YorkU Students Visit SCIEX

Chemistry students in the advanced analytical separation methods (CHEM 4080/5080) and mass spectrometry (CHEM 4081/5081) courses visited SCIEX last month as an experiential learning component of their studies at York University. SCIEX is a global leader in mass spectrometry instrumentation that got its start in Toronto. Their research and development facility is based in Concord, just a few kilometres from York University Keele Campus.

Students enjoyed lunch and snacks while learning about the history of SCIEX and some applications of their mass spectrometers. A graduate of York University shared her experiences in the company and how her university training in chemistry prepared her for a career at SCIEX and a career panel helped students to understand the different career paths available at an instrumentation company. Lastly, students toured the facility and learned more about the design of SCIEX mass spectrometers.

Thanks to the SCIEX hosts, Dr. Holly Lee (also Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemistry, York University) and Dr. Rob Di Lorenzo (graduate of Prof. Young’s research group), for putting together such a great event!

Reactive Nitrogen in a Commercial Kitchen

Our adventures in cooking continue with a new paper by Leigh (prior Research Associate) and Melodie (prior MSc) where we used our total gaseous nitrogen analyzer alongside a VOCUS PTR-MS to study the elemental budget of reactive nitrogen in a commercial kitchen! Check out the article here:

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/em/d4em00491d

AAAR and AGU Conferences

Alessia, Emma, and Trevor presented their latest research work at the AGU in Washington DC in December, which was a very busy atmosphere with ~30, 000 scientists in attendance! Trevor also served as a session chair on the formation, persistence, and dissipation of marine fog from the Fatima research team. Last, the first Murphy group reunion saw many current and former researchers connect (or reconnect)!

In October, Trevor and Emma attended the AAAR conference in Albuquerque, which was a smaller gathering of ~3, 000 scientists with an enthusiastic focus on atmospheric aerosol and its chemistry.

Both conferences spanned a week in duration, leading to new connections for everyone in the scientific community in addition to reconnecting with old friends.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Irina wins CSC 2024 Student Presentation Award in the Environment Division!

Congratulations to Irina Nistorescu on the award of an outstanding student research presentation at the Canadian Society for Chemistry annual meeting held this past June in Winnipeg, MB!! Irina presented research on the extension of our PFAS passive sampling technique from her work over the past year, with samples being collected in all sorts of exciting places!

NSERC CGS-M Award for Emma McLay

Congratulations to Emma on the receipt of an NSERC CGS-M award to support their graduate studies over the coming year! Emma is exploring heterogeneous reaction mechanisms in urban environments linked to air quality through field and lab experiments.

A new method for gaseous total fluorine determination from Stephen Ye!

PhD researcher Stephen Ye (VDB/Young Groups) has developed a new total elemental technique for use in studying gaseous organofluorine molecules released from commercial products or present in the atmosphere. This work was published by the ACS in Environmental Science & Technology Letters and is available as a preprint through ChemRxiv.

Precip Collection Platform Publication!

Congrats to PhD students Alessia Colussi (VDB/Young Groups) and Daniel Persaud (Young Group) on their new publication in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, where they demonstrate the utility of affordable off-grid precipitation samplers for long-term collection of atmospheric pollutants deposited through wet and dry deposition processes. Many students have contributed to this project over the years, ranging from undergraduates through postdocs. We are highly grateful for the support to develop these new tools from a wide variety of funding sources and the input and ongoing support of our academic and government collaborators where these are being put to use.

The Faculty of Science at York University helped us to make a video abstract for this work, drawing off photos and datasets collected over several years, as we progressively validated these new research tools. You can check it out on YouTube.

Eric finished his MSc! Congratulations!!

In early June, Eric defended his MSc on a new methodology to passively collect atmospheric PFAS. After some intensive lab characterization, Eric deployed his samplers around several locations in the GTHA and in endangered whale habitats in Québec and British Columbia. These were then subjected to a battery of analytical determinations so we could learn about spatial and temporal trends of these contaminants. Well done, Eric, and congratulations!

Congratulations Eric - 2023 CSC Environment Division Poster Award!

Congratulations to Eric Vanhauwaert on receipt of a student poster award for his work on atmospheric passive sampling of PFAS at the Canadian Society for Chemistry’s annual meeting in Vancouver this past June! The Environment Division showcased his work alongside the other award winners in a special online symposium.!!

Indoor Capstone Conference - but not the end of indoor chem

The Capstone Conference for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Chemistry of the Indoor Environment program was held from Oct 18-20 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. Many projects from the group and our collaborators were presented. It was great that the community had this final opportunity to come together to share their findings (and to get a great group photo)! While the program may be at an end, it will not be the end of our work on indoor atmospheric chemistry!!