Head: N. R. Hunter
General Office: 360 Parker Building
Telephone: (204) 474 9321
Fax: (204) 474 7608
Email: chem_dpt@umanitoba.ca
Website: umanitoba.ca/chemistry
Academic Staff
Program Information
A M.Sc. or Ph.D. in the chemical sciences provides a gateway to an exciting, challenging and frequently high-paying career. M.Sc. and Ph.D. chemists work in areas such as industrial research and development (particularly the pharmaceutical, energy, advanced materials and biotechnology sectors), medical research, environmental and pollution monitoring, and technical consulting. Ph.D. chemists and biochemists in academia have the opportunity both to teach and to pursue independent basic and applied research.
Graduate students work in close cooperation with faculty as they pursue their own thesis research projects. There are fascinating project opportunities available in the research groups within the department. Graduate courses are typically informal, and encourage small groups of students to discuss topics of current interest, in a supportive environment. The Department of Chemistry also hosts seminars throughout the year, bringing researchers from university and industrial laboratories in Winnipeg, across Canada, and abroad, to share their latest discoveries with students and faculty. The Armes Lectureship and Betts Lectureship programs provide for extended lecture series by world-renowned chemists, who are able to interact with faculty and graduate students during their visit to the department.
Graduates of the Chemistry M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs are currently employed in chemical companies, research institutes, government laboratories and agencies, and tenured academic positions. Some have even founded their own chemical companies! Alumni of the department’s graduate program now work for companies such as Apotex Fermentation, Medicure, Novopharm Biotech, Philips Paints and Border Chemicals in Winnipeg, Biovail (Steinbach), Anormed (Richmond, BC), Allelix (Mississauga), Uniroyal (Guelph), and Genzyme (Cambridge MA). Several have undertaken additional training with prominent scientists at such places as the Scripps Institute, MIT, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the universities of Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Montréal, Sherbrooke, and Toronto. Some have gone on to academic careers, at such universities as Alberta, Calgary, Cornell, Dalhousie, Guelph, Northern British Columbia, Queen’s, Toronto, York, as well as Manitoba.
Fields of Research
Analytical Chemistry, Asymmetric Organic Synthesis, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Chromatography, Environmental Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Mass Spectrometry, Macromolecular Chemistry, Materials Science, Medicinal Chemistry, Natural Products Chemistry, NMR Spectroscopy, Organometallic Chemistry, Protein Structure and Dynamics, Synthetic Carbohydrate Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry, Solid State Chemistry.
Research Facilities
The department has modern instrumentation and technical support for research and teaching. There is a full-time glassblower in the department who can produce specialized glassware as required. The University Libraries provide excellent on-line connections to scientific and medical databases and full-text access to major journals.
Computer facilities: campus-wide UNIX and NOVELL servers; Sunfire 6800 20-CPU high-performance computing installation; access to the Westgrid high-performance computing facilities; PC, Mac, UNIX and LINUX workstations in the department; a 14-node and 24-node Beowulf cluster constructed from 12 dual processor 2.8 GHz Xeon computers have been installed in the department.
NMR facilities: Bruker Avance300 and AMX 500 instruments, and a Varian INOVA 600 system; all are multi-nuclear and have pulsed field gradient capabilities; the AMX 500 and INOVA 600 are equipped for both liquid and solid-state work.
Mass Spectrometry: a two-sector high-resolution spectrometer with EI, CI and FAB sources, operational in positive and negative ion modes; a Quattro-LC triple quadrupole instrument equipped for electrospray ionization (ESI); a Bruker Biflex IV MALDI-TOF instrument for the analysis of large biomolecules; through the Physics department, Chemistry researchers have access to advanced experimental time-of-flight instruments.
The Ultra-Clean Trace Element Laboratory: a metal-free class-1000 environment equipped with a PE Elan DRC II ICP-MS and a Tekran 2600 Mercury Analyzer.
Crystallography facilities: a high-resolution powder X-ray diffractometer with a high-temperature furnace. In addition the Department has access to single crystal diffractometers and cameras.
Thermal Analysis: a high-temperature thermal gravimetric/differential thermal analyzer (TGA/DTA) and a low temperature DSC is available.
Spectroscopy facilities: a 15W argon laser with a 14018 double monochromator for Raman spectroscopy; a Fourier transform microwave spectrometer equipped with ion sources, Helmholtz coils and Stark plates.; an UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer (Varian Cary 5000), a coherent dye laser for intracavity photoacoustic spectroscopy; a Nicolet FT-IR system; a second Nicolet interferometer is equipped for solid-state FT-IR studies, and is also set up for Raman spectroscopy; a UV-vis diode array spectrophotometer; routine FT-IR and stopped flow equipment is also available.
Circular Dichroism Spectropolarimeter-Fluorometer: Our Jasco J-810 instrument is equipped with a computer-controlled Peltier device and circulating water bath for temperature control using both cylindrical and rectangular cells. The fluorescence accessory permits concurrent circular dichroism and fluorescence measurements between 163 and 900 nm.
Electrochemical facilities: a BAS 100A electrochemical workstation with rotating disk and controlled growth mercury drop electrode attachments; a CH Instruments 660 electrochemical workstation with a picoamp booster attachment for ultramicroelectrode measurements; a CH Instruments 400 electrochemical workstation with quartz crystal microbalance (QCM); a Solartron 1287 electrochemical interface and a 1255B frequency response analyzer for impedance measurements; and a Lecroy 9310A 400 MHz dual channel oscilloscope, a Stanford Research Systems SR560 amplifier and a Wavetek 182A function generator for fast scan cyclic voltammetry.
Surface and interfacial science facilities: a Kratos Axis Ultra high performance imaging x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) instrument; a JEOL JAMP-9500F field emission Auger microprobe/scanning electron microscope (SEM); a JOEL JEM-2100F advanced field emission transmission electron microscope (TEM); a CAMECA IMS 7f magnetic sector secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS); a Digital Instruments Nanoscope IV with a Dimension 3100 SPM, a closed-loop SPM, a MultiMode SPM with multiple heads, a universal bipotentiostat, and an EnviroScope AFM; a ThermoNicolet Nexus 870 FT-IR with a polarization modulated infrared reflectance absorbance spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) and attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy (ATR) modules; a Sentech SE400 ellipsometer; and a Ramé-Hart computerized contact angle goniometer.
Chromatography facilities: numerous HPLC systems; a preparative HPLC/ MS system; a GPC system with light-scattering, refractive index, diode-array and electrochemical detectors.
Other equipment: A Differential Scanning Calorimeter with Intracooler and Ultramicrobalance (Perkin-Elmer DSC Diamond); a Spin Coater (Laurell Technologies); a Polarized Light Optical Microscope System with Heating/Cooling stage (Olympus/Linkam); a Dynamic Light Scattering Instrument for Particle Sizing (Microtrac Inc.); a Liquid Crystal Test-bed for testing electro-optical properties of LC-mixtures (LC Vision); a Pure-Water System; a Laminar Flow Clean-air workbench and an Ultrasonic Processor (Sonics).
M.Sc. in Chemistry
Admission
Admission requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar.
Application Deadlines
Potential M.Sc. students should explore the Chemistry Department website, prior to making formal application to the department of Chemistry. They are encouraged to submit the on-line information form found on the website. The following deadlines for receipt of complete application materials apply to potential students holding bachelors’ degrees from Canadian and Non-Canadian universities.
|
Start Date |
Canadian/U.S. |
International |
| Regular |
(September) |
June 1 |
March 1 |
| Winter |
(January) |
October 1 |
July 1 |
| Spring |
(May) |
February 1 |
November 1 |
| Summer |
(July) |
April 1 |
January 1 |
Program Requirements
Program requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar.
Colloquium: A weekly colloquium is given by members of staff, post-doctoral fellows, or invited lecturers. All graduate students and fourth-year Honours students are expected to attend the colloquia.
Second language reading requirement: none
Expected time to graduate: 2 years
Ph.D. in Chemistry
Admission
Admission requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar. Only students holding M.Sc. degrees from Canadian universities will be admitted directly into the Ph.D. program. Other students will be admitted as M.Sc. candidates, with the option to transfer into the Ph.D. program after 1 year of satisfactory studies.
Application Deadline
Potential Ph.D. students should explore the Chemistry Department website, prior to making formal application to the department of Chemistry. They are encouraged to submit the on-line information form found on the website. The following deadlines for receipt of complete application materials apply to potential students holding bachelors' degrees from Canadian and Non-Canadian universities.
| Start Date |
Canadian |
Non-Canadian |
| Regular |
(September) |
June 1 |
March 1 |
| Winter |
(January) |
October 1 |
July 1 |
| Spring |
(May) |
February 1 |
November 1 |
| Summer |
(July) |
April 1 |
January 1 |
Program Requirements
In addition to the minimum course requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar, a minimum of three years (including the year spent in M.Sc. work) is required for the Ph.D. degree. Actual time spent is usually somewhat longer.
Colloquium: A weekly colloquium is given by members of staff, post-doctoral fellows, or invited lecturers. All graduate students and fourth-year Honours students are expected to attend the colloquia.
Second language requirement: none
Expected time to graduation: 4.5 years (from 4 year B.Sc.); 3 years (from M.Sc.)
Course Descriptions
At the time of printing of the 2007-2008 Graduate Calendar and Registration Guide, some course information for the Department of Chemistry was undergoing revision. At least one new graduate level course was going through the approval process. Please consult the department website for up-to-date course information. http://umanitoba.ca/chemistry/
Ancillary Courses
The following undergraduate courses may be taken as ancillary subjects:
CHEM 4600 Advanced Chemical Techniques (3)
Physical Chemistry
CHEM 2280 Physical Chemistry: Microscopic Descriptions of Matter (3)
CHEM 2290 Chemical Energetics and Dynamics: Macroscopic Descriptions (3)
CHEM 3360 Elementary Quantum Chemistry and Molecular Bonding (3)
CHEM 3370 Symmetry, Spectroscopy and Structure (3)
CHEM 3490 Introduction to Polymers (3)
CHEM 4640 Spectroscopy, Relaxation and Structure (3)
CHEM 4650 Molecular States and Processes (3)
Biochemistry
CHEM 2360 Biochemistry I: Biomolecular and an Introduction to Metabolic Energy (3)
CHEM 2370 Biochemistry II: Catabolism, Synthesis and Information Pathways (3)
CHEM 2860 Chemistry of Biomolecules (3)
CHEM 4360 Signalling and Regulation of Gene Expression (3)
CHEM 4370 Glycobiology and Protein Activation (3)
CHEM 4620 Biochemistry of Nucleic Acids (3)
CHEM 4630 Biochemistry of Proteins (3)
CHEM 4700 Advanced Biochemistry Lab (3)
Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 2380 Chemistry of the Main Group Elements (3)
CHEM 2470 Introductory Analytical Chemistry (3)
CHEM 3380 Inorganic Chemistry (3)
CHEM 3590 Instrumental Analysis (3)
CHEM 4570 Topics in Inorganic Chemistry (3)
CHEM 4590 Bioanalytical Methods (3)
CHEM 4680 Organometallic Chemistry (3)
Organic Chemistry
CHEM 2210 Introductory Organic Chemistry 1: Structure and Function (3)
CHEM 2220 Introductory Organic Chemistry 2: Reactivity and Synthesis (3)
CHEM 3390 Structural Transformations in Organic Chemistry (3)
CHEM 3580 Methods in Physical Organic Chemistry (3)
CHEM 4220 Drug Design (3)
CHEM 4580 Topics in Organic Chemistry (3)
CHEM 4690 Specific Methods in Organic Synthesis (3)
Environmental Chemistry
CHEM 2550 Environmental Chemistry (3)
CHEM 4550 Aquatic Chemistry (3)
Graduate Courses
A graduate course schedule may be obtained from the Chemistry office
CHEM 7400 Topics in Biochemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.740) A lecture and seminar course dealing with selected topics of current interest in biochemistry and molecular biology.
CHEM 7410 Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.741) Applications of spectroscopic methods to chemical problems with emphasis on mass spectrometry and related techniques.
CHEM 7450 Topics in Organic Chemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.745) A discussion of current and general topics related to novel and interesting areas of organic chemistry appearing in the current literature.
CHEM 7460 Topics in Synthetic Organic Chemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.746) A course designed to acquaint students with specific methods of synthesis.
CHEM 7520 Topics in Physical Chemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.752) The topics will vary, depending on student needs and interests; they may include, but will not be limited to the following: electrochemistry, surface chemistry, electrochemical kinetics, or other specialized topics not available in regular course offerings.
CHEM 7550 Design of Organic Synthesis Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.755) Conceptual methodology in the design of synthesis will be discussed with inclusion of computer-aided approaches. Examples from the current literature will be used to emphasize the conceptual aspects.
CHEM 7560 Organometallic Chemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.756) Recent advances in synthetic and structural organometallic chemistry.
CHEM 7570 Recent Advances in Molecular Biochemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.757) Selected topics from the recent literature on the structure and function of proteins and nucleic acids and their interactions.
CHEM 7580 Chemical Crystallography Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.758) Theory and practice of crystal structure analysis with emphasis on single crystal x-ray diffractometry; structure-activity relationships in small organic and inorganic compounds; introduction to protein and nucleic acid crystal structure analysis.
CHEM 7600 Topics in Inorganic Chemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.760) Topics of current research interest in the area of inorganic chemistry including, but not limited to synthesis, structures, catalysis and reaction mechanisms.
CHEM 7700 Topics in Analytical Chemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.770) Topics of current research interest in analytical chemistry including, but not limited to mass spectrometry of large molecules, separation techniques, analysis of metals, surface analytical techniques, analysis of environmental samples, analysis of 'real' samples, and sampling techniques. Prerequisite: CHEM 3590 (or the former 002.347) (C) or permission of instructor.
CHEM 7800 Topics in Theoretical Chemistry Cr.Hrs.3 (Formerly 002.780) Topics of current research interest in theoretical and computational chemistry from such areas as ab initio quantum chemistry, molecular simulations, nonlinear reaction dynamics, spectroscopy and statistical mechanics.
CHEM 7XY0 Seminar in Current Research Issues in Chemistry Cr.Hrs.3 Student-led seminars covering areas of interest to the faculty and students in the graduate Chemistry program,and current research issues in the field of Chemistry (including biochemistry, spectroscopy, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, organic synthesis, organometallic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry and theoretical chemistry).
