If a $100,000 research grant and a teaching award are any indication, this might just be Dr. Jonathan Veinot's year.
Dr. Veinot started 2012 with a bang, securing a sizeable grant from the Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN). His research aims to relieve some of the environmental impact of oil sands process water, commonly known as tailings, by using non-toxic silicon nanomaterials in the remediation process.
"Unfortunately, the most widely studied member of this class of materials contains cadmium, which is known to be cytotoxic," explains Veinot. "Silicon nanomaterials offer all of the benefits of cadmium-base systems while also being non-toxic."
His momentum is extending into the summer. Later this month, Dr. Veinot will accept the University of Alberta Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. Established in 2011, this award recognizes faculty who generate a desire for continued learning and instil enthusiasm in academic study among graduate students. He is one of only three recipients.
In July, Dr. Veinot will travel to Munich to continue his study of silicon nanomaterials. Working with Dr. Bernhard Rieger at the Wacker Chemie Center for Macromolecular Science, Dr. Veinot hopes to expand his research to include non-crystalline nanosystems such as silicon clusters.