Graduate Studies in Chemistry

Trent Chemistry faculty members conduct research on a wide range of subjects, including:

the design of smart materials,
heavy metals in the environment
organic toxins and their destruction
computational design and development of novel molecules
ultra-low temperature reactions
protein interactions

Download Suresh's video transcript (.docx)

Available Programs

The Department of Chemistry offers graduate studies opportunities at Trent University under four different programs.

More details about each of these programs can be obtained at their individual web pages, or through the Trent University Graduate Studies web page.

Research Centres

Trent University has a number of interdisciplinary research centres which represent clusters of faculty and students with shared research interests. These centres foster academic discussions, support visiting speakers’ series and workshops, and conduct collaborative research.

Office of Research and Innovation

Canadian Environmental Modelling Centre

Contact: Mark Parnis
Phone: (705) 748-1011 x.7297
Email: cemc@trentu.ca
Web site: Canadian Environmental Modelling Centre

The mission of the Canadian Environmental Modelling Centre (CEMC) is to contribute to the improved management of chemicals in our environment by acquiring and analyzing appropriate data and developing, validating, and disseminating mass balance models that describe the fate of chemicals in the environment. The objective of the CEMC is to understand and predict quantitatively the pathways of contaminant transport and the resulting exposure. When we can establish a quantitative link between sources, exposure, and risk of effects, we are in a strong position to control sources to acceptably low levels, avoiding the problems of unacceptable contamination from excessive sources on the one hand, and uneconomic, unnecessary regulations on the other. Emphasis at the CEMC is placed on training undergraduate and graduate students in environmental science, on co-operation with the other faculty at Trent, and on providing research services relevant to current Canadian and international needs. The CEMC is a part of the larger, multi-university Canadian Environmental Modelling Network (CEMN) and collaborates actively with other researchers both nationally and internationally.

Institute for Watershed Science

Contact: Chris Metcalfe
Phone: (705) 748-1011 x. 7272
Email: cmetcalfe@trentu.ca
Web site: Institute for Watershed Science

The Institute for Watershed Science is a research organization that focuses on understanding physical and ecological processes governing watershed function and the transfer of this knowledge to support water management decisions. The institute fosters multidisciplinary collaboration involving faculty at Trent University with expertise in watershed science in partnership with other academic institutions, government and non-government organizations, and the private sector. The institute is committed to the transfer of knowledge on watershed science to practitioners through publications, courses, workshops, and conferences. The institute also coordinates the CREATE H2O program that supports the training of graduate and undergraduate students to address problems related to water quality in First Nations communities in Ontario and Manitoba.

Trent Centre for Biomaterials Research Program

Contact: Suresh Narine
Phone: (705) 748-1011 x. 6105
Email: sureshnarine@trentu.ca
Web site: Trent Centre for Biomaterials Research Program

Work within the TCBR is centered on creating sustainable materials from agricultural feedstock. The focus is not only on the development of the specific materials, but also on the development of models for agricultural utilization, and on assessments of geographical, environmental, and commercial impacts. This is a research program where science meets social science and humanities, and where the creation and use of biomaterials is being examined within an ethical framework. One of only a handful of programs of its kind in the world, the TCBR is a leader in this life-changing approach to research. The TCBR’s unique interdisciplinary nature examines the full spectrum of the biomaterials endeavour, from the crop to the development of bio-based products and the implications of their use. State-of-the-art laboratories consisting of 15,000 square feet of space are spread over four distinct laboratory groups. Each group examines a particular consideration of biomaterials. This design, combined with Trent’s remarkable facilities and equipment, positions the TCBR as a world leader in the development and study of biomaterials.

Trent Centre for Materials Research

Contact: Andrew Vreugdenhil
Phone: (705) 748-1011 x.7467
Email: avreugdenhil@trentu.ca
Web site: Trent Centre for Materials Research

The Trent Centre for Materials Research fosters research at Trent leading to an improved understanding of the properties of materials of potential benefit to industry, and the training of highly qualified personnel in these areas. To do this, the centre brings together Trent faculty with research interests in applied materials research, currently in the departments of Chemistry and Physics & Astronomy. Its goals are to improve communications and cross-fertilization of research among the faculty and their graduate students, develop research collaborations, and expose all of the participants to a broad spectrum of research, both experimental and theoretical, in the materials area. The centre holds research seminars as part of, and in addition to, the weekly Physics/Chemistry seminar series.

Water Quality Centre

Contact:Dirk Wallschlager
Phone: (705) 748-1011 x.7536
Email: dwallsch@trentu.ca
Web site: Water Quality Centre

The mission of the Trent University Water Quality Centre is to advance new approaches to environmental analyses and to train graduate and upper year undergraduate students on mass spectrometry techniques. The Centre can analyse water, soil, sediment, tissue, and air samples. We develop and refine techniques to the point where they can be disseminated to and used by researchers (including students), industries, government agencies, and analytical service providers. The Centre is available to provide specialized analytical services to internal (Trent) and external clients to allow them to deal with emerging environmental issues in a timely and cost-effective fashion. In order to accomplish this, the Centre seeks to form strategic partnerships with individuals and groups from industrial, governmental, and NGO sectors.