The Outreach and High School Committee held their annual Chemistry Scholar’s Day in the department on May 2, 2024. This event brought in over 60 grade 11 students for an exciting day of chemistry, including a talk from Professor Helen Tran about developing next generation materials and how chemistry is central to solving modern challenges.
The event also featured a career panel from three U of T Chemistry alumni:
- Julia Bayne, a Trainee Lawyer at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
- Cindy Ma, the Medical Editor at Klick
- Tyler Schon, Vice President of Research & Development, at e-Zinc
In addition to the talks, students toured research and undergraduate teaching laboratories, taking the opportunity to interact with undergraduate students enrolled in chemistry programs.
“CSD was introduced several years ago by Professor Kris Quinlan and continues to be one of the most impactful high school events organized by the Department,” said Professor Barb Morra, Chair of the Outreach and High School Committee. “This year, we were thrilled to welcome over 60 students from over 30 high schools in the GTA, and were able to engage more students from under-represented areas than ever before.
“Throughout the day, you could feel the energy of the students as they learned more about chemistry and were able to engage with so many people within our department. I’m particularly grateful for the fantastic graduate and undergraduate student volunteers that helped make the day a huge success!”
Morra added that the CDS committee, whose other members are Professor Kris Quinlan, Professor John De Backere, Chemistry Librarian Madeline Gerbig, and Professor Ruby Sullan, are excited to start planning next year’s event.
Chemistry community members interested in getting involved in next year's Scholar's Day can email Professor Morra.