Academic Background

B.Sc., UCCB/Acadia
M.Sc., Waterloo
Ph.D, Queen's

Biography

1991 was the year I decided to become an organic chemist. It took one course- Dr. David Sneddon's "Introduction to Organic Chemistry" at the University College of Cape Breton- to convince me. Following completion of undergraduate studies in organic chemistry at Acadia University, I joined the research group of Prof. Victor Snieckus, completing an M. Sc. Degree at the University of Waterloo and a Ph. D. Degree at Queen's University. Postdoctoral studies took me to the labs of Prof. Scott Denmark, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I have been rewarded with a number of interesting research projects in organic chemistry to date. These include: 1) the synthesis of water-soluble nitric oxide chelotropic traps (NOCTs) [National Research Council (NRC), Ottawa]; 2) the isolation and structure elucidation of new natural products derived from streptomyces venezuelae by precursor directed biosynthesis [NRC, Halifax]; 3) applications of Directed ortho Metalation (DoM) to the synthesis of structurally and biologically interesting aromatic compounds [University of Waterloo (M. Sc.); Queen's University (Ph. D.)] ; and 4) exploration of Lewis base activation of Lewis acids, a new approach to catalytic asymmetric synthesis [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Postdoc)]. Following postdoctoral studies in Illinois, I accepted an assistant professorship at Wilfrid Laurier University (2003). Recently, my interests have turned to chemical education. I enjoy exploring new teaching methods, particularly blended learning, and new methods for evaluating student learning in organic chemistry. For undergraduate advice, please email chemistry@wlu.ca.