Queen's University: Surface chemistry, nanoscience, microscopy, and surface characterization techniques

The Department of Chemistry at Queen's University invites applicants for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant or Associate level to complement the research of the Carbon-to-metal Coating Institute (C2MCI). The successful candidate will develop a globally recognized, externally- funded, interdisciplinary research program focused on surface chemistry, nanoscience, microscopy, and surface characterization techniques. Expertise in scanning tunnelling microscopy and strong connections to the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy will be considered an asset. Applicants should be creative scientists with a strong commitment to research, graduate training, and promotion of equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM.

This position is made possible by a transformative $30M investment by Bruce Mitchell (Sc’68, DSc'20). The successful candidate will receive direct research support for the first 5 years of their tenure from the Bruce Mitchell Research Program, including resources to support the recruitment of multiple postdoctoral researchers/students. Decreased teaching and administrative responsibilities will be associated with this position to enable the candidate to develop a world- class research program. The preferred starting date is July 1st, 2025.

The C2MCI is an international institute in the Department of Chemistry focused on developing cutting edge solutions to prevent the corrosion of metals and enable their manipulation and stabilization on the macro to nanometer scales. Our diverse global team includes experts from chemistry, physics, health sciences, and engineering. Current research includes developing and testing the next generation of coatings for bulk metal surfaces, the application of novel organic materials in semiconductor manufacturing, and the development and testing of novel metallic nanomedicines.

Qualifications
Candidates must have a PhD or equivalent completed by the start date of the appointment. The main criteria for selection are calibre of the research program, collaborative potential and teaching excellence.

Vaccination Requirements
Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to declare their COVID-19 vaccination status and provide proof that they were fully vaccinated or had an approved accommodation to engage in in-person University activities. These requirements were suspended effective May 1, 2022, but the University may reinstate them at any point.

Institution
 Queen’s University has a long history of scholarship, discovery, and innovation that shapes our collective knowledge and helps address some of the world’s most pressing concerns. Home to more than 25,000 students, Queen’s offers a comprehensive research-intensive environment. Diverse perspectives and a wealth of experience enrich our students and faculty while a core part of our mission is to engage in international learning and research.

In 2023, for the third year in a row, Queen’s University has ranked in top 10 globally Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, securing the position of third worldwide and first in North America. The rankings measured over 1,700 post-secondary institutions on their work to advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

From Nobel Prize-winning research exploring the building blocks of the universe to cancer care and treatment to sustainable technologies, our university is tackling humanity’s most pressing challenges.

A member of the U15 group of Canadian research universities, Queen’s is home to a vibrant research community that includes 33 Canada Research Chairs and over 20 research institutes who work in partnership with communities, governments, and industry to advance research and innovation, making a measured impact on Canada and the world.

Faculty and their dependents are eligible for an extensive benefits package including prescription drug coverage, vision care, dental care, long term disability insurance, life insurance and access to the Employee and Family Assistance Program. Employees also participate in a pension plan.

Tuition assistance is available for qualifying employees, their spouses and dependent children. Queen’s values families and is pleased to provide a ‘top up’ to government parental

leave benefits for eligible employees on maternity/parental leave. In addition, Queen’s provides partial reimbursement for eligible daycare expenses for employees with dependent children in daycare. Details are set out in the Queen’s-QUFA Collective Agreement. For more information on employee benefits, see Queen’s Human Resources.

The City
The University is situated on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe, in historic Kingston on the shores of Lake Ontario. Queen’s is an integral part of the Kingston community, with the campus nestled in the core of the city, only a 10-minute walk to downtown. Kingston’s residents enjoy an outstanding quality of life with a wide range of cultural and creative opportunities, with access to many natural areas and proximity to vibrant First Nations Communities including Tyendinaga and Akwesasne. Kingston is a unique Canadian city of 125,000 with a distinct blend of history, recreation, industry, and learning. Kingston offers waterfront living with many recreational opportunities. It is within a two-and-a-half hour drive (two-hour train ride)  to the commercial, industrial and political hubs of Toronto, Montreal, and the nation’s capital, Ottawa, and a thirty minute drive from the international bridge linking Ontario and upstate New York. The city is also the origin of the historic Rideau Canal system – a UNESCO International Heritage site, and is close to Frontenac Provincial Park, the Thousand Islands National Park, and the Frontenac Arch UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The Queen’s University Biological Station, north of the city, encompasses 34 km2 of diverse lands, affording premier learning and research opportunities. Visit Inclusive Queen’s for information on equity, diversity and inclusion resources and initiatives.

How to Apply
The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Queen’s is strongly committed to employment equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and encourages applications from Black, racialized/visible minority and Indigenous people, women, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. Applications from all qualified candidates will be considered in the applicant pool. In order to support your employment at Queen’s, we require you to indicate whether or not you will need a work permit.

In addition, the impact of certain circumstances that may legitimately affect a nominee’s record of research achievement will be given careful consideration when assessing the nominee’s research productivity. Candidates are encouraged to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions.

The University will provide support in its recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant’s accessibility needs. If you require accommodation during the interview process, please contact Lindsay Lee, Department Manager, in the Department of Chemistry, at Lindsay.Lee@queensu.ca.

Those interested in this position should submit a complete application package, including the following documents:

• a cover letter, indicating whether or not you will require a work permit and/or require support with an extension of your work permit in the future;
• a current Curriculum Vitae (including a list of publications);
• a statement of research interests;
• a statement of teaching interests and experience (including teaching outlines and evaluations if available);
• a statement of experience with, and commitment to, facilitation and promotion of Indigenization, equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and accessibility; and, the names and contact information of three

The deadline for applications is Friday March 28, 2025.

Applicants are asked to send all documents in their application packages electronically as PDFs to Lindsay Lee, Department Manager, Department of Chemistry at Lindsay.Lee@queensu.ca.

Academic staff at Queen’s University are governed by a Collective Agreement between the University and the Queen’s University Faculty Association (QUFA), which is posted at http://queensu.ca/facultyrelations/faculty-librarians-and-archivists/collective-agreement and at http://www.qufa.ca.

Myongin Oh hired by Memorial University

Myongin was born in Seoul, Korea, and moved to Oakville, Ontario, at the age of 18. His passion for chemistry and mathematics led him to pursue a Ph.D. in Computational and Theoretical Chemistry in the research group of Professor Styliani Consta at the University of Western Ontario. His doctoral research focused on hydration and electrostatics, specifically the computational and analytical modeling of macromolecule-solvent interactions in nanodroplets.

To broaden his expertise in biophysical and biomedical applications, he joined Dr. Donald F. Weaver's lab at the Krembil Research Institute and the University of Toronto for postdoctoral research. There, he explored critical roles of water in the brain and contributed to drug design efforts targeting inflammation in COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease. His pursuit of deeper biophysical insights led him to Dr. Jessica M. J. Swanson's lab at the University of Utah, where he developed data-driven methods for enhanced sampling of peptide folding, drug membrane permeation, and protein-lipid droplet interactions. Transitioning into a principal investigator role at Koniag Government Services for the FDA, he applied machine learning to drug discovery, developing graph neural networks for predicting mu-opioid drug properties. As a postdoctoral associate at Weill Cornell Medicine, he advanced computational methods for automated collective variable discovery, focusing on transmembrane protein conformational transitions and protein-ligand interactions. He also collaborated with a pharmaceutical company on drug design projects targeting pulmonary fibrosis.

In January 2025, he began his role as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Memorial University of Newfoundland. His research program integrates machine learning and biomolecular simulations to advance enhanced sampling techniques and drug discovery, addressing critical public health challenges.

Mount St. Vincent: Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Inorganic Chemistry or Biochemistry

The Department of Chemistry and Physics is seeking applications for a tenure-track position in Inorganic Chemistry or Biochemistry at the Assistant Professor level, commencing 1 July 2025.

The Description
The successful candidate must have a Ph.D. in Biochemistry or Inorganic Chemistry or a closely related field, with the ability to teach Biochemistry or Inorganic Chemistry at all levels. Preference will be given to applicants with relevant postdoctoral experience, university-level teaching experience and research interests in Inorganic Chemistry or Biochemistry. In addition, demonstrated research competency is required. The successful candidate will be expected to initiate and maintain an externally-funded research program (from sources such as, NSERC, CIHR, CFI, etc.). Experience with and an interest in online course delivery would be an asset. Candidates able to teach chemistry in the broad sense are encouraged to apply.

Teaching responsibilities may include Introductory, Inorganic, Organic, Biochemistry, and other upper-level Chemistry courses.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Agreement (please visit www.msvufa.ca). All positions are subject to final budgetary approval.

Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, teaching dossier (including a statement of teaching philosophy), a description of current research activities and plans for a research program, sample publications and contact information for three references. The department will begin considering applications on Wednesday February 26, 2025 and will continue until a successful candidate is identified.

All applicants will be required to return the signed Self-Identification Questionnaire Form to the University Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Advisor.

Send applications via email in a single PDF to: Dr. Ian Pottie Chair, Department of Chemistry & Physics, Mount Saint Vincent University chemphys@msvu.ca 

Inspired by a strong tradition of social responsibility and an enduring commitment to the advancement of women, Mount Saint Vincent University promotes academic excellence and the pursuit of knowledge through scholarship and teaching of the highest quality. Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) is committed to recruiting exceptional and diverse scholars and teachers and is recognized as a leader in flexible programs, applied research, and a personalized approach to education. The Mount is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canada’s east coast. Please visit www.msvu.ca for more information.

Mount Saint Vincent University is strongly committed to fostering diversity and inclusion within our community and encourages applications from all qualified candidates including women, persons of any sexual orientations and gender identities and/or expressions, Indigenous persons, African Canadians, other racialized groups, persons with disabilities, and other groups that would contribute to the diversification of our campus. Candidates who identify as being from any of these groups are encouraged to voluntarily self-identify in their application materials. All qualified candidates are welcome to apply; however, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Stephanie Jones hired by York University

Stephanie Jones will join the Chemistry Department as an assistant professor in February 2025. Her research is focused on atmospheric aerosols and environmentally relevant surface films. In particular, she is interested in understanding how atmospheric transformations impact the fundamental properties of aerosols and films. Stephanie uses single particle levitation methods, and neutron and x-ray scattering to study transformations of aerosols and films in the laboratory to determine their fundamental physicochemical and optical properties.

Stephanie has an integrated master’s in chemistry from the University of Bristol, UK, and a PhD from Royal Holloway University of London, UK. Following her PhD, she undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Victoria, Canada, before moving back to the UK where she worked in industry for a brief period as a Product Manager at Laser Quantum. She then transitioned back to academia and chemistry, completing a second postdoc in environmental chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada, where she expanded her research interests to include the indoor environment.

After successfully obtaining funding for her own position from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Stephanie then moved to the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Aerosol Research Department, at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. Her research at KIT has involved the study of photochemically induced transformations of wood smoke aerosol using single droplet studies and large-scale cloud simulation chamber experiments.

Stephanie is excited to return to Canada and looks forward to contributing to the atmospheric chemistry community.