News

An informal news log of notable events and accomplishments in the WilsonLab

  • 2022-07-03 – After 2+ years of Zoom, the WilsonLab is thrilled to attend the 2022 Gordon Research Conference on Colloidal Semiconductor Nanocrystals in Les Diablerets, Switzerland. Mark will be giving an overview talk, while Minhal, Christian, Francisco, and Maxine present their research in the (legendary) poster session.
  • Graduate students (and student-to-be) in the office. 2022-06-28 – Braving borders and quarantine, Samihat drops by the lab for a summertime look-see after an all-remote recruitment process this year. Connections and research ideas are a-sparkin’!
  • WilsonLabbers, Year 6. 2022-04-03 – After a long and Omicron-y winter, we seize on a moment with everyone in the lab to take a group photo. Masks help with the indie-band vibe?
  • 2021-12-14 – Mark presents a (remote) CIC PTC Seminar, getting a chance to tell some of our group’s latest scientific stories to colleagues in physical, theoretical, and computational chemistry here in Canada.
  • 2021-11-18 – Our long-rumoured story is out today in Chemistry of Materials Philippe presents our case that the intrinsic surface of PbS nanocrystals made with excess PbCl_2 (i.e. Cademartiri/Weidman-style) is a ~half-layer of a 2D chloride perovskite lattice. This insight not only helps us improve how we handle and functionalize these high-quality nanoparticles, but also reconciles structural oddities and what others (e.g. Mengxia Liu, Ted Sargent, Joseph Luther) have have achieved with dot-in-perovskite devices. Notably, we can observe 2D perovskites forming in situ prior to sulfur injection. Because PbS nanocrystals made from halides show distinct nucleation and growth kinetics from chloride-free syntheses, we speculate that such ‘intermediates’ are relevant for many types of QDs. The intrinsic surface of PbS nanocrystals synthesized from halides is a perovskite-like monolayer.
  • Dr. Philippe Green. 2021-08-30 – The WilsonLab is thrilled to introduce newly-minted alumnus Dr. Philippe Green. We thank external examiner Prof. Jonathan Owen for helped to foster a delightful, scholarly defense that discussed the frontiers of the community’s understanding of the nucleation, growth, and structure of PbS quantum dots, and colloidal nanocrystals more broadly. An outdoor celebration followed, with a cork-launch supplied by the fruits of a local Niagara vineyard. We hope that some of Phil’s dot-magic lives on in LM240, and he has our best wishes as he travels to Switzerland to take up a postdoctoral position with Prof. Rafaella Buonsanti at the LNCE-EPFL.
  • 2021-10-28 – A story beginning at Concordia and building to an unexpected conclusion in Toronto, Francisco’s tour-de-force investigation of the intricacies of CZTS nanocrystal formation through control of templating binary intermediates is published in ACS Nano. Springing from Prof. Marek Majewski’s ideas on the unheralded significance of reduced metal impurities and Francisco’s development of protocols to tune between binary Cu2-xS intermediates using the sulfur source alone, we then partnered with Prof. Jane Howe to use high-resolution TEM to confirm the key role of templating intermediates in ensuring phase-pure products. This true collaboration led to a TOCFig worth 1000 aliquots, and insight that is spurring our new effort to advance the ‘immature’ synthesis of targeted multinary nanocrystals with optical gaps in the red/infrared. Binary Cu(2–x)S Templates Direct the Formation of Quaternary Cu2ZnSnS4 (Kesterite, Wurtzite) Nanocrystals
  • 2021-10-16 – Thrilled to share Christian’s achievement of triplet-fusion upconversion photochemistry with a nanocrystal sensitizer in Chemical Science. We use Philippe’s ultra-small PbS (us) excited-state lifetime that permits mildly endothermic sensitization scheme to maximize the anti-Stokes shift during triplet fusion, with 2) ‘enough’ bandgap energy so that we can photoinitiate MMA polymerization using the blue light generated in situ by combining the energies of two red (637nm) absorbed photons. Then, we can observe and model the quasi-equilibrium dynamics between nanocrystal and ligand, and we find that triplet transfer is slow (~5us). Still, 6% of excitations ultimately reach the DPA acceptor and the Ith is only 220mW/cm^2. We can characterize the quasi-equilibrium with the molecular triplet (a state with known energy), and find that the strongly Stokes-shifted PL peak of these ultra-small NCs (happily!) underestimates the chemical potential of their photoexcitations. Improving photostability is a clear next-step, but ultra-small PbS QDs already combine a handful of advantages, so unravelling their complex photophysics are top-of-our-minds. More to come! Ultra-small PbS nanocrystals as sensitizers for red-to-blue triplet-fusion upconversion
  • 2021-07-07 – Phil spreads the word! We are thrilled that Philippe is presenting his recent work on the nucleation and growth of PbS nanocrystals to the global research community at the News in Nanocrystals seminar series. Ya know, someone should give that guy a Ph.D. soon.
  • 2021-06-14 – Born from curiosity, and realized through NMR, Philippe’s latest story on the anisotropic morphology adopted by 9-ACA ligands on the surface of PbS nanocrystals. We show that exciton-extracting 9-ACA ligands used for upconversion preferentially bind to the the weaker sites at the facet-edges on the surface of PbS quantum dots. This clustering may prove crucial for promoting excitonic energy transport in hybrid systems for triplet-fusion upconversion. Directed Ligand Exchange on the Surface of PbS Nanocrystals: Implications for Incoherent Photon Conversion
    ACS Applied Nano Materials, 4(6):5655-5664 (2021)

    We show that exciton-extracting 9-ACA ligands used for upconversion preferentially bind to the the weaker sites at the facet-edges on the surface of PbS quantum dots.

    (Also, ‘TMEDA-man’ might be our favourite TOCfig yet!)

  • 2021-06-25 – Minhal jumps in on #FluorescenceFriday to show off some of his large CdSe, and (ultra)small PbS nanocrystals. Now which is which…

    Minhal contributes to #FluorescenceFriday with a photo of laser-induced fluorescence from cuvettes containing large CdSe and (ultra)small PbS quantum dots. .

  • 2021-06-12 – Wrapping up a strong scholarship application season, the WilsonLab is proud that Maxine was recognized with an NSERC-PGS-D award, and Francisco with an OGS scholarship. Congrats!
  • 2021-03-05 – The WilsonLab is excited to host Prof. Phil Castellano for a remote colloquium, who told a story-in-many-parts, starting with a PI spotting the significance of some interestingly blue light, and now spans applications in 3D gel-printing, a new (magical!) Zr-based sensitizer for triplet-fusion upconversion, with some of the the very prettiest photos along the way.
  • 2021-03-03 – The lab gears up for the UofT Chemistry Department Graduate Student Weekend. TMEDA-man will be released into the wild! We may be remote, and lobster-less, but our enthusiasm is at a healthy simmer! 🚫🦞🚫
  • 2021-03-02 – Congrats to Kelly for giving a strong 2nd-year PChem seminar on ‘Exciton Auto-Ionization in PbS Nanocrystal Solar Sensitizers.’ More to come :-)
  • 2020-12-01 – Christian gives a triple-threat PChem seminar telling the tale of his research ‘Towards diffusionless triplet-fusion upconversion in solution.’
  • 2020-11-11 – Due to a coincidental overlap of some mandatory in-person laser safety training and ‘shift change’, for 15 minutes the entire WilsonLab is on campus at once for the first time since March. And it was (kind of) sunny outside! Seized the chance for a physically-distant photo op (thank you Antoine!). Research continues (stay tuned for more stories!), but year 5 of the WilsonLab will be unlike any other!

  • 2020-09-25 – The WilsonLab sends its thanks to Nick Uhas for giving his permission to Mark to show his youtube video in CHM135. Because few things demonstrate the power of a catalyst than the ‘Elephant Toothpaste’ reaction… run on the ton scale!!
  • 2020-09-08 – After an extraordinary summer for us all, we were thrilled to welcome new doctoral students Francisco, from the Majewski Lab at Concordia, and Maxine from the Dasog Lab at Dalhousie.
    Canadian Nanoscience: Let our powers combine!
  • 2020-09-07 – Philippe is at it again, with a new paper in J. Mater. Chem. C. showing that glycol ethers themselves can shape the nucleation dynamics of PbS nanocrystals by suppressing the lead-rich cluster intermediate. This effect correlates with multidentate co-ordination to Pb(oleate)_2, corroborated by DFT calculations from our collaborators in Prof. Voznyy’s Clean Energy group at UofT Scarborough.

    In the colloidal synthesis of PbS quantum dots, added glycol ethers variably suppress the formation of metastable cluster intermediates. This achieves control of nanocrystal size in reactions run to completion.

    Check out WilsonLab ResearchTalks to listen to Phil tell his own story!

  • 2020-08-12 – Incoming Wilsonlabber Francisco featured in a Concordia University Press Release describing his M.Sc. work to functionalize ZnO nanowires with carbon nanodots to boost their photocatalytic abilities.
  • 2020-08-26 – Mark gives an invited talk (Remotely) at the 2020 SPIE Optics + Photonics meeting.
  • 2020-08-19 – Mark & Minhal give talks at the (on-line) 2020 Fall Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Curious? Check out WilsonLab ResearchTalks on Youtube to hear both telling their stories!
  • 2020-07-27 – Sometimes science surprises. Read in JPC Letters how Minhal showed that sub-bandgap optical modulation suppresses long-duration ON events in CdSe|ZnS quantum dots—in a timescale-free manner! #FirstOrderKineticsAreForTextbooks Or, better still, listen to him tell the story himself in one of the first WilsonLab ResearchTalks

    We develop an all-optical modulation scheme and demonstrate that sub-bandgap light tuned to the stimulated emission transition perturbs the blinking statistics of individual CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs. Resonant optical modulation progressively suppresses long-duration ON events, quantified by a power-law slope that is more negative on average (Δα_ON = 0.46 ± 0.09), while OFF distributions and truncation times are unaffected.

  • 2020-07-10 – To celebrate papers, comprehensives, courses, and a safe return to physically-distant-labwork-on-rotation, the WilsonLab manages a socially-distant social via drawasaurus.org. In Reasons that Mark went into science, Episode 4306, I give you… ‘Schlenk Line’
  • 2020-05-01 – Thrilled to share Philippe’s discovery that small, lead-rich, pre-nucleation clusters complicate the growth kinetics of small PbS nanocrystals, but can be controlled with amine additives to yield unprecedentedly narrow ensemble linewidths! Though the paper, in Chemistry of Materials, might be our third paper chronologically, it’s the first story in our hearts! A creative efforts from all authors, and there will be more to see here soon!Graphs showing that amine additives accelerate PbS nanocrystal nucleation by suppressing a cluster intermediate, leading to narrower ensemble linewidths for small (diameter less than 4nm) nanocrystals
  • 2020-03-19 – After four long days of hustle, the Wilson lab is set for shut-down as part of the University’s response to the COVID pandemic. It’s certainly a disruption, but there are times when it’s more important to do one’s bit. Farewell, freshly-regenerated gloveboxes (<200ppb O2/H20!), we’ll be watching you (…as we furiously work on manuscripts!) All squared away for shut-down in the synthesis/fabrication room WilsonLab
  • 2020-03-07 – WilsonLabbers participate in an action-packed Graduate Student Recruitment Weekend. Kelly’s poster game proved very strong, and keyed many conversations with the strong class of prospective PChemists. Looking forward to new faces in the fall!
  • 2020-02-12 – An unseasonably warm day in February lets us take a new group picture outside! Knox College across-the-road serving as a lovely backdrop. At this point we choose to emphasize that the University of Toronto does not ‘own’ Knox College… for reasons… WilsonLabbers, February 2020 edition
  • 2020-01-24 – Prof. Wilson returns to Queen’s University to give a departmental colloquium in the physics department. A day filled with great interactions with grad students, and hearing of exciting directions in nanoscale light-matter interactions from faculty—both familiar faces and fellow early-career researchers! Wilson lab student Philippe Green out for dinner with the Yanai group in Fukuoka
  • 2020-01-08 – Philippe visits the Yanai group at Kyushu University in Fukuoka to present his latest insights into the mechanism of nucleation and growth of PbS nanocrystals—key materials for triplet-fusion upconversion. (Not just our favourite topic, but one where Nobuhiro’s team continues to make groundbreaking discoveries!) Thanks to all the Yanai group members for great interactions and kind hospitality.
  • 2020-01-01 – The WilsonLab rings in the new year by welcoming new graduate student Kelly-Marie Yokuda! Kelly joins us from WWU with an interest (and track-record!) in using spectroscopy to explore how molecular structure influences excited-state dynamics in in molecules and nanostructured materials.

2019

WilsonLabbers at the MIT crest

  • 2019-12-13 – Another year, another feuerzangenbowle. WilsonLabbers host an informal gathering of experimental PChemists and friends from around the department to celebrate the coming holidays.
  • 2019-12-06 – WilsonLabbers represent at the 2019 Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society in Boston. Christian, Philippe, & Minhal give well-received oral presentations of their recent work, interact with researchers in spectroscopy and excitonic nanoscience from around the globe, and are treated to tours of the Bawendi, Tisdale, and Baldo labs across the Muddy Charles at MIT. An action-packed week of science!
    (…and, nerds that we might be, we couldn’t help but check out the mapparium :-)Red laser light is converted to yellow emission by a solution including a norbornyl-bridged tetracene dimer
  • 2019-11-21 – More to discover in spin-dependent multi-exciton interactions!  Christian’s paper on triplet fusion upconversion in a rigid molecular dimer is published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. (Summary)
  • 2019-11-02 – WilsonLabbers head up to the 35th Waterloo Symposium on Chemical Physics, held in honour of the late Prof. Bob LeRoy. Many highlights, including Christian winning the prize for best poster, and a keynote lecture by Nobel laureate (and co-inventor of Prof. Wilson’s favourite laser!) Prof. Donna Strickland, where she gave a memorable visual explanation of self-phase modulation.
    (Left) Nobel laureate Prof. Donna Strickland memorably explains self-phase modulation of ultrafast optical pulses… with a slinky! (Right) Christian presents his prize-winning poster on kinetic modelling of triplet fusion upconversion at the 35th Waterloo SCP
  • 2019-09-20 – First in print! Philippe & Amber’s paper on the intrinsic shell in PbS nanocrystals synthesized using excess lead chloride is published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. (Summary)
  • 2019-07-25 – An early WilsonLab Summer BBQ to bid farewell to Reynolds, who heads off to start his Ph.D. in Physical Materials Chemistry as part of the Kempa Group at Johns Hopkins University, as well as Amber, who will soon start her graduate studies in Nanomaterials in the Venoit Group at the University of Alberta. (Did have time to take a photo with ‘everyone’…)
    Wilsonlab group members posing in a basketball court (with a photoshopped Phil), summer 2019
    The WilsonLab, Summer 2019 Edition.
  • Reynolds and Amber in front of the terracotta army in Xi'an, China.2019-07-05 – Intercontinental connections! WilsonLabbers Reynolds & Amber cross paths in Xi’an while travelling, marvelling at the ancient terracotta warriors still protecting the memory of Emperor 秦始皇.
  • 2019-05-06 – The WilsonLab welcomes undergraduates Rees & David as part of the NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Program, and welcomes back Pournima with a University of Toronto Excellence Award. Plenty of research to do, and still a desk to spare!
  • 2019-03-02 – WilsonLabbers represent at the Department’s Graduate Student Weekend. Great discussions with prospective graduate students, and the ChemClub puts on a five-star Korean Theme Night.
    Augmented with Pournima’s CdSe nanoplatelets, our ‘rainbow’ of quantum-confined emitters has never looked better!
  • 2019-02-21 – Kudos to Ruvim for expert lab-tour-guidery during Chemistry Scholars Day, a departmental outreach event for local Grade 11 students. An extra hat-tip to John Ford in the Machine Shop for fabricating a nice-looking jig for our rainbow-of-vials!
    WilsonLabbers get rowdy in the corners.
  • 2019-02-08 – WilsonLabbers head to the ‘sauga to see the 67’s in town vs the hometown Steelheads. (Apparently a fish?) Christian reps the visitors, Phil & Karen educate us on dekes & dangles, and Mark learns that the Finest Food is actually Chicken Shawarma Poutine.
    Solvent removal by evaporation. Delicious!
  • 2019-01-29 – Well, the weather outside is certifiably frightful, but the fresh snow was perfect for making a late-afternoon tir sur la niege! (Yes, the hotplate is brand-new and 100% heavy-metal free!)

  • 2018-12-14 – The group celebrates the 3rd annual WilsonLab Feuerzangenbowle with a crew of 2nd-floor friends. Pronounceable? With practice!

2018

  • Minhal & Pat discuss our recent work on modulating blinking nanocrystals.
  • 2018-12-12 – Rumour has it that a research group put in a strong (and enthusiastically last-minute!) showing at the Holiday Party Talent Show. Who knew we they had it in them?! May your days be merry and bright!
  • 2018-11-03 – WilsonLabbers ont voyagé ensemble à K-W pour le 34e Waterloo Symposium on Chemical Physics. Highlights include Christian’s talk on Electronically (de)coupled acene dimers for low-threshold excitonic upconversion, interactions with Chemical Physicists from near and far, whist, and many discussions around our groups’ posters, including with guru of excited state spectroscopy on colloidal quantum dots, Prof. Pat Kambhampati. Attendees keenly felt the absence of Prof. Robert J. LeRoy, co-founder and long-time keystone of the Symposium, in who’s memory next year’s meeting will be formally dedicated.
  • 2018-10-31 – WilsonLabbers rock a group Hallowe’en costume, and ‘forget’ to inform Mark (…which proves unnecessary.)
    WilsonLabbers, in perfectly sensible attire. Happy Halloween!

  • 2018-10-15 – Prof. Wilson in Mexico City as part of the UofT’s delegation to the Clean Energy Materials Workshops at UNAM & Tec de Monterrey (Ciudad de México), and gives a keynote talk.
  • 2018-09-28 – Congratulations to our newest Masters of Science, Titania & Philip! Titania’s thesis Gold Nanoclusters as Upconversion Sensitizers via Triplet–Triplet Annihilation explored non-toxic luminescence gold-thiol clusters for use in excitonic upconversion, while Philip’s dissertation Synthesis of Lead Sulfide Quantum Dots and their Ligands for Photon Upconversion Applications brought a new understanding of the mechanism underlying thiourea-based syntheses of lead sulfide nanocrystals to the lab. Kudos for all of your hard work!
  • 2018-09-06 – Hats off to Karen, the WilsonLab’s first-ever recipient of the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship! The Vanier is NSERC’s premier graduate award, supporting the ambitions of leading young researchers in the natural sciences. (Update: Bonus write-up in the UofT Chem News)
  • 2018-08-25 – Prof. Wilson gives an invited talk at the symposium in honour of 50 years of materials research in the GAO group, as well as Prof. Ozin’s 75th birthday.
  • 2018-08-23 – WilsonLabbers celebrate the end of summer with a suitably adult-ish BBQ, at which the salmon was cedar-planked and maple-glazed, and the Pictionary did not become less competitive.
    Reynolds caught in the act of presenting at the Departmental Undergrad Poster Session
  • 2018-08-16 – Congratulations to Reynolds on receiving a poster prize at the Department’s Undergraduate Summer Poster Session for the research he accomplished as a Work-Study Student. Reynolds will continue his efforts to enhace the performance of nanocrystal-sensitized excitonic upconverters as part of his honours thesis this year. (Update 2018-09-18: And little did we know at the time that Pournima, another poster prize winner, would be joining us as a research volunteer this fall!)
    Christian & Ruvim help Science Unlimited attendees with their experiments.
  • 2018-08-14 – Quarterbacked by Karen, WilsonLabbers and Jokuschites combine forces to welcome 50 local secondary students to Chemistry’s Day during Science Unlimited—an interdepartmental collaboration led by Physics to inspire bright local students to pursue their scientific passions. Check out the write-up in the Department’s magazine: E-Distillations
  • 2018-07-09 – Congratulations to Christian & Philippe, both of whom receive Ontario Graduate Scholarships in support of their doctoral studies.
    WilsonLabbers listen to a plenary address from Victor Klimov at QD2018, an international quantum dot conference held this year here at the University of Toronto.
  • 2018-06-25 – QD2018, the 10th biannual conference on quantum dots, comes to Toronto, and WilsonLabbers join a week of scientific discussions and networking with leading global researchers. Particular congrats to Philippe, Minhal, & Christian for well-received poster presentations, as well as Prof. Ted Sargent, Dr. Alex Ip, and Jeannie Ing for masterful conference organizing—including the preview of the stunning displays in the new Lee & Margaret Lau Auditorium in the University’s Myhal Centre for Engineering.
    WilsonLabbers enjoy a Jays' game at the SkyDome.
    WilsonLabbers enjoy a Jays’ game at the SkyDome [sic]. It’s not every day Christian gets to wear the vintage jersey!
  • 2018-05-22 – Taking advantage of ticket economics given the Jays’ dismal May, WilsonLabbers venture out to watch GOAT candidate Mike Trout and two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani live at the SkyDome. And the Blue Jays win it!
  • 2018-05-15 – The WilsonLab welcomes soon-to-be 4th year undergraduate Physical Chemistry specialist Reynolds, who’ll be working on commissioning our Angstrom deposition system as part of the Summer Work-Study program.
  • 2018-05-11 – The WilsonLab participates in the 9th Anneal “Ask A Laureate day, where the Chemistry Department welcomes local secondary school students who’ve written an essay on a chemistry-related topic. Prof. Wilson talked about “Using molecules and heavy metal milk to help a camera see through fog”, while Karen and Ruvim gave tours of our laboratory to the contest winners.
  • 2018-05-02 – Prof. Wilson presents to the visiting delegation from the National Research Council of Canada. Real excitement for the upcoming groundbreaking for the Canadian Campus for Advanced Materials Manufacturing in Mississauga!
  • Playing 'Pictionary', WilsonLabber Karen vigorously gesticulates in an attempt to enlighten colleague Ruvim. The word may have been 'aquarium'.
    ‘Aquarium’ (…eventually)
  • 2017-03-15 – 1st (annual?) WilsonLab Pictionary challenge, which was neither competitive, nor hysterical. At all.
  • 2017-03-03 – The Wilsonlab participates in the Chemistry Department’s Graduate Student Weekend, where we welcome students who’ve been made an offer to begin post-graduate studies here in the fall. Prof. Wilson enjoyed many interesting discussions about research and graduate life, both formally in one-on-one meetings, and informally at the departmental dinner. Particular thanks to Christian for quarterbacking the creation of a new poster summarizing our group’s ongoing research, and to Karen and Minhal for helping him present our work to prospective graduate students at the weekend session.
Much crate. Very disassemble.
  • 2018-02-23 – Wilsonlabbers finish the installation and commissioning of our new thermal deposition system, proudly manufactured by Angstrom Engineering in Kitchener, ON, and bought with financial support from CFI, ORF, and the University of Toronto. Thanks to our vigorous un-crating team (particularly Ahmed from the Shop!), Many hands… installation engineers Mina and Andre from Angstrom, and technician Shawn from LC Technology Solutions for receiving, assembling, and firing up the glovebox-integrated evaporator. We’ll now be able to use physical vapour deposition to precisely fabricate the thin (few-nanometer!) films of conjugated organic molecules that we’ll study spectroscopically, and use to build our excitonic upconversion devices. Our suite of synthesis and fabrication capabilities is complete! (For now :-) The sushi burritos were also delicious…
    Christian, Philippe, Reynolds, Minhal, and Ruvim pose, scientifically, with the new Amod thin-film deposition system. Thin-film fabrication huzzah!
  • 2018-01-19 – The WilsonLab is thrilled to introduce our inaugural Master Of Science, Minhal Hasham, as his thesis on Two-Colour Fluorescence Intermittency Spectroscopy: Shedding Light on Blinking in Semiconductor Nanocrystals is formally accepted. Minhal will go down in the history books as the originator of single-molecule spectroscopies in our lab, and will stick around as a research assistant for a few months to wrap up a manuscript before starting a doctorate in the fall. Congratulations!

2017

  • 2017-12-15 – Continuing a holiday tradition, the WilsonLab makes a feuerzangenbowle, and welcomes fellow 2nd-floor-ians to share in some festive Gemütlichkeit!
  • 2017-12-11 – We’re thrilled to be back into our synthetic lab on time after a three-weak hiatus for HVAC renovations as part of the University’s federally-funded LIFT project. When completed, the renovations in the Chemistry Department alone are projected to save the university nearly a million dollars each year in heating/cooling costs by cutting back on wasteful air exhaust from the previous, 60’s-vintage ventilation system …and we ended up with a bonus fumehood to boot!
  • 2017-11-04 – The WilsonLab rolls up the 401 en masse to attend the 33rd Waterloo Symposium on Chemical Physics, and thrills to tales of spectroscopy, ultrafast electron diffraction, mass spectrometry, and computational chemistry. Particular congratulations to Karen & Ruvim for contributing excellent talks!
  • 2017-10-15 – Prof. Wilson in Vancouver to give research and graduate recruitment talks to interested students at UBC and SFU. Thanks again to Caitlyn and Darien for hosting.
  • 2017-09-15 – The WilsonLab is thrilled to officially welcome three new members: two familiar faces, as Christian Imperiale and Philip Sohn formally join us as graduate students, and new recruit Titania Yan!
  • 2017-08-16 – Karen leads the WilsonLabbers in teaching 50 local high schools students about renewable energy as part of the Science Unlimited Program. We look forward to welcoming another talented group of local high school students next year!
    WilsonLabbers Minhal and Karen help two high-school--aged women weigh materials in a chemistry lab.
    Minhal & Christian help Science Unlimited campers assemble a working solar cell—using freshly-squeezed raspberry juice as the electronically active dye! ‘Organic’ chemistry?
  • 2017-08-09 – Prof. Wilson gives an invited talk at SPIE Optics + Photonics in San Diego.
  • 2017-07-27 – Prof. Wilson hosts the inaugural WilsonLab Official BBQ and Talent Show. Summertime evenings are lovely, halloumi is delicious, and we’ll keep working on our (non-scientific) talents…
  • 2017-07-06 – Philip travels to Nakhon Pathom, Thailand to coach the Canadian team in the 49th International Chemistry Olympiad Congratulations to all of the competitors!
  • 2017-07-04 – Perhaps fittingly for the 4th of July, the WilsonLab welcomes Ruvim Ginzburg as a research assistant—fresh from his undergraduate work with the Engel Group at the University of Chicago.
  • 2017-07-04 – Congratulations to Karen, who wins the Martin Moskovits Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology in recognition of her exceptional research potential in Physical Chemistry! This Queen Elizabeth II GSST is appropriately named after Prof. Moskovits, a distinguished UofT Chemistry alumnus and former departmental chair who has made enormous contributions to the study of light-matter interactions—not least of which his foundational paper proposing that surface plasmons were responsible for anomalous Raman signals—the phenomenon at the root of SERS.
  • 2017-06-30 – WilsonLabbers celebrate Mark’s 1st ‘Prof-iversary’ with cake, and a new group logo! I like turtles!
  • 2017-06-19 – The WilsonLab attends Optical Probes 2017 in Quebec City. In addition to many scientific conversation and a memorable conference banquet, Mark gives an invited talk, and Karen, Philip, and Minhal present posters—Minhal brings home the J. Mat. Chem. C poster prize!
    Four scientists in eveningwear posing in front of the alter in the chapel of a Catholic seminary.
    WilsonLab Style at the Optical Probes banquet in Quebec City—this summer’s must-have accessory is a nametag.
  • 2017-06-08 – Prof. Wilson in Ottawa to give an invited presentation at Photonics North.
  • 2017-05-29 – WilsonLabbers represent at the Canadian Society of Chemistry’s 100th Annual Conference & Exhibition. Congratulations to Minhal and Karen for strong poster presentations, and to Philippe for giving the group’s first student talk!
  • 2017-05-17 – WilsonLab field trip out to UTM to visit the Gradinaru and Barzda labs. A beautiful day, a tolerable shuttle bus, and great interactions with fellow spectroscopists!
  • 2017-05-08 – Incoming graduate student Christian Imperiale joins the lab for a summer of collaborative research with the Seferos Group. Welcome!
  • 2017-04-05 – Trevor Plint, a graduate student from the Bender Lab, presents to the group on the unusual wide-band electroluminescence from doped, and co-doped small-molecule organic LEDs based on boron sub-phthalocyanine moieties.
  • 2017-03-11 – Team WilsonLab shows off their signature aggressive sweeping style at the ChemClub bonspiel.
    Aggressive sweepers on a curling rink
    Team WilsonLab demonstrating that a draw to bite the button only requires a precision of 297,931,280 nanometers, easy peasy.
  • 2017-03-07 – Prof. Wilson is awarded $250,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund. This funding will support the purchase of key laboratory infrastructure: our air-free thin-film deposition system, and tools for ultrafast spectroscopy.
  • 2017-03-04 – The WilsonLab participates in the Department’s visit weekend for prospective graduate students.
    Graduate students present poster describing our research to prospective students.
    Philippe, Karen & Minhal present our poster at the GSW
  • 2017-02-28 – After a 10-day whirlwind, renovations/repainting on LM241 are complete—enjoy a shinier group room!
  • 2017-02-27 – Fluorescence detected from a film of quantum dots using our new, home-built epifluorescence microscope—congrats Minhal & Karen!
  • 2017-02-23 – Mark presents a discussion of ‘Uncertainty & Chaos: From Quantum Mechanics to Global issues” at the STEMinism2017—a one-day conference organized by local secondary school students.
  • 2017-02-22 – Carmen Nguyen, a graduate student from Zhenghong Lu’s research group, presents to the group on the unusual emission from the interfaces in small-molecule organic light-emitting diodes.
  • 2017-02-15 – Maria José Gonzalez, a post-doc in Mitch Winnik’s group, presents to the group on the use of FRET-based molecular rules to study the stability and inter-diffusion of the molecules in polymeric nanoparticles.
    Fume hood
    Philippe & Philip’s rebuilt hood following our move to our renovated, permanent WetLab.

  • 2017-02-02 – Philippe & Philip finish re-building their Schlenk line following the move from our temporary lab space. Kudos for hitting 18mTorr without LN2!
  • 2017-01-30 – Gloveboxes for air-free wet chemistry and solution-processing commissioned in the WetLab. Sub-ppm O2/H2O is pretty swell…
    Wilsonlab Wetbox
    LC Technologies glovebox for wet chemistry commissioned in the WilsonLab.
  • 2017-01-11 – Mark gives a colloquium to the Department of Chemical & Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga on ‘Solid-state organic/nanocrystal films for infrared↔visible photon conversion via excitonics’
  • 2017-01-10 – Renovations on the LM240 & LM239 complete up to a punch list—huzzah for our new wetlab & optics anteroom!

2016

  • 2016-12-16 – Minhal & Karen start construction of the epifluorescence microscope for single-molecule/nanocrystal/aggregate fluorescence studies. It begins!
    Optomechanical components on an optical table
    Serried ranks of optomechanics, though ThorLabs LabSnacks apparently don’t happen in Canada…
  • 2012-12-16 – Official WilsonLab feuerzangenbowle. A delicious, if unpronounceable, tradition…
  • 2016-11-18 – New HVAC system commissioned in Spectroscopy Lab. Time for a clean-up party in LM043. Cue the laser light show…
  • 2016-11-17 – We finally remember to take a group photo
  • 2016-11-05 – Mark presents at the 32nd Waterloo Chemical Physics Symposium
  • 2016-11-03 – Group tour of some of Dwayne Miller’s ultrafast spectroscopy labs courtesy of Olivier Paré-Labrosse. Thanks!
  • 2016-10-19 – Mark attends the Massey College Science Policy Symposium, and joins the panel on ‘Supporting Early Career Researchers’
  • 2016-10-17 – Group beers for Game 3 of the ALCS. Unfortunately, despite Trevor Bauer’s drone-injured finger only lasting two outs, the Jays still can’t buy a hit off of Cleveland’s cast-of-thousands pitching staff…
  • 2016-10-14 – Karen attends the local OSA/SPIE graduate symposium.
  • 2016-09-21 – It’s official! Philippe, Karen & Minhal join the group as graduate students—welcome!
  • 2016-08-23 – Philip & Philippe confirm excitonic absorption features by absorption spectroscopy. We have nanocrystals!
  • 2016-08-12 – Philip & Mark successfully synthesize black sludge out of lead oleate and diphenylthiourea. Could be quantum dots?
  • 2016-08-08 – First light in the temporary lab—Philippe and Mark build a photoluminescence setup around lock-in detection.
    Green laser light
    First (coherent) photons!
  • 2016-08-05 – Philip & Philippe finish building our first Schlenk line.
  • 2016-08-03 – Philippe, Philip, & Mark adopt a scientific pose for the department’s ‘eDistillations‘ newsletter.
    Chemists in labcoats
    Looks like science to me…
  • 2016-07-01 – Mark formally starts as an Assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry.
  • 2016-05-10 – Philip & Philippe attend the ‘LabVIEW bootcamp’ over in the Department of Physics.
  • 2016-05-10 – Philip starts summer work: ‘reinforcements have arrived!’
  • 2016-05-09 – Philippe starts summer work. Welcome!
  • 2016-03-03 – Mark participates in UofT Chemistry’s Graduate Students’ Weekend. Excited to start doing science with a strong cohort of incoming graduates!
  • 2016-02-05 – Mark accepts the Department’s offer of a research-stream faculty position. Thrilled to be coming (home-ish) to Toronto!