2014 Awards - Canadian National Committee for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (CNC-IUPAC)

CNC-IUPAC: Canadian National Committee for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

2014 Award Winners

Congratulations to the four winners of the 2014 CNC-IUPAC Travel Awards:

Belinda Heyne, University of Calgary
Belinda Heyne is an Associate Professor in the Chemistry Department at the University of Calgary. Her research interest lies in supramolecular photochemistry involving the organization of molecules into ordered aggregates due to weak interactions. In particular, her work focuses in understanding the effects of salt on the organization of small cyanine dyes. This research topic led her group to develop new synthetic techniques to generate both organic and metallic nanoparticles. More recently, her group designed novel core-shell nanoparticles capitalizing on metal enhancement effects and allowing for the amplification of singlet oxygen production. These new nanoparticles can find application in photodynamic therapy treatment of microbial infection. Thanks to the support of the CNC-IUPAC Travel Awards, Dr. Heyne will attend the 25th IUPAC Symposium on photochemistry (July 2014, Bordeaux, France) where she will present her latest results on nanoparticles and singlet oxygen amplification.

Kagan Kerman, University of Toronto
Kagan Kerman obtained his PhD from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in 2005 working with Prof. Eiichi Tamiya. His dissertation examined the development of nanomaterial-based electrochemical DNA biosensors. He then pursued postdoctoral studies with Prof. Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Western Ontario studying electrochemical characterization of ferrocene-conjugated peptides. In 2008, he joined the faculty at University of Toronto Scarborough where his bioanalytical chemistry research program focuses on the development of novel electrochemical bioassays that would facilitate drug discovery. His group is currently studying the electrochemistry of peptides and enzymes related to Alzheimer’s disease. The CNC-IUPAC Travel Award will fund Dr. Kerman’s participation in the International Conference on Modern Physical Chemistry for Advanced Materials (MPC’14) in Kharkiv, Ukraine in June 2014.

Jason Masuda, Saint Mary's University
Jason Masuda obtained his BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Lethbridge working with Prof. René Boeré on low-coordinate, phosphorus-based ligands. In 2005 he graduated with a PhD from the University of Windsor working with Prof. Doug Stephan on organometallic and main group chemistry. Jason then worked as an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Riverside with Prof. Guy Bertrand on carbene chemistry, followed by a short stint at Los Alamos National Laboratory working with organometallic lanthanide compounds with Dr. Jacqueline Kiplinger. In 2008 he joined Saint Mary's University and is now an associate professor. His research is currently focused on main group organometallic chemistry as well as the preparation of stable main group compounds and radicals featuring novel bonding patterns and reactivity. With the support of the CNC-IUPAC Travel Award, Dr. Masuda will attend the 26th International Conference on Organometallic Chemistry in Sapporo, Japan in July 2014.

Pavle Radovanovic, University of Waterloo
Pavle Radovanovic obtained his Dipl. Chem. degree from the University of Novi Sad (Serbia), MSc degree from Georgetown University, and a PhD degree from the University of Washington (Seattle). He subsequently carried out his postdoctoral research at Harvard University, before joining the University of Waterloo in 2006 as an Assistant Professor, where he was subsequently named Canada Research Chair in Spectroscopy of Nanoscale Materials. He was promoted to an Associate Professor with tenure in 2012. At Waterloo he embarked on a new research program in the area of solid state physical-inorganic chemistry focusing on the design, synthesis and fundamental physical and chemical properties of multifunctional low-dimensional materials. With support from CNC-IUPAC Travel Award Dr. Radovanovic will attend the International Conference on Applied Chemistry in Suva, Fiji in March 2014.