Category: News

by Kim Osten

This year the CIC Toronto Section hosted over 125 people at our annual Career Fair at the University of Toronto on Friday April 28th, 2017. The event was tailored towards graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and early career CIC members from across the Greater Toronto Area. This year’s event was supported through generous donations from our Platinum Sponsors: the University of Toronto Department of Chemistry and ChemClub, as well as our Silver Sponsors: Bereskin & Parr, GreenCentre Canada and the Ryerson University Department of Chemistry and Biology.

Throughout the day of the event, industry representatives and students were provided numerous opportunities to network during various activities, including a panel discussion and four keynote presentations, as well as a company booth session and round table discussions. We were also pleased to provide a workshop for job search strategies hosted by the University of Toronto Career Centre. Some of the organizations in attendance included MaRS Discovery District, Digital Specialty Chemicals, Inkbox, Toronto Research Chemicals, Vive Crop Protection, GreenCentre Canada, VWR, Ontario Centres of Excellence, and many more. This year we were also fortunate to host on-site interviews for current job openings at Inkbox and Digital Specialty Chemicals.

On January 25th, CIC Toronto Sector held our annual brewery tour at Mill Street Brewery in the Distillery District. Over 40 CIC members and guests toured Mill Street’s brewing and distilling facilities and had a chance to sample some of the brewery’s products. Dan North (Beer Enthusiast and Brew Pub Educator) led tours through the brewing rooms and guests learned about the science behind producing high quality beer and spirits. Attendees then had a chance to network with other chemical professionals over food and drinks at Mill Street’s Beer Hall.

We hope to see you all at our next brewery tour!

On January 12^th, the CIC Toronto Section and Women in Chemistry Toronto (WiCTO) kicked off their first joint mentorship program at the University of Toronto Chemistry Department with a Meet and Greet event. 60 participants, a mixture of mentors and mentees, came to the department to socialize over snacks and a make-your-own hot chocolate bar. The mentorship program aims to pair Undergraduates with Graduate students in the Department of Chemistry for a semester to help Undergraduate students through their degrees.

For more information about the mentorship program and to get involved please visit: http://www.chem.utoronto.ca/wp/womeninchemto/

The CIC Toronto Section will host the 2016 Student Awards Night following the Café CIC to celebrate the academic excellence of high achieving undergraduate students across the GTA.

Some refreshments after the event will be provided.

To register: tinyurl.com/CafeCICSAN

By Kim Osten

The CIC Toronto Section held their Annual General Meeting on May 26^th at the Mill Street Beer Hall. At the AGM, members and non-members enjoyed a catered meal by Mill Street while listening to their beer enthusiast, Dan, talk about the process and the history of beer. The term’s Chair, Kazim Agha, highlighted the many events that CICTor organised including Industry tours, CICTor Votes, Outreach and educational events, the annual Career Fair, and some CIC sponsored events. Chaired by Judith Poe, the members of the section elected the incoming 2016-2017 Executive Committee (see our “Current Executive” page for details).

The Treasurer’s Report can be found here.

By Kim Osten

On May 7^th, 2016 Science Rendezvous in collaboration with the Toronto Section of the Chemical Institute of Canada (CICTor) held the inaugural Science Rendezvous Toronto Science Fair at the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus. Over 100 people attended the event, including over 40 students from various schools in the Toronto area, along with their teachers and families. The students presented science posters on a variety of topics in three different competition categories: junior (grades 4-6), intermediate (grades 7-8) and senior (grades 9-12). Science Rendezvous sponsored the junior and intermediate categories, for which the winning students won $1000 for their teacher to upgrade their science classroom. The senior category was sponsored by CICTor and encouraged students to explore the formulation chemistry of various household products, with the possibility to win $300, as well as $700 for their teacher’s classroom.  Volunteers from Science Rendezvous and CICTor judged the posters in the initial round and identified the top three presenters from each category. Our honorary guest judges, Dr. Andy Dicks, Professor in the chemistry department at UofT, Mike Layton, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 19, and Dr. Jagdish Yadav, Senior Advisor in the Education Services Sector for the City of Toronto, judged the top three participants in each category after the initial judging round and identified the winners as: Aidan Stanbrook from Fieldstone Day School (Junior), Julie Apolot from Montessori Village and Education Centre (Intermediate), and Aubrey Uy, Aisha Malik and Kristia Laygo from Senator O’Connor College School (Senior).

All photos by Kamil Krawczyk

We are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of our friend and colleague, Lorenzo Ferrari.

As the CIC/SCI Canada Chair and former CSC Chair, Lorenzo has been a great influence and presence in the Canadian chemistry community. He has also helped strengthen the role of Canada’s chemical industry as the Manager of Business and Market Development with BASF Canada.

In addition to his professional successes, Lorenzo is remembered with fondness for his enthusiasm to connect with members of the chemistry community. He has touched many lives, and we at the CIC Toronto Section extend our condolences to all those who knew him.