Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Milica Radisic, a professor in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, has received the 2024 John C. Polanyi Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

The award is given to an individual or team whose research has led to a recent outstanding advance in any NSERC-supported field of the natural sciences or engineering. It is named in honour of John Charles Polanyi, University Professor Emeritus in the department of chemistry and recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize.

Radisic was recognized for her groundbreaking advancements in organ-on-a-chip technology. Her research aims to revolutionize drug testing and tissue engineering by creating lifelike human tissues outside the body.

“This award will advance our goal of understanding the structure-function relationships that shape our native tissues, and continue developing ways to replicate them in the lab,” says Radisic, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Organ-on-a-Chip Engineering. “Polymer chemistry and microfabrication enable us to precisely tailor the mechanical properties and microstructure of our devices to get the cells to grow in a certain orientation or behave in certain ways. That’s what enables our devices to catalyze drug discovery and the study of complex diseases.”

“Through rich collaborations with experts in medicine, polymer science, cell biology and many other fields, Professor Radisic’s work is advancing new ways to diagnose and treat disease, improving the quality of life for people all over the world,” says Christopher Yip, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

“On behalf of the entire faculty, I warmly congratulate her on this well-deserved honour.”

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Alison McGuigan recognized with NSERC’s Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:19:00 +0000

Alison McGuigan recognized with NSERC’s Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship

Research & Innovation

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 11/14/2024 - 12:19

Faculty

St. George

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

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Alison McGuigan (photo by Sylvie Li / Shoot Studio)

Alison McGuigan, the Erin Edward Hart Professor of Chemical Engineering in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry and Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, has earned an Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

The Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships recognize early-stage academic researchers in the natural sciences and engineering to enhance their research capacity so they can become leaders in their field. NSERC awards up to six fellowships each year to researchers from across Canada.

The award will enable McGuigan and her research group to scale up their work on disease modelling and tissue engineering, which includes creating in-vitro “tissue-in-a-dish” models that can mimic how diseases progress and respond to potential treatments.

“I am a big proponent of team science and I am privileged to be part of an interdisciplinary team trying to solve these hard problems in regenerative medicine – a field that is constantly changing,” says McGuigan, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering and Disease Modelling. “I am deeply appreciative of the opportunities the fellowship will provide, especially being able to have this time to focus and plan how to take my research to the next level, where it can contribute to saving lives.”

“Professor McGuigan’s innovative disease modelling and tissue engineering research is a remarkable example of our faculty’s commitment to finding new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent illness,” says Christopher Yip, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “On behalf of the entire faculty, congratulations on this national recognition and well-deserved honour.” 

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Jennifer Farmer receives 2024 Wighton Fellowship

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 14:25:54 +0000

Jennifer Farmer receives 2024 Wighton Fellowship

Community

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 06/07/2024 - 10:25

Faculty

St. George

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

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Jennifer Farmer (photo by Michael Martino)

Jennifer Farmer, an associate professor, teaching stream in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, has received the 2024 Wighton Fellowship.

Awarded by the Sandford Fleming Foundation at the University of Waterloo, the annual fellowship recognizes excellence in the development and teaching of laboratory-based courses in undergraduate engineering programs.

Farmer teaches two second-year lab courses, Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry Laboratory I and II. She redesigned these courses to include new chemistry content and engineering concepts, and to create better linkages between the two. She also improved the alignment between lectures and labs to provide students with more opportunities to transfer and apply what they’ve learned.

Through her research program, Farmer creates projects that allow students to be active partners in the design of lab curriculum. She has supervised 17 undergraduates and six graduate students in various projects related to curriculum development.

“Professor Farmer’s work in modernizing [the department of chemical engineering]'s laboratory curriculum and facilities, as well as her efforts to ensure that her students are active participants in this work, have provided students with inspiring new learning opportunities,” said Professor Christopher Yip, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

“On behalf of the faculty, congratulations to Professor Farmer on this well-deserved honour.”

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Three Faculty of Arts & Science researchers honoured by American Geophysical Union

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:22:30 +0000

Three Faculty of Arts & Science researchers honoured by American Geophysical Union

Community

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 03/01/2024 - 14:22

Faculty

St. George

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Department of Chemistry

Department of Earth Sciences

Department of Physics

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(L-R) Professor Jonathan Abbatt, University Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar and Associate Professor Debra Wunch (supplied images)

Three researchers from the Faculty of Arts & Science have received honours from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for their outstanding contributions to Earth and space sciences.

Barbara Sherwood Lollar, University Professor in the department of Earth sciences who is cross-appointed to the department of chemistry and the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, presented the Carl Sagan Lecture – an honour reserved for a scientist who embodies the late astronomer’s interest in astrobiology and science communication – at the union’s annual conference, AGU23.

Jonathan Abbatt, a professor in the department of chemistry, gave the Jakob Bjerkness Lecture at AGU23 in recognition of his impact in advancing understanding of the atmosphere and Earth’s climate.

Debra Wunch, associate professor in the department of physics who is cross-appointed to the School of the Environment, received the AGU’s Atmospheric Sciences Ascent Award, which recognizes early- and mid-career researchers.

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Watch University Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar’s lecture (under the “Awards and Honours” tab)

Watch Professor Jonathan Abbatt’s lecture (under the “Awards and Honours” tab)

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Frank Gu and David Wong receive NSERC's Brockhouse Prize

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:18:06 +0000

Frank Gu and David Wong receive NSERC's Brockhouse Prize

Research & Innovation

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 11/20/2023 - 10:18

Faculty

St. George

Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

NSERC

St. Michael's Hospital

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

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Frank Gu and David Wong (supplied images)

The �ؿ�ζSM's Frank Gu and David Wong are part of a research group that has been awarded the Brockhouse Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The prize recognizes Canadian teams of researchers who combine their expertise to produce outstanding achievements in the natural sciences and engineering, and is accompanied by a team research grant of $250,000. The C20/20 Innovation Hub – led by scientific director Heather Sheardown, dean of the Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University – was recognized for leading the development of novel treatment methods for eye diseases like glaucoma, retinal neovascular disease and myopia.

“To say that we are honoured would be an understatement. We are electrified, inspired and immensely grateful for this recognition,” said Gu, a professor in the department of chemical engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering whose research includes engineering nanomedicines to achieve long-lasting delivery of therapeutic agents used in eye drops to treat glaucoma.

Gu says the funding will enable his lab to deepen their understanding of nanostructured materials that can be customized for drug delivery applications. “The ultimate goal of my contribution to the team research is to lead to the development of novel therapeutics to delay or prevent irreversible blindness caused by glaucoma.”

Wong, ophthalmologist in chief at St. Michael’s Hospital at Unity Health Toronto and associate professor in the department of ophthalmology and vision sciences in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, said it was “a true honour” for the C20/20 Innovation Hub to be recognized by NSERC.

“I am very proud of our team led by Dr. Heather Sheardown,” said Wong. “The interdisciplinary approach has been key to building useful ocular biomaterials. It is the art of the possible: a need defined by clinicians with engineers and scientists determining what is possible to make.

“The trans-pollination of information between our disciplines gives us solutions, but also raises new questions and destinies to discover. More collaboration and less silos will further benefit mankind – and the Brockhouse award will help foster this.”

NSERC also recognized two U of T researchers with Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships – Associate Professor Karen Maxwell from Temerty's department of biochemistry, and Assistant Professor Chelsea Rochman from the department of ecology & evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

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Milica Radisic receives International Humboldt Research Award

siddiq22 — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 14:05:51 +0000

Milica Radisic receives International Humboldt Research Award

Research & Innovation

siddiq22 Thu, 08/10/2023 - 10:05

Faculty

St. George

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Humboldt Research Prize

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

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Milica Radisic (supplied photo)

Milica Radisic, a professor in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry and in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, has received a 2023 Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Named for the famed naturalist, explorer and patron, the award honours the academic achievements of internationally recognized scientists and scholars from outside of Germany. Award winners are also invited to carry out their own research project in Germany for six months to a year, and they receive 60,000 euros, which can be used to fund the project and travel.

“This is a huge honour. The award is one of the most prestigious international recognitions a scientist can get,” says Radisic, who holds the Canada Research Chair in organ-on-a-chip engineering.

A leading expert in bioengineering human tissues and the design of microfluidic chips, Radisic will begin working with Professor Ulrike Nuber of the Technical University of Darmstadt next year at her lab, which focuses on creating disease models from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Together, they will partner with researchers at Charité, the Berlin University of Medicine – one of Europe's largest university hospitals – to develop a vascularized organ-on-a-chip model.

“This opportunity will allow me and my colleagues from the Centre for Research and Applications in Fluidic Technologies to build a bridge across the Atlantic and connect with our colleagues from Germany, who have really interesting ideas about the role of endothelial cells and endothelial dysfunction in creating multi-organ failure,” Radisic says.

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Helen Tran recognized with 2021 Dorothy Shoichet Women Faculty in Science Award of Excellence

lanthierj — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 20:00:06 +0000

Helen Tran recognized with 2021 Dorothy Shoichet Women Faculty in Science Award of Excellence

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Thu, 12/16/2021 - 15:00

Faculty

St. George

Department of Cell & Systems Biology

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Department of Chemistry

Dorothy Shoichet Women Faculty in Science Award of Excellence

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

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For her pioneering work in organic polymer chemistry, Helen Tran has been recognized with a 2021 Dorothy Shoichet Women Faculty in Science Award of Excellence.

The award was established in 2016 by University Professor Molly Shoichet in honour of her late mother.

“Professor Tran’s creative use of polymer chemistry, machine learning and computer-assisted design is revolutionizing our understanding of how to generate multifunctional materials and is paving the way for the development of new health and sustainability technologies of the future,” says Vince Tropepe, a professor in the department of cell and systems biology and the Faculty of Arts & Science’s vice dean, research.

An assistant professor in the department of chemistry, Tran is cross-appointed to the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry.

“I am incredibly honoured to receive this award, which will accelerate my research program during a critical point in my career,” says Tran. “I admire Professor Shoichet's altruistic initiative to create such a meaningful award to support younger faculty in the sciences.”

Robert Batey, chair of the department of chemistry, says Tran has “unparalleled enthusiasm and passion for science” and for training and teaching junior scientists.

“Her bold and highly creative research program, securely underpinned by her early success record and enabled by her interdisciplinary training, is unique and will surely propel her to make significant discoveries in the polymer science field,” Batey says. “Helen is perfectly positioned to use this prestigious award as a key career accelerator, and I am confident she will also serve as an ideal ambassador to honour Dorothy Shoichet and inspire the next generation of women faculty in science, particularly in chemistry.”

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William Cluett and Claire Kennedy recognized by Engineers Canada

lanthierj — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 03:28:17 +0000

William Cluett and Claire Kennedy recognized by Engineers Canada

Community

lanthierj Fri, 07/30/2021 - 23:28

Faculty

Alumni

St. George

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Engineers Canada Awards

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Governing Council

Women in STEM

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Two members of the U of T Engineering community have been honoured with Engineers Canada Awards, a series of national honours celebrating engineers who have made distinguished contributions to Canada.

Professor William Cluett of the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry has earned the Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education, which recognizes an engineer who has made exceptional contributions to the education and development of engineering students and to engineering education in Canada.

Alumna Claire Kennedy, who recently completed her term as chair of U of T’s Governing Council has received the Meritorious Service Award for Community Service, presented to an engineer who makes exemplary volunteer contributions to the community.

The director of the division of engineering science, Cluett has held many key academic leadership roles, including vice-dean, first year and vice-dean, undergraduate. He helped reshape the faculty’s approach to engineering education, led the development of a unique major in engineering mathematics, statistics, and finance and oversaw a significant expansion of the engineering science summer research opportunities program.

Kennedy has a long history of engagement with the U of T Engineering community, serving as a member of the dean’s strategic development council and campaign cabinet executive, member and past chair of the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry’s advisory board and member and past president of the Engineering Alumni Network.

“Professor Cluett and Claire Kennedy are two highly accomplished engineers who have made incredible contributions to the faculty, to the university, and to the community beyond U of T,” said Christopher Yip, dean of U of T Engineering. “On behalf of the faculty, I congratulate them on this recognition – extremely well deserved.”

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Emma Master recognized with Connaught Innovation Award

lanthierj — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 22:49:43 +0000

Emma Master recognized with Connaught Innovation Award

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Mon, 03/29/2021 - 18:49

Faculty

St. George

Connaught Innovation Award

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Women in STEM

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Professor Emma Master of the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has received a Connaught Innovation Award to support her team’s work on plant-based, renewable alternatives to petrochemical compounds.

Grounded by what Master describes as “a deep appreciation of the carbon, energy, and function embodied by Canada’s boreal forest,” her team uses biocatalysts to upgrade major plant fibre components for use in renewable materials - instead of simply breaking them down into fermentable sugars.

“Our enzyme technology presents a more resource-efficient approach that maximizes the value of naturally occurring chemical structures present in the starting material,” Master says. “At the same time, our enzyme technology is designed to upgrade underused residues of major agricultural and forest practices, underscoring the potential impact of the technology on increasing resource efficiency.”

The associate director of BioZone, a centre of applied bioscience and bioengineering, Master is also co-leader of Genome Canada's SYNBIOMICS project that uses enzymes to upgrade biopolymers from trees, creating higher-value materials and heads the NSERC CREATE training program in open science for industrial biotechnology in the circular economy.

Awarded a Finland Distinguished Professor Fellowship in 2010, Master also received a European Research Council Consolidator grant in 2015. Last year, she was awarded a Future and Emerging Technologies Open grant to integrate bioscience, computational sciences and materials sciences for the advancement of biotechnologies in circular bio-based economies.

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Levente Diosady recognized with Connaught Innovation Award

lanthierj — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 22:12:42 +0000

Levente Diosady recognized with Connaught Innovation Award

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Mon, 03/29/2021 - 18:12

Faculty

St. George

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Connaught Innovation Award

Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

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Professor Emeritus Levente Diosady of the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has received a Connaught Innovation Award for his work on fortifying tea and tea beverages with iron.

A world-renowned food engineer, Diosady has spent much of his career developing techniques for fortifying staple foods with micronutrients to improve human health.

“We have developed technology that allows inclusion of iron in the presence of a competing chelating agent, which does not affect the taste and colour of tea prepared by steeping tea leaves or granules in boiling water,” Diosady says. “To enable large-scale introduction of this invention, we need to further develop technology for inclusion of the encapsulated micronutrient in the most widely consumed forms of tea: tea granules and tea powder, in addition to the more expensive tea leaves.”

Diosady’s team will agglomerate the iron microcapsules with a modified starch or sugar.

“Since tea in India is consumed sweetened with sugar, the addition of very small amounts of sugar will not degrade the taste of the iron fortified tea,” Diosady says. “Successful development of the technology will allow us to conclude a joint development program with Hindustan Unilever to market iron fortified tea.”

The goal is to improve iron levels in women especially in South Asia, reducing the incidence of maternal and infant mortality, Diosady says.

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