Faculty & Research

The following Faculty members are available to supervise students wishing to apply to Trent University's Materials Science Graduate Program:

Chemistry

Michael Burt, Assistant Professor
Mass spectrometry imaging and ultrafast spectroscopy of molecular structures and reaction dynamics.
Email: michaelburt@trentu.ca
 
Eric Keske, Assistant Professor

Organic Synthesis, Organometallic Chemistry, Homogeneous Catalysis, and Reaction Mechanism Elucidation. Development of Efficient Synthetic Methods for Conjugated Organic Materials. Ligand Design for Asymmetric Catalysis.
Email: erickeske@trentu.ca 

​Jun-Ray Macairan, Assistant Professor

Understanding the behaviour and effects of organic and inorganic pollutants in natural systems; developing sustainable, carbon dot-based technologies for the detection of environmental contaminants; and advancing green remediation strategies using nanocellulose-based materials. His work contributes to both fundamental science and practical solutions for environmental monitoring and cleanup.
Email: junraymacairan@trentu.ca

Steven Rafferty, Professor 

Bioinorganic chemistry, especially heme proteins of the parasitic protist Giardia intestinalis
Email: srafferty@trentu.ca

Peter Sues, Assistant Professor 
 
Research interested include developing molecular electrocatalysts for renewable energy applications and supporting them on electrode materials; synthesizing novel olefin metathesis catalysts for pharmaceutical and polymer applications; designing multi-metallic biomimetic systems to model natural enzymes.
 
Andrew Vreugdenhil, Associate Professor, Chair of Chemistry

Development and characterization of hybrid organic-inorganic materials for applications in sensors, coatings and interface modification. 
Email: avreugdenhil@trentu.ca

Physics and Astronomy

Bill Atkinson, Professor, Condensed Matter Physics
Theoretical and computational studies of quantum materials: superconductors, ferroelectric metals, and oxide interfaces. 
Email: billatkinson@trentu.ca
Carlo Bradac, Assistant Professor, Quantum Nanomaterials
Study of 2D and 3D nanomaterials for quantum-enabled sensing and metrology
Email: carlobradac@trentu.ca
Suresh Narine, Professor, Biomaterial Physics
Biomaterials precursor synthesis, formulation and materials characterization. 
Email: sureshnarine@trentu.ca
Rayf Shiell, Associate Professor, Ocular biomechanics
Optical and physical properties of the cornea, development of devices for ophthalmology.
Email: rayfshiell@trentu.ca
Aaron Slepkov, Associate Professor, Biomaterial Physics
Nonlinear photonics, optical properties and characterization of organic and biomaterials, microscopy, microwave photonics.
Email: aaronslepkov@trentu.ca
Balaji Subramanian, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy
Optical properties of nanostructure LI-tungsten bronzes and graphene based transition metal oxide films for energy saving applications.
Email: balajisubramanian@trentu.ca
Rachel Wortis, Associate Professor, Condensed Matter Physics
Condensed matter theory: strongly correlated and disordered systems.
Email: rwortis@trentu.ca

Forensic Science

Sanela Martic, Associate Professor, Forensic Science
Electrochemistry and bioanalytical chemistry with applications in materials, forensics, environmental and biomedical sciences.
Email: sanelamartic@trentu.ca

Adjunct

Igor M. Svishchev  *unable to supervise students at this time
Theoretical and experimental investigation of supercritical water and its many applications including SCW-oxidation technology. 
Email: isvishchev@trentu.ca
Research focuses on Materials Chemistry, particularly on developing advanced synthesis methods to control surface characteristics and enhance their activity in catalytic and sustainable applications. This includes exploring surface functionalization, studying the role of nanomaterials in reactions, and designing hybrid materials with tailored properties.
Email: alishafiee@trentu.ca 

Kate Stewart-Abernethy, Assistant Professor, Chemistry *may co-supervise

Tailoring polymeric materials for target applications including gas and aqueous sensor; understanding the mechanisms by which sensing materials and analytes interact
Email: kstewartabernethy@trentu.ca 

Trent University respectfully acknowledges it is located on the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishnaabeg. We offer our gratitude to First Peoples for their care for, and teachings about, our earth and our relations. May we honour those teachings.

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