What is your first U of A memory?
My first time at the U of A was for my on-site job interview in September 2021. A few days before my visit, which had been planned for some time, there was an unexpected COVID-19 resurgence. Everyone was very accommodating with outdoor meals and adjusting my schedule when some colleagues needed online meetings. It showed me that my (future) colleagues were clearly very collegial, supportive and worked as a team to adapt and get things done.
What’s something your co-workers don’t know about you?
They probably don't know that I competed in powerlifting during grad school. Throughout my life I have participated in many different sports and activities with varying levels of success, and that is what I was into at the time! Now I’m playing in a casual slow pitch league and generally try to keep active.
What’s your favourite distraction?
Planning my next trip, whether it’s work related, meeting up with friends around North America or visiting my family in Winnipeg.
If you were enrolling in one course, program or degree right now, what would it be?
I’ve considered taking religious studies and gender and sexuality courses. I often reflect on how I was only trained in science with no opportunities to take humanities courses and I think it’s a pity. Perhaps I will take some classes post-tenure!
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
Jacob Tierney, both to discuss his work and because I’ve only ever heard good takes and thoughtful comments from him.
If you could see any live performance tomorrow, what would it be?
Broken Social Scene with all of their members over the years in the same show (in June 2026 I saw something close to this, but Feist and some others were not there!).
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
It’s not embarrassing if you’re not embarrassed. It’s cool to care about things (even if other people think they aren’t cool).
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
Music and podcasts (or sometimes podcasts about music).
What three words describe your U of A experience?
Friendly. Collaborative. Exciting.
Tell us a little bit about your work at the U of A.
I research and teach environmental and analytical chemistry in the Department of Chemistry. Alongside graduate, postdoctoral and undergraduate researchers in my group, we study harmful chemicals in the environment with the goal of identifying where they come from, where they end up and what happens along the way. Our focus is on pesticides, pharmaceuticals and the notorious class of contaminants called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS; sometimes called ‘forever chemicals’). We use mass spectrometry techniques to make environmental measurements and simulate environmental processes in the lab. Our goal is to understand how chemicals behave in the environment so we can characterize risk to humans and ecosystems, and so greener chemicals can be designed in the future. These concepts are integrated into my undergrad teaching as well!
Do you have any upcoming projects or initiatives you are looking forward to at work?
I am excited about some opportunities that have arisen from connections at the U of A. We will measure PFAS in ice cores with Alison Criscitiello and her team at the Canadian Ice Core Lab to understand emissions over time, and in atmospheric samples with Ran Zhao to understand how contaminants are carried with wildfire smoke.
What’s a piece of U of A advice you would share with your colleagues?
Meet your colleagues, including those you don’t work with closely. Community makes work a better experience, and you will soon find out how you can help each other in one way or another.
