ABOUT ME
I was born and raised in the French-speaking province of Quebec, approximately 250 km north of Quebec City. I graduated from McGill University (BSc Hon. in Chemistry; 1991) and MIT (1995) , and completed a postdoc at UC–Berkeley.
I joined York University in 2006 after gaining valuable experience as an industrial research chemist at Eastman Chemical Company, a leading producer of polyesters and polyolefins. My work in the industry led to well over 25 world and US patents.
These years in the industry, coupled with my training in world-leading institutions, have greatly influenced how my group conducts research. We are interested in addressing and solving critical shortcomings of catalysts that oft prevent successful commercialization. This knowledge and approach are transferred to students working in my group.
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Aside from being passionate about chemistry, I enjoy spending time in the kitchen experimenting with new spices, flavour and ingredients to enhance vegetarian dishes. I am an avid cyclist, riding with friends and with the Newmarket Eagles Cycling Club in the beautiful York Region (north of Toronto) and around the world, not shying away from some hard and iconic HC climbs. I also swim with the Aurora Master Ducks Swim Club. Otherwise, I am always up for kayaking, paddle boarding, hiking, etc.
EDUCATION
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Ligand Design for Catalysis
Ligands play a crucial role in the performance of catalysts. Our group relies on the bidentate and tridentate ligands with structures that allow for easy manipulation of steric and electronic parameters in the coordination sphere of metal complexes.
1996 - 1997
University of California – Berkeley
PDF – supervised by Professor R.G. Bergman
Guanidine-Based Ligands
N-Heterocyclic carbenes have been used for decades by organometallic chemists, including ourselves, as ancillary/spectator ligands. Our group has recently been exploiting the intrinsic reactivity of the carbenoid carbon and transformed these carbenes into guanidine (and phosphaalkene) ligands, leveraging the wide availability of these important building blocks.
Computational Chemistry
The ever-increasing power of computers and new calculation methods has allowed synthetic chemists to now more than ever reliably use computational chemistry to guide and better understand catalyst performance. Our group thus works in close collaboration with theoretical chemist to incorporate this branch of chemistry in our research program.
1991 - 1995
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PhD – supervised by Nobel Prize laureate R.R. Schrock
1988 - 1991
McGill University
BSc (Hon.)
Polymerization of Olefins and Lactides
Polymers have a very important place in our everyday life, from garments (athletic wear and shoes, wet/dry suits but also thermal shields for firefighters and bulletproof vests for tactical teams) to automotive applications (artificial leather interior, under the hood thermally-robust components, tyre liner to keep air pressure but also higher-end application such impact-resistant "glasses") and more. Our group works on addressing fundamental issues with catalysts to enhance their performance and ability to make high-performing materials.