The People of the Gibbs-Davis Group:

The Group, August 2011

From left to right: Zhiguo Li, Katie Mitran, Abu Kausar, Juli Gibbs-Davis, Julian Diaz, Delwar Sikder, David Grewer, Yimeng Li, Champika Weeraman, Md. Shafiul Azam

Dr. Juli Gibbs-Davis, Principal Investigator

I grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona, and then headed to the desert to pursue my undergraduate degree at Arizona State University, where I conducted research with Ian Gould. For my Ph.D. I moved to Evanston, IL to work with SonBinh Nguyen at Northwestern University on the development and characterization of comb polymer-DNA hybrid materials. After graduating, I accepted a Dreyfus postdoctoral fellowship in environmental chemistry and joined the labs of Franz Geiger and Karl Scheidt at Northwestern. In the summer of 2008, I continued along my mostly northward trajectory and began a faculty position at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In addition to enjoying the discussion and development of interfacial chemistry, I like cooking, watching movies, and learning about Canadian culture.

Md. Shafiul Azam, 1st Year, Graduate Student

I was born and grew up in a small town of a small but very beautiful country, Bangladesh. After pursuing my Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from Jahangirnagar University, I spent four years working as Lecturer (as well as a part time M.Phil student) in Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Dhaka. Then I moved to Edmonton to advance my studies in chemistry at the U of A where I joined the Gibbs-Davis lab as the first graduate student (proud to say the word FIRST!!) of this research group in Fall 2008. My previous and current research includes drug polymer binding, synthesis and application of nanophased materials, surface chemistry and molecular recognition at interfaces. In my free hours I like watching and playing cricket, enjoying music, and taking time to be with my friends and family.

Sean Fenwick, 4th Year, Undergraduate Researcher

Hi! I'm Sean, a 4th year specialization in chemistry student that grew up on a farm 25 min. North of Rimbey, AB. Maybe I should say 5th year... I completed a year internship with Kelsan Technologies in North Vancouver. The company develops friction modifier products for railway tracks. So if you've got any questions about the company or the IIP program, don't hesitate to ask! My current interest is largely environmental, anywhere from atmospheric chemistry to persistent organic pollutants. Hence where the surface chemistry comes in. My main goal is to become a graduate student in environmental chemistry next year. If it's not reacting surfaces, I'm usually pretty active. Hockey, badminton and capoeira. If you know what the latter is, I'll see you in the roda. Tchau!