UNews - Nathan Kostiuk

Chinook Symposium winners announced

caroline.zentner — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 17:32:53 +0000

Winners in the recent Chinook Symposium student conference and poster competition held by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry received both recognition and cash for their hard work.

In the undergraduate biochemistry category, Dominic Czekay took first place and Ian Andrews took second. In the undergraduate chemistry category, first place went to Jackson Knott and second place went to Nathan Kostiuk.

In the graduate biochemistry category, Justin Vigar took first place while Dylan Girodat took second place. In the graduate chemistry category, first place went to Stefan Lenz and second place to Katie Wilson.

Laura Keffer-Wilkes received the Loren Helpler Gold Medal for PhD Research Excellence for her research presentation. Dr. Purshotam Sharma received the inaugural Christopher Owen Bender award for the best presentation by a post-doctoral fellow.

The panel of judges included Dr. Raja Kamalampeta, Dr. Nehal Thakor, Dr. Binod Pageni, David Hill, Dr. Tony Russell, Dr. Senthil Kumar, Tony Montina, Dr. Rene Boere and Dr. Chris Bender.

The department extends its thanks to the judges and congratulations to all the participants.

Thirty-five students, including post-doctoral fellows, doctoral candidates, master’s and undergraduate students and a high school student participated this year. First-place winners received $300 and second-place winners received $100.

C-CRAFT ushers in new era of fluorine research

trevor.kenney — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 22:25:24 +0000

Advanced research experiments, state-of-the-art laboratories, guidance from a top expert in the field - these are the exclusive benefits enjoyed by chemistry students studying fluorine at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, home of the new Canadian Centre for Research in Advanced Fluorine Technologies, or C-CRAFT.

Doug Turnbull, left, and Nathan Kostiuk have taken advantage of the practical learning opportunities provided them by Dr. Michael Gerken.

Over the last several years, the U of L has evolved into one of Canada’s premier institutions for studying the chemistry and physical properties of compounds containing fluorine, a versatile and highly reactive element used in a wide range of industrial and commercial processes and products. Playing a key role in that evolution has been Dr. Michael Gerken, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry with 12 years of experience, and an internationally distinguished fluorine chemist.

By launching C-CRAFT, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will be able to serve as a hub for fluorine scientists and industry researchers worldwide to study and develop useful applications for this reactive element, which can be useful for everything from developing plastics, to performing medical imaging, to promoting cleaner oil production. It will also further enhance the department’s ability to provide high-quality, hands-on research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate chemistry students.

The new C-CRAFT institute, led by this stellar group of faculty members, creates a hub for fluorine research at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Among the students who have enjoyed those practical learning experiences is Nathan Kostiuk, a fourth-year chemistry student who has completed multiple for-credit independent study projects with Gerken, and who also worked for two summers as his research assistant. Helping facilitate Kostiuk’s investigations into fluorine has been his extensive access to the labs’ sophisticated research equipment, which include two nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, a Raman spectrometer and an x-ray diffractometer.

“Being able to use these machines to conduct hands-on research is a huge advantage,” Kostiuk says. “Some things you can learn in a textbook, but it’s different when you can apply what you learn in a lab. What I do in the lab enhances what I learn in the classroom, and vice versa.”

Recently, Kostiuk and a graduate student in the Gerken lab analyzed sulfur tetrafluoride, or SF₄, a chemical compound that can be useful to processes for the pharmaceutical and specialty chemical industries. Using the x-ray diffractometer, a machine for studying the structure of molecules in great detail, he was able to discern the molecule’s behaviour in solid form. It was the first time that this insight had ever been made in science, and his findings were published last June in the prestigious international scientific journal, Angewandte Chemie (German for: Applied Chemistry), published by the German Chemical Society. The accomplishment was rare, since at most universities, undergraduates have less access to leading-edge research equipment.

“I was really happy with that achievement, especially since I was just a third-year student at the time,” says Kostiuk, who is planning to pursue a master’s degree in chemistry after graduating. “Now, other researchers around the world can use it to help their own research.”

Another student who has been actively putting his classroom skills to use in the fluorine labs is Doug Turnbull, a third-year chemistry undergraduate. Turnbull came to the U of L with a budding interest in chemistry he had developed in high school, and was delighted to learn about the high-calibre expertise and facilities available in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

"I had been interested in fluorine at a superficial level, because it's the most reactive element, but at Lethbridge I was given the unique opportunity to gain a real-world idea of what fluorine chemistry is,” Turnbull says.

Turnbull has been conducting experiments involving fluorine and rhenium, another chemical element in the periodic table, to study how various reactions affect the geometry of rhenium compounds. He says Gerken’s insights and encouragement have made the lab learning exciting, and provided him with the confidence to continue exploring.

“This can be a challenging type of chemistry and the learning curve can be daunting. Michael makes it such a comfortable experience that you don’t have those worries anymore,” Turnbull says. “As far as his knowledge and communication style go, he is an outstanding supervisor.”

Model United Nations Club Represents Philippines and Micronesia at International Conference

trevor.kenney — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:53:26 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Model United Nations Club takes on delegates from around the world with their largest ever delegation -- 28 students – at the Harvard National Model United Nations Conference (HNMUN) in Boston, MA.

As two separate teams, the group represents the Philippines and Micronesia, and have spent the past months boning up on the political and cultural challenges each country faces.

As well, team members participate in sub-groups which debate and discuss topics such as Cyberterrorism to Ethics in Drug Research and Development and Human Trafficking.

"Students get a first-hand experience of international relations in action," said MUN Club president Vanessa Lodermeier, a 5th year, Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science student who won an Outstanding Delegate Award last year for her debate topic on Somali Pirates.

"We learn skills of diplomacy, debate and compromise – all skills which transfer not only back to the classroom, but also to the workplace. As well, learning the research process is also valuable for classes that require research papers." Lodermeier added that many students who join the club will also go on to pursue graduate school or professional schools, such as Law and Medicine.

The MUN Club Executive: (Left to right) Rhys Hakstol, 2nd year, Biochemistry; Daniel Wyton, 3rd year, Biology; Bethany Schmidt, 4th year, Sociology, Kailey Little, 2nd year, Open Studies, Vanessa Lodermeier, 5th year, Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science.

HNMUN 2011 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Delegation:

Anastasia Sereda
Bethany Schmidt
Brett Stephenson
Brittany Kocken
Cayley Rauw
Christopher Hollingsworth
Dan Kapusta
Daniel Wyton
Devynn King
Elizabeth Young
Erin Little
Ian Ouwerkerk
Jared Byrne
Josh Seerattan
Kelsay Gault
Kevan Smith
Marcie Wallace
Melissa Kostiuk
Michael Amatto
Mohsin Altaf
Muzzamil Hussain
Nathan Kostiuk

UNews - Nathan Kostiuk

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