an associate member of the CHEMRAWN committee.  She looks forward to participating in discussions and other activities during her time as a member.

The Committee on Chemical Research Applied to World Needs, or CHEMRAWN, is a IUPAC Standing Committee that focuses on strategic activities in concert with the following six IUPAC goals:

1. Address global issues
2. Advance research through scientific discussion
3. Assist industry towards sustainable development, wealth creation, and improvement of the quality of life
4. Foster communication among chemists and organisations with special emphasis on needs in developing countries
5. Enhance education and the application of chemistry globally
6. Increase the diversity in IUPAC bodies

Today is the United Nation’s first International Women in Science Day.  The University newspaper has just published a small piece to celebrate.

https://gazette.mun.ca/campus-and-community/international-day-of-women-in-science/

Dr. Kerton had an e-mail from the communications manager for the Faculty of Science this morning….could she write 50 words on what inspired her?  So she wrote a little story about her science teacher Ms Jones!  Thank you to all the teachers out there – you held mold us into our future selves and to live our dreams.

It is quite amazing to see the progress being made on the New Science Building.  Building began in Fall 2015 on the design by HOK (architecture & engineering).

The department has had the University photographer take photos of all the faculty here. Here are the photos of Prof. Chris Kozak and Prof. Fran Kerton.

Graduate student spent part of this afternoon decorating our lunch room 🙂

Some members of the group went out to support our basketball teams on Saturday night. The NBA All-Star Game will be taking place in Toronto this season (the first time in Canada!) and so there were lots of promotions and prizes to be won. Go Sea-Hawks!

Memorial now has accommodation for Graduate Students close to Downtown and Signal Hill. Graduate accommodations are now available at the former Battery hotel.

http://www.mun.ca/hfcs/battery_accommodations/

However, many students choose to live closer to campus near the Churchill Square neighbourhood or near the Avalon Mall.

The Green Chemistry & Catalysis Group will be taking on undergraduate research assistants next summer (2016) funded through the NSERC USRA, Faculty of Science SURA and Memorial University SWASP program.  If you want more details on these opportunities, please contact Dr. Chris Kozak or Dr. Fran Kerton directly.  Many students from our group have seen their work published in scientific journals (magazines) and have gone onto either graduate school or professional school (e.g. medicine).  Our students are also encouraged to attend regional and national chemistry conferences to meet with other students and scientists.

We will also have space for new graduate students in September 2016. Please see the School of Graduate Studies and Chemistry recruiting pages for more information. Excellent students are awarded Dean of Graduate Studies awards “top-ups” and will be considered for scholarship programs (not just NSERC). Kerton group students have received Ocean Industries Awards and NL Government Resource Scholarships.

**** Copied from Earlier Post ****

Are you Canadian or a Canadian Permanent Resident? Will you be graduating with an undergraduate degree in chemistry next year? Do you have a B+ or higher average? Are you interested in Green Chemistry and Catalysis? Why not apply for an NSERC scholarship and come join us at MUN for grad school! NSERC scholarship holders receive merit awards from the Dean of Graduate studies upon arriving at our University.

The deadline for NSERC CGS-M applications is December 1st. http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSM-BESCM_eng.asp

Don’t forget to speak to your profs about writing a recommendation  – it normally takes us a week to craft a really good and personal reference letter for you.

[If you think your GPA is not high enough for an NSERC scholarship – please get in touch with us anyway about opportunities for Grad studies at MUN. Funding is available from the School of Graduate Studies, Teaching assistantships and Research assistantships…..which means you earn a salary while you study! and tuition fees for grad studies are amongst the best value in Canada. Please consider joining us on the Rock!]

Dalal’s work is available ahead of print (accepted manuscript) in Dalton Transactions. It is open access so everyone can see the sodium structure below and read about its extraordinary activity in ROP.

Considering that sodium is one of the planet’s most abundant metals – this is an important result.

Congratulations Dalal.