and Zoom https://uvic.zoom.us/j/83657240884?pwd=3pDZp5892dS4gsAKoaplX1t2j9kgbh.1
and Zoom https://uvic.zoom.us/j/83657240884?pwd=3pDZp5892dS4gsAKoaplX1t2j9kgbh.1
and Zoom https://uvic.zoom.us/j/83657240884?pwd=3pDZp5892dS4gsAKoaplX1t2j9kgbh.1
and Zoom https://uvic.zoom.us/j/83657240884?pwd=3pDZp5892dS4gsAKoaplX1t2j9kgbh.1
Abstract: Plastics are the largest synthetic consumer product in the world, with an annual production of over 360 million metric tons annually. Despite the structural diversity enabled by modern advances in polymer synthesis, greater than 60% of world plastic production remains dominated by polyolefins. These high-volume, low-cost engineering thermoplastics are made from a small sub-set of petroleum derived monomers and demonstrate diverse thermomechanical properties, attractive chemical resistance, and excellent processability. Creating sustainable materials that compete with the performance and value proposition of polyolefins is a grand challenge for the field of polymer science. The goal of research in the Leibfarth group is to develop synthetic methods that transform readily available starting materials into functional and sustainable thermoplastics with molecular-level precision. This goal informs our two complementary approaches that seek to 1) leverage chemo- and regioselective C–H functionalization of polyolefins to enhance the properties of these venerable materials and 2) develop stereoselective polymerization methods that engender emergent polymer properties from simple chemical building blocks. These concepts have resulted in platform synthetic methods that enhance the thermomechanical, adhesion, and transport properties of polyolefins while also uncovering mechanistic insights that broadly inform synthetic method development.
and Zoom https://uvic.zoom.us/j/83657240884?pwd=3pDZp5892dS4gsAKoaplX1t2j9kgbh.1
and Zoom https://uvic.zoom.us/j/83657240884?pwd=3pDZp5892dS4gsAKoaplX1t2j9kgbh.1
Abstract: Chemical analysis is an essential part of our search for life beyond Earth. The most sensitive, and least Earth-centric, way to perform a chemical search for life during a spaceflight mission is by coupling liquid-based sample handling and separation with mass spectrometry and other detectors. We have fundamentally advanced the readiness of this technology for potential robotic astrobiology missions, through the invention of a new generation of portable electrophoresis instrumentation. In the Atacama Desert, Chile we demonstrated “sample-in-data-out” function of a remotely operated rover-mounted microchip-based system using optical detection. More recently, at Mono Lake, California, we demonstrated a capillary-based system capable of interfacing with additional detector systems, including conductivity and mass spectrometry detection. These hardware systems serve as prototypes for future spaceflight mission instruments, and can be customized for terrestrial and marine investigations as well.
Calling all students interested in water and environmental research!
We are currently recruiting students to join the organizing committee for the upcoming Water & Environment Student Talks Conference (WEST-Con) 2024.
WEST-Con is an interdisciplinary conference organized by students for students working within the fields of water and environment. In the past two years, WEST-Con was held in a virtual/hybrid format to facilitate student participation nationally and internationally. This format has seen over 300 participants from 16 countries, creating a global community among student researchers.
We invite students from all faculties to join the multi-disciplinary Organizing Committee for WEST-Con 2024. Subcommittees include: Finance, Communications, Publicity, Logistics, and Content. A brief overview of the roles and responsibilities for each subcommittee can be found in the linked form shared below.
You can join the Organizing Committee by completing the form linked here.
Feel free to email us with any questions (info@west-conference.ubc.ca). We look forward to hearing from you!
Warm regards,
Katie Moloney & Eloisa Sia
WEST Conference 2024 Co-Chairs
Email: info@west-conference.ubc.ca
and Zoom https://uvic.zoom.us/j/83657240884?pwd=3pDZp5892dS4gsAKoaplX1t2j9kgbh.1
ABSTRACT: The number of possible organic compounds is practically infinite, making it highly probable that an organic material with excellent properties can be found for any application. However, leveraging this potential requires a deep understanding of the relationship between the property of interest and molecular structure. Molecules and polymers with extended pi conjugation exhibit conductive and semiconducting properties once thought only possible in inorganic materials. Organic solar cells, light emitting diodes, transistors, thermoelectric devices, and printed electronics rely on pi-conjugated materials as their primary active material. Many of the early investigations on this class of materials focused on their electrochemical properties; their ability to transport ions from an electrolyte to facilitate a change in their oxidation state and hence material properties. This line of investigation has re-emerged at the frontier of basic research, owing to the development of biosensors, neuromorphic computing elements, and electrochromic devices. The common feature uniting these seemingly disparate applications is that they leverage the ability of organic materials to simultaneously transport both electronic and ionic charge carriers. We have used in-situ spectroscopy to develop a first-order description of device operation and have put forward a generalizable structure-property relationship that governs the rate of ion transport in pi-conjugated materials. The key insight is the importance of local field interactions, important in material solubility, for example. With the insights gained by this knowledge, my group is developing a novel organic dielectric material based on zwitterionic liquids. Interestingly, a collective switching behavior is observed, which provides these materials with capacitances comparable to electrolyte solutions.