The Green Chemistry and Catalysis Group provide opportunities for valuable research experience to a large number of undergraduate students each summer (NSERC USRAs 16 weeks and SWASP 8 weeks). We often hire students directly after their 1st year studies at MUN (if they have obtained ‘A’ grades in Chem 1050/51). Also, there are usually part-time positions available in the Fall and Winter Semesters (through MUCEP). We also participate in the Canadian Inorganic Chemistry Exchange (ICE). We have hosted students from UVic, UBC, Western and Queen’s. All students who have performed research in our group, to the best of our knowledge, have gone on to graduate studies, professional schools or are working in fields where they directly apply the skills that they have learnt. Several of these students have received prestigious awards after leaving the group (Vanier Award, Julie Payette Award)
Dr. Kerton and Dr. Kozak normally hire two new graduate students each per year. Graduate students have either gone onto further graduate studies (i.e. MSc to PhD) or postdoctoral fellowships.
Recent Undergraduates in the Green Chemistry and Catalysis Group:
1. to 46. Pre-2012
47. Michelle Pratt, Honours Project (490A/B) 2011/12 (Kozak Group): completed undergraduate degree, progressed to medical school at Memorial Univ. (started Sept. 2012)
48. Lisa Saunders, Honours Project (490A/B) 2011/12 (Kozak Group): completed undergraduate degree, pursuing grad studies in Crudden Group (Queens) started Sept. 2012. News: OGS awarded 2013
49. Marcus Drover, Honours Project (490A/B) 2011/12 (Kerton Group): “Structural, Catalytic and Spectroscopic Studies of Lithium and Bismuth Coordination Compounds” completed undergraduate degree, pursuing graduate studies at UBC (Love/Schafer) from Sept. 2012. Co-author on two manuscripts in preparation from honours research. News: Vanier Award recipient 2013
50. Jennifer Murphy, Faculty of Science SURA 2012 and Honours Project (490A/B) 2012/2013, (Kerton Group, co-supervised by Louise Dawe & Celine Schneider) completed undergraduate degree, pursuing graduate studies at MUN and holds an Ocean Industries Award from RDC. Co-author on accepted manuscript in Journal of Chemical Crystallography, 2014.
51. April Woods, Faculty of Science SURA 2012, (Kozak Group, co-supervised by Christina Bottaro), completed undergraduate degree, pursuing graduate studies in analytical chemistry at U.Saskatchewan (Burgess). Co-author on one paper (Faraday Discussions 2015)
52. Jeremy O’Brien, NSERC USRA 2013 (Kerton Group): “Reactions of Biomass and Carbon Dioxide” completed undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at MUN. Co-author on one paper (Catalysis Sci & Tech 2014), now student of Medicine at MUN.
53. Cody O’Brien, NSERC USRA 2013 (Kozak Group), now student of Medicine at MUN.
54. Rebecca Quilty, NSERC USRA 2013 (Kozak Group), now student of Medicine at MUN
55. Andrew Walsh, SWASP 2013 (Kerton Group): “Synthesis and Characterization of V compounds for Oxidation Catalysis” completing undergraduate degree in Chemistry at MUN. Co-author on one manuscript submitted to European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, MSc student with Ray Poirier @Memorial University from Fall 2016
56. Rebecca O’Leary, Volunteer 2013 (Kerton Group): “Preparation of Ligands for Catalysts” Attending Medical School at MUN from Sept. 2016
57. Karen Strassel, DAAD RISE 2013 (Kerton Group): “Reactions of Aminocarbohydrates” completing MSc degree in Chemistry, Germany. Co-author on one manuscript in preparation, now pursuing graduate studies at UiT Norges arktiske universitet
58. Fabio Oldenburg, DAAD RISE 2013 (Kozak Group)
59. Jan-Philipp Menzel, DAAD RISE 2013 (Kozak Group)
60.Kelly Mitchelmore, Research Assistant (6 weeks, summer 2013, Kerton Group): “Reactions of Biomass” completing degree in Pharmacy at MUN.
61. Christian Pearce, Fall MUCEP 2013 (40 h) (Kerton Group): “Preparation of Ligands for Catalysts” pursuing MSc in Health Sciences at MUN from Sept. 2016
62. Cody Dunne, Winter MUCEP 2014 (40 h) (Kerton Group): “Preparation of Ligands for Catalysts and Transformation of Biomass-sourced Chemicals” completed undergraduate degree in Chemistry at MUN, now student of Medicine at MUN
63. Peter Benson, Winter MUCEP 2014 (40 h) (Kozak Group): “Preparation of Ligands for Catalysts” completed undergraduate degree in Chemistry at MUN.
64. Christian Pearce, NSERC USRA 2014 (Kerton Group): “Preparation of Ligands and Catalysts for oxidation reactions and CO2 activation” pursuing MSc in Health Sciences at MUN from Sept. 2016
65. Rebecca O’Leary, NSERC USRA 2014 (Kerton Group): “Study of catalysts for oxidation reactions aimed at epoxide formation” Attending Medical School at MUN from Sept. 2016
66. Michaela Ryan, FoS SURA 2014 (Kerton Group) and MUCEP 2014/15: “Waste biomass as a source of valuable chemicals and materials” Attending Medical School at MUN from Sept. 2016
67. Joshua Lehr NSERC USRA 2014 (Kozak Group) completed undergraduate degree at MUN, incl. 2015/16 Fulbright Scholarship at University of Texas and now at Memorial Univ’s School of Medicine.
68. Nicolas Bouchard NSERC USRA 2014, Inorganic Chemistry Exchange scholar from Université Laval (Kozak Group), pursuing graduate studies at Univ. Laval.
69. Cosima Staehler DAAD RISE Weltweit 2014 (Kerton Group), completing M.Sc. at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel. Completing Ph.D. in the Netherlands with Prof. Ben Feringa (Nobel Laureate)
70. Immanuel Reim DAAD RISE Weltweit 2014 (Kerton Group)
71. Melanie Snow Winter MUCEP 2015 (40 h) (Kozak Group) now completing M.Sc. at University of Toronto.
72. Maximilian Springer DAAD RISE Weltweit 2015 (Kozak Group)
73. Julia Pennell Fall and Winter MUCEPs 2015/16 (2 x 40 h) (Kerton Group), “Ligand syntheses” now completing M.Sc. in Dept. of Genetics @Memorial University
74. Nathaniel Noel Fall MUCEP 2015 (40 h) (Kozak Group), completed undergraduate degree at MUN
75. Laura Turner Winter MUCEP 2016 (40 h) (Kozak Group), completing undergraduate degree at MUN
76. Quentin Lepillet, exchange student, Spring 2016 (Kerton Group), “Mussels and their valorization” completed undergraduate degree in France, now Engineer at Lesieur (Nord-Pas-de-Calais)
77. Jevon Marsh, NSERC USRA 2016 (Kerton Group): “Study of catalysts for reactions of carbon dioxide”, from Fall 2018, MSc student, (currently visiting researcher, supramolecular chemistry, Bordeaux)
78. Tyler Brown, NSERC USRA 2016 and MUCEP 2016/17 (Kerton/Kozak Group): “Study of catalysts for reactions of carbon dioxide” completed undergraduate degree at Memorial and went to Memorial Medical School
79.Lilo Mailänder DAAD RISE Weltweit 2016 (Kerton Group), pursuing graduate studies in Germany
80. Laura Stein, DAAD RISE Weltweit 2016 (Kerton Group), pursuing graduate studies in Germany
81. Simon Brake, MUCEP 2016/17 (Kerton Group), now M.Sc. student, Bodwell Group @Memorial University.
82. Archita Adluri, MUCEP 2016/17 (Kerton Group), progressed to Honours student, Rowley Group @Memorial University and from Sept. 2018, M.Sc. student, University of Victoria
83. Ryan Warren, MUCEP 2017 (Kerton Group), completing undergraduate degree @Memorial University
84. Dakshita Jagota, MUCEP 2018 (Kerton Group), completing undergraduate degree @Memorial University, now spending time in Germany as a visiting researcher.
85. Sarah O’Reilly, Canada Summer Jobs 2018 (Kerton Group), completing undergraduate degree @Memorial University
86. Nathan Butt, Canada Summer Jobs 2018 (Kozak/Kerton Group), completing undergraduate degree @Memorial University.
Apologies that we have been unable to keep this up to date recently.
Note: Where a student has completed several projects or work terms, they are listed multiple times in this list but only publications resulting from that particular project are listed. For example, Chad Petten is listed three times, as he has worked for 2 summers and for his honours project in the group. In total, he is a co-author on 4 papers but, in most cases only 1 publication is mentioned each time his name is listed.
Recent Graduate Students in the Green Chemistry and Catalysis Group:
1. Rajoshree Roychowdhury, B.Sc. and M.Sc. Pune, India, M.Sc. 2007 (Kozak group), ‘Synthesis and Reactivity of Iron Amine-bis(phenolate) Complexes’; progressed to Ph.D. Candidate at Univ. of Windsor (Macdonald Group). Co-author on 1 publication.
2. Nduka Ikpo, B.Sc. Nigeria and M.Sc. (1yr) Aberdeen, M.Sc. 2008 (Kerton group), ‘High-Throughput Methods and Lanthanide Chemistry’; progressed to Ph.D Candidate at Memorial Univ. (Kerton Group). Co-author on 1 publication from M.Sc.
3. Uttam Das, B.Sc. and M.Phil. Bangladesh, M.Sc. 2010 (Kerton/Kozak collaboration), ‘Synthesis and Reactivity of Cobalt Amine-bis(phenolate) Complexes’; progressed to Ph.D. Candidate at Univ. of Ottawa (Baker Group). Co-author on 2 publications.
4. Xin Qian, B.Sc. China, M.Sc. 2010 (Kozak group), ‘Synthesis and Reactivity of Iron Amine-bis(phenolate) Complexes’; progressed to Ph.D. Candidate at Ecole Polytechnique,Paris, France. Co-author on 2 publications. NEWS: Shortlisted for Reaxys PhD Award
5. Hassan A. Kalviri, B.Sc./M.Sc. Iran, Ph.D. 2011 (Kerton group), ‘Dehydration Reactions of Benzylic Alcohols and Preparation of Palladium Nanocrystals in Imidazolium and Phosphonium Ionic Liquids’; progressed to Postdoctoral Researcher, Baker group, Univ. of Ottawa and now Senior Chemist at Avivagen Inc., Ottawa. Co-author on 3 publications (and 1 in prep).
6. Zhenzhong Hu, B.Sc./M.Sc. China, Ph.D. 2011 (Kerton group), ‘Copper Coordination Chemistry with Pyridyl-Imine Ligands and their Application in Aerobic Oxidation Reactions’; progressed to Postdoctoral Researcher, Ariya group, McGill Univ., Co-author on 3 publications (all full papers). NEWS: Awarded FQRNT Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2013
7. Kamrul Hasan, B.Sc./M.Phil. Bangladesh, Ph.D. 2011 (Kozak group), ‘Iron Catalysts for the Epoxidation of Olefins and C-C Cross-coupling’; progressed to Postdoctoral Researcher, Zysman-Colman Group, Univ. de Sherbrooke; and now Assistant Professor at University of Sharjah, UAE. Co-author on 4 publications.
8. Samantha Payne, B.Sc. Memorial Univ., M.Sc. 2012 (Kerton group), ‘Green Chemical Transformations of Bio-sourced Molecules’; progressed to Laboratory Instructor, Memorial University. Co-author on 1 publication from M.Sc.
9. Khaled W. Omari, B.Sc./M.Sc. Jordan, Ph.D. 2012 (Kerton group), ‘Producing Renewable Chemicals From Fishery Waste: Chitin, Chitosan and Their Monomers’; progressed to industrial/academic postdoctoral position at CBU (MacQuarrie and B.W.Bioenergy Inc. 2012-13), then NSERC Visiting Fellow at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada in London, ON, and now, Laboratory Supervisor/Manager at TestMark Labs, ON. Co-author on 4 publications from PhD. Now assistant professor at American University of the Middle East in Kuwait (2019).
10. Elliott F. Chard, B.Sc. MUN, M.Sc. 2012 (Kozak group), ‘Iron complexes’; progressed to MUN School of Medicine. Co-author on 2 publications.
11. Nduka Ikpo, M.Sc. 2008 (Kerton group), Ph.D. 2013 (Kerton group), ‘Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of Amine-phenolate Complexes Towards the Preparation of Aliphatic Polyesters’; progressed to Postdoctoral Researcher with Derek MacKenzie, Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta. Co-author on 6 publications from PhD.
12. Hua Chen, M.Sc. 2014 (Kozak group), ‘Chromium complexes’. Co-author on 2 publications. Working in the business sector in Ontario.
13. Qing He, M.Sc. 2013 (Kerton group). Co-author on 1 publication/review. Ph.D. candidate.
14. Greg Curtis, M.Sc. 2014 (Kerton group). Co-author on 1 manuscript in preparation; progressed to Lead Scientist, Soma Labs, North Vancouver. Update: Promoted to Vice President of Research and Product Development at Soma Labs Scientific Inc.
15. Valerie Parsons, M.Sc. 2015 (Co-supervised Bottaro/Kerton) Co-author on 1 paper and 1 manuscript in preparation; progressed to Analytical Chemist, Vale, Labrador.
16. Coralee Ridder, M.Sc. 2016 (Kerton group). Co-author on 1 manuscript in preparation; progressed to R&D Chemist, Sialco Inc., Delta, BC.
17. Yi (Charlene) Liu, M.Sc. 2016 (Kozak group). Co-author on 1 paper. PhD candidate at McGill University
18. Dalal Alhashmialameer, Ph.D. 2017 (Kerton group) Co-author on 2 papers and 1 manuscript in preparation; progressed to Assistant Professor, Taibah University, Saudi Arabia
19. Kata Devaine-Pressing, PhD. 2017 (Kozak group), Co-author on 5 papers. College Chemistry Teacher in Hungary
20. Yi Liu, Ph.D. 2017 (Kerton group) Co-author on 4 papers, 1 conference proceeding and 2 manuscripts in preparation; progressed to Researcher, Integer Resources, Canada and now Postdoctoral Fellow (with Dr. Deepika Dave), Marine Bioprocessing Facility, Marine Institute, Canada.
21. Kaijie Ni (Kozak group), Co-author on 3 papers. Employed by Pragmatic Drilling Fluids Additives Ltd. following PDF at University of Western Ontario.
22. Ali Elkurtehi, Ph.D. 2018 (Kerton group) Co-author on 2 papers and 1 manuscript in preparation. Entrepreneur in St. John’s, NL
23. Erika Butler, M.Sc. 2018 (Kozak group), Co-author on 1 paper. Scientist at Solid-State Pharma Inc., NS
24. Jue Gong, M.Sc. 2018 (Kerton group). Co-author on 1 manuscript accepted subject to revision; progressed to PhD candidate, University of Western Ontario.
25. George Margoutidis, Ph.D. 2019 (Kerton group)
26. Kenson Ambrose, Ph.D. 2019 (Kozak group). Co-author on 3 papers. Postdoctoral Researcher at Dalhousie University.
27. Jennifer Murphy, Ph.D. 2019 (Kerton group). Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Windsor, now NSERC PDF at U.Berkeley
Apologies that we have been unable to keep this up to date recently.
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Green Chemistry @ MUN 