Mark W.B. Wilson

Remembering Dwight Seferos

It is with sadness that we are sharing the news that Dwight, our colleague here at @chemuoft.bsky.social, died this past Monday.
Our thoughts are with all those who knew him and his work.
www.chemistry.utoronto.ca/news/remembe...

The Canadian researcher whose discovery led to Ozempic is still making breakthroughs Tackling obesity, diabetes only the beginning for GLP-1s, which have been found to reduce risks of other major diseases

Skinny, Inc. Part 1: How Dr. Daniel Drucker's research on a stout lizard helped unlock the science behind Ozempic, a drug taken by more 1M+ Canadians.
www.theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/the...
www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article... via @theglobeandmail.com @kellygrant1.bsky.social

On 3–4 September 2026 @rsc-photochem.bsky.social will host the RSC Photophysics and Photochemistry Group Early Career Meeting 2026, giving early career researchers in this field the opportunity to present their research.
Abstract submission and registration are open: www.rsc.org/events/detai...

Photograph of David Waldeck - in the background is the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning

I share the sad news that Prof. David H. Waldeck passed away after a battle with cancer. Dave was an extraordinarily creative scientist, a devoted educator, and to all of us a friend, mentor, and leader.

He will be deeply missed

#chemsky #chemchat

International Women’s Day Event: “Your Career in Climate” with Catherine McKenna and Katharine Hayhoe To mark International Women’s Day 2026, the Lawson Climate Institute at University of Toronto, together with the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the School of the Environment…

Almost sold out! 🎟️ Join us March 9 at @utoronto.ca for an International Women’s Day conversation on your career in climate with me and @katharinehayhoe.com! Register while you still can:

lci.utoronto.ca/event/intern...

CIC Fellowship recognizes the merits of CIC members who have made outstanding contributions across multiple areas. Congrats to Dr. Andrew P. Dicks, Dr. Paul G. Hayes, Dr. Robin Hutchinson, Dr. Philip Jessop, and Dr. Dongling Ma on being chosen as the 2026 CIC Fellows. buff.ly/KRvM6Nc

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 381 tenure-track positions and 82 teaching-only positions: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #facultychemjobs #chemsky #chemchat ⚗️🧪

Bluesky Map Interactive map of 3.4 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.

I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself!

bluesky-map.theo.io

I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail

A graph of average Grade 12 marks for first-year students enrolled in full-time university studies in Ontario. It shows a steady rise for all universities with a noticeable upward slope change after 2019. Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-high-school-grades-on-the-rise-9.7072730?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Academica-Top-Ten---Fri%2C-Feb-6%2C-2026&utm_source=Envoke-1-Academica-Top-Ten-Daily-Newsletter&utm_term=Today%27s-Top-Ten-in-Higher-Ed

Wow. I knew there was grade inflation going on with high school grades, but this data from Ontario is shocking. This really can't continue much longer. There probably needs to be some kind of resetting of the grade levels, plus possibly the addition of a standardized exam like the SAT. 🍎

The future of quantum chemistry research is being redefined today.

After 8 months of exploration and hard work, we are thrilled to introduce two agents for chemistry:

⚛️ El Agente Quntur for quantum computing, and

🔬 El Agente Estructural for molecular geometry generation and manipulation.
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Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue

🌟 Applications are now open for the Next Generation of AI Chemists Programme, a funded opportunity for penultimate-year undergraduates from backgrounds under-represented in chemistry.

📍 Imperial London | 📅 6–7 July 2026 (in person)
👉 Apply here: buff.ly/MLfs9Zg

#JOB OPPORTUNITY: We're hiring a Lab Technician in our Human Organ Mimicry self-driving lab to support projects focused on diverse organoid + organ-on-chip technologies. Learn more

Apply now: jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

World Economic Forum: Special Address by PM Mark Carney Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers remarks and participates in a discussion while attending a meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Joining the prime minister are Laurenc...

“The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger and more just." It’s well worth watching the @mark-carney.bsky.social address in its entirety.

Data sharing helps avoid “smoking gun” claims of topological milestones Manipulating the topology of electronic bands can realize new states of matter, with possible implications for information technology. A central question is how to tell whether a topological regime ha...

The rarest of sights - a big glossy journal publishing negative replications! Yes, we had to bundle 4 replications into one article AND we had to wait 2 (!!) years in peer review, but here we are:

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Launch of new Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards As announced in Budget 2025 -

🚨Extremely short notice: Looking for prospective PhD or postdoc w/ geological engineering or modelling experience, w/ interests in mountain geohazards for project focused on landslide-triggered tsunamis in subarctic w/ me & @geocron.bsky.social 🧵 🧪⚒️ Pls share!

nserc-crsng.canada.ca/en/news/laun...

Announcement of a Chemistry department news story, with a photo of principal interviewee(s) and a QR code leading to Chemistry Stories at UofT.

Chemistry Stories: Von Lilienfeld to edit new journal, PRX Intelligence: uoft.me/VLPRXIntelli...

[...] and I looked at it, and I thought a bit,
and I looked at my frozen chum [...]

Molecular organohalides as general precursors for direct synthesis of two-dimensional transition metal carbide MXenes - Nature Synthesis Ti-, Zr- and Nb-based MXenes with Cl, Br or mixed terminations can be synthesized by a bottom-up, atom-economic route directly from metals and molecular organohalides. The reactivity of organohalide p...

Now online:

Article by Dmitri V. Talapin & co-workers

Molecular organohalides as general precursors for direct synthesis of two-dimensional transition metal carbide MXenes

www.nature.com/articles/s44... ($)
#Chemsky

Faster, Simpler, and More Precise Calibration Curves: Expanding the Scope of Continuous Calibration Accurate calibration curves are essential for quantitative analysis but are often neglected due to their time, cost, and labour demands. Traditional calibration involves measuring solutions of known c...

Want an easier and faster way to collect calibration curves? Check out our pre-print describing a modernized continuous calibration method, facilitated by an open-access web application: chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr.... We even measure molar absorption coefficients and pKas from single experiments!

looking for a 5y postdoc to work with Stephen Dale (scholar.google.com/citations?us...) and myself within a collaboration between the Acceleration consortium at UofT and the Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials at NUS.

Just tremendous news---proud that we in @chemuoft.bsky.social were able to free up some lab space on our side of the quad to help our new colleague Prof. @saraseager.bsky.social advance her research!
Welcome (back) to Canada!

From left: Jacquelyn Pless, Mark Duggan and Sara Seager will join U of T for the start of the 2026-27 academic year

New constellation of academic stars headed to #UofT.

Innovation scholar Jacquelyn Pless, economist Mark Duggan & astrophysicist Sara Seager will join the university next year ➡️ uoft.me/bZu

Canadian researchers should be aware the there is a motion before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Research to force Tricouncils to hand over disaggregated peer review data on all applications:
Applicant names, profiles, demographics
Reviewers names, profiles, comments, and scores

Visiting Scholar: Professor Youhei Takeda of Osaka University will discuss “Triplet-Harvesting Organic Emitters Based on a Dibenzo [a,j] phenazine Core,” on Tuesday November 4, 2025, at 11:00 AM. Learn more at uoft.me/ChemSeminars

The best scientific talk advice that gets ignored Here are some prescriptions for a case of UCPS (Unengaging Conference Presentation Syndrome).

I find there's a huge mismatch between the standard advice that people give about scientific conference talks, and how people actually give talks.

So I picked out the most important pieces of advice that are most often ignored. 🧪

The E. W. R. Steacie Award is presented to a scientist who has made a distinguished contribution to chemistry while working in Canada. Congratulations to Dr. Eugenia Kumacheva of the University of Toronto on being the recipient of this award. buff.ly/hIJg5dx

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Quantum Engineering) - Madison, Wisconsin, United States Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...

Our department (UW-Madison Electrical and Computer Engineering) has two openings in semiconductors and quantum technologies

First, an open-rank (asst/assoc/full) search in quantum engineering, broadly defined, especially in experimental areas that take advantage of our nanofab resources

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart The U.S. Department of Education recently sent MIT and eight other institutions a proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education," along with a letter asking that MIT review the document.

👏 👏 👏

orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Université de Montréal: chimie inorganique https://chempostingscanada.blogspot.com/2025/10/universite-de-montreal-chimie.html