40 Willcocks St.
Toronto
ON
Abstract: Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter generally in the 1–100 nm dimension range. Detailed understanding of chemical interactions and recent technological advances have created the possibility of designing nano-structured materials tailored for specific applications. Professor Gu heads an interdisciplinary research group that combines functional polymers and polymer metal oxide materials to solve problems in health and environmental protection. This seminar will showcase several major activities in Gu’s lab for healthcare and environmental remediation applications.
Biography:
Prof. Frank Gu is a Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Gu received his Ph.D. from Queen’s University, Canada, where he majored in chemical engineering. Following completion of his graduate program, he pursued postdoctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. In July 2008, Dr. Gu joined Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Gu has established a frontier research program in Nanotechnology Engineering, with important advances in medical and life science applications. Leading-edge projects have produced new materials and tools for targeted drug delivery, rapid pathogen detection, and passive water treatment. His research has had tangible impacts on his field and industry, including mucoadhesive nanoparticles for the treatment of Dry Eye Disease, and photocatalytic water treatment technologies that are the core technology of H2nanO, a Canadian startup company. Dr. Gu has authored and co-authored more than 200 journal and conference publications, as well as 25 U.S. and World patents and applications.