News & Updates Archive (2023)

How mentorship is inspiring the next generation of Black engineering researchers

By Jennifer Hsu | February 17, 2023 | Comments Off on How mentorship is inspiring the next generation of Black engineering researchers

D’Andre Wilson-Ihejirika (ChemE PhD candidate) helped create Engineering Graduate Connections, a program that promotes graduate research opportunities for underrepresented students. Last September, the group held its first event with a theme around building bridges between undergraduate and graduate students. The awareness session introduced students to pathways to research and included discussions on navigating imposter syndrome in […]

Researchers create novel BTEX-eating microbes

By Jennifer Hsu | February 9, 2023 | Comments Off on Researchers create novel BTEX-eating microbes

Postdoctoral fellow Courtney Toth and team have developed unique anaerobic cultures that degrade a toxic set of petroleum hydrocarbons known as BTEX – Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene. It’s no secret we are amid a growing pollution crisis. Anywhere that we produce, use, or store hazardous chemicals is at risk of contamination. Fortunately, nature has […]

Novel bio-based polymers highlighted in ScienceDirect

By Jennifer Hsu | February 1, 2023 | Comments Off on Novel bio-based polymers highlighted in ScienceDirect

Mohammad Mahaninia started his PhD study at the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry under the supervision of Professor Ning Yan in 2021. His research focuses on the synthesis of bio-based polymers. These types of polymers are anticipated to have considerable applications in many fields (e.g., environmental science, 3-D printing) due to their tunable […]

Catching up with Peter Murphy

By Jennifer Hsu | January 27, 2023 | Comments Off on Catching up with Peter Murphy

Peter Murphy (ChemE 1T5+PEY, MASc 1T9) has been an ambassador for the University of Toronto Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry (ChemE) since his first year of studies. Throughout his undergraduate and graduate education, he took time out of his schedule (often on weekends) to present our department at recruitment events. Even now as […]

Alumni making their mark: Janani Vedanth

By Michael Martino | January 18, 2023 | Comments Off on Alumni making their mark: Janani Vedanth

Janani Vedanth’s (ChemE 0T7) interest in chemical engineering was fostered from a young age, her father having been a vocal advocate for the profession as a sound career choice. Coming from a family steeped in STEM careers, she’d always had a strong interest in math and science. Vedanth chose to pursue her education in chemical […]

Meet our two new faculty members: Mohamad Moosavi and Nicole Weckman

By Michael Martino | January 11, 2023 | Comments Off on Meet our two new faculty members: Mohamad Moosavi and Nicole Weckman

A warm welcome to our two newest Assistant Professors who joined ChemE this month: Seyed Mohamad Moosavi and Nicole Weckman. Moosavi is a Principal Investigator for AI4ChemS group and Faculty Affiliate at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Focusing on energy and porous materials, his work involves using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and molecular simulation to […]

ChemE Future Leader: Hazel Fricska

By Michael Martino | January 10, 2023 | Comments Off on ChemE Future Leader: Hazel Fricska

U of T has been repeatedly recognized as the best engineering school in Canada, a fact that leads many passionate and talented students like Hazel Fricska (ChemE 2T4 + PEY) to our community. “I felt it was the best institution for me to learn skills to take action and be directly involved in solving the […]