Graduate Studies Menu:
Life After Graduate School
 | Christine
Braban Research Associate Centre for Atmospheric Sciences Department of Chemistry University of Cambridge Cambridge UK. |
| My life after grad school has been so far working as PDRA in the Centre for Atmospheric
Science at Cambridge. I have been working on the heterogeneous chemistry of reactive halogen species
on aerosol. Specifically my first few months were spent studying reactions on sea salt aerosol.
Since then I have been working on a project investigating the chemistry which can occur in volcano
plumes. Catalytic chemistry similar to that which causes ozone depletion in the stratosphere is
likely to occur on a small scale in passively degassing volcanoes. The second part of my life since leaving Toronto has been the birth of my daughter - Jenna Hallie. | |
 | Dr. Andre Arsenault (Doctor of Philosophy Conferred - June 2007) |
| My name is Andre Arsenault and I recently completed my Ph.D.
degree in the group of Professor Geoffrey A. Ozin in the Department of Chemistry. Over the course
of my studies in materials chemistry, I was exposed to a wide variety of disciplines, from physics
to engineering to biochemistry. My time was also spent divided amongst different tasks, such as
researching, experiments, analysis, writing papers, writing patents, preparing and giving talks at
symposia and conferences, even communicating science to the lay public and potential
investors. The training I received during my degree in chemistry was exceptionally well-rounded and gave me the skills to excel in a variety of career paths. At the moment I am heading the research in a spin-off company developing products based on my Ph.D. research. My tutelage under UofT allowed me not only to develop viable technologies, but also allowed me to comprehensively protect these technologies, and to convincingly describe them to investors and business partners. | |
 | Dr. Darren
Anderson (Doctor of Philosophy Conferred - June 2006) Chief Technology Officer, Northern Nanotechnologies Inc. www.nntech.com |
| Like many graduate students, I went to graduate school
to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up! I realized fairly quickly that I was not
interested in doing bench chemistry long term, but wasn't really sure what other jobs were
interesting to me. Then, about a year prior to graduation, I participated in a course on
'Scientific Entrepreneurship' sponsored by the Department of Chemistry. As part of the course,
students were pushed to give a 'pitch' describing a new technology-based business. During the same
time frame, some other U of T students and post-docs in my lab had developed a way of making
interesting new materials, so we decided to wrap that into the pitch. Giving the pitch made us realize that the technology had real promise, so 5 other labmates and I founded Northern Nanotechnologies Inc. I was most interested in the non-bench work, so I led most of the 'business' aspects of our start-up company at the early stages. This included patent filings, fundraising, negotiating contracts, hiring people, and building a business plan. We were successful in raising almost $1M in initial funding and have recently brought on an experienced entrepreneur as our President. I'm now the Chief Technology Officer of our company, and am responsible for all of the technical aspects of our corporate development. Running a start-up company has been an exhilarating ride, and a tremendous learning experience. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes a fast-paced environment where there are surprises at every turn. | |
 | Gabriel Hanna Research Fellow Department of Chemistry University of Michigan |
| I am currently doing postdoctoral
research under the supervision of Prof. Eitan Geva in the chemistry department at the University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor , MI . Our research focuses on the development and application of
theoretical/computational approaches to complement recent experimental advances in ultrafast
multidimensional infrared (IR) spectroscopy, which have made it possible to probe molecular dynamics
on the femtosecond timescale. My current research projects revolve around the quantum dynamics and
nonlinear spectroscopy of hydrogen-bonded complexes in solution. They include the development of a
method for simulating laser-driven vibrational dynamics in the condensed phase, the calculation and
interpretation of two-dimensional IR spectra for various types of systems containing solvated
hydrogen-bonded complexes, and the examination of vibrational energy relaxation of the hydrogen
stretch in these complexes as motivated by pump-probe experiments. This work will help us to better
understand ultrafast IR spectroscopy experiments and condensed phase hydrogen bonding dynamics,
which is fundamental to many chemical and biological processes. Moreover, recent advances have made
it possible to design laser pulses that can optimize the outcome of molecular processes. Thus, a
future theoretical challenge of ours involves achieving such control in the condensed
phase. Several aspects of my graduate school experience have greatly contributed to my training and have facilitated the transition to my new position. At the top of the list, I was very lucky to have an excellent supervisor. Next, discussions with fellow students and postdocs from around the world helped to give me a broader perspective on things. Writing articles for publication in scientific books and journals taught me invaluable lessons about the research process. Also, the process of writing my thesis taught me the importance of being comprehensive and pedagogic when the need arises. Giving seminars over the years in front of different audiences was instrumental in refining my presentation skills. Finally, being a teaching assistant gave me experience in interacting with undergraduate students, which will hopefully come in handy some day. |
|
 | Dr. Jason R. Dwyer Max-Born-Institut (MBI) Haus C Max-Born-Strasse 2A 12489 Berlin Germany |
| I graduated from U of T with my Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 2005. I had worked in
the group of R.J.D. Miller, developing the technique of femtosecond electron diffractionbuilding a
camera designed to make molecular-level movies of chemical reactions. I am currently an NSERC
postdoctoral fellow at the Max Born Institute in Berlin where I am using time-resolved infrared
spectroscopy to learn more about DNA. While graduate school is obviously a prerequisite for a postdoctoral fellowship, it was a greatly rewarding experience in its own right. There was great flexibility to explore different subdisciplines of science and to discover often unexpected features of nature. It is the breadth of science that you can sample at graduate school that makes the process exciting and interesting and prepares you for future scientific endeavours. I learned techniques ranging from air- and light-sensitive synthesis to ultrafast optics, reaped the benefits from interacting with chemists of all stripes, and physicists and engineers, too. | |
 | Dr. Shahla Yekta Institut für Chemie und Biochemie Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3 D-14195 Berlin, Germany |
| I obtained my Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Toronto in 2005 with Professor Andrei Yudin and am currently an Alexander von Humboldt post-doctoral fellow at the Free university in Berlin, Germany. While doing my Ph.D., I was weighing several future possibilities and as the end neared, I decided that a post-doctoral position would be the perfect opportunity to challenge myself with new chemistry and a new environment. Working on my doctoral degree opened many exciting doors to me through interdisciplinary collaborations, not just in chemistry but also other areas such as medicine and public health. I found particularly fulfilling a collaboration between Profs. Yudin and Kevin Kain (Toronto General Hospital) in which I designed and synthesized molecules targeted for antimalarial activity. Of course my Ph.D. has additionally allowed me to live in a different country, learn a new language and experience a different culture. It has been a rewarding experience and I look forward to the opportunities to come! | |
Back to top