Research
HÂþ» University is comprised of 6,000 faculty and staff distributed among 13 faculties. Current enrollment is 18,500 graduate and undergraduate students. As part of Canada’s U15 research-intensive group, HÂþ» University is an influential driver of the region’s intellectual, social and economic development. It is the largest university in Atlantic Canada and is located in the heart of Halifax, a scenic coastal city and capital of Nova Scotia which is home to 13 Mi’kmaq First Nations, a deeply rooted African Nova Scotia community, and an increasingly diverse population which also includes a vibrant workforce of people living with (dis)Abilities.
The Department of Chemistry is centrally located on the original Studley Campus of HÂþ» University. The Department is the premier chemistry research institution in the region. Our faculty includes many award winning professors, including holders of Canada Research Chairs and prestigious institutional research Chairs (MacLeod Chair, Shirreff Chair and MacDonald Chair). Faculty members within the department secure substantial funding from a variety of sources, including national funding agencies such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
Traditionally, research in chemistry has been divided into four areas of specialization. Inorganic chemistry deals with all the chemical elements except carbon, and the compounds which these elements form. Organic chemistry is devoted to the study of the almost limitless number of compounds containing carbon. Analytical chemistry is concerned with the determination of the composition of substances, and with the detection of elements in quantities however minute. Physical chemistry provides a means of understanding the physical properties of matter and the processes of its transformations, both at the macroscopic and molecular levels.
These distinctions have begun to disappear as much of the current research in the Department now crosses several areas. New categories to describe our research expertise have thus emerged. One of these is Catalysis. Several of our faculty members (Chitnis, Speed, Stradiotto, Turculet) have achieved significant success with their research on homogeneous catalysis, especially ligand design. Our Department also has strong research programs in Energy, including the development of more efficient energy storage devices and materials for emerging renewable energy strategies (Andreas, Dasog, Freund, Obrovac).  Materials science has long been a great strength in the Department, including research into the structure and function of materials with applications in optics, as well as investigations into materials related to energy and catalysis (Dasog, Freund, Obrovac, Zhang, Zwanziger). Our Theory group is recognized world-wide for its work in development of methods like DFT for application in a wide range of chemistry-related questions, including materials science (Johnson, Zwanziger). Research into Organic/Biological chemistry involves the application of organic and analytical methods in areas such as development of luminescent sensors, highly efficient non-metal containing (photo)catalysts, and technologies for separation of complex protein mixtures (Doucette, Speed, Thompson, Zhang).Â