About Subject Division
The Physical, Theoretical and Computational Division of the Canadian Society of Chemistry serves to promote excellence in research, training, and education in our discipline. We bring together researchers with experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches to understanding the fundamental physical phenomena that underly all chemical disciplines. We sponsor prestigious awards for outstanding Canadian chemists and promote the next generation of scientists via student awards at a variety of conferences.
PTC executive
- Khashayar Ghandi, Chair (2026), University of Guelph
- David Bryce, Vice-Chair (2026), University of Ottawa
- Richard Bowles, Secretary-Treasurer (2026), University of Saskatchewan
Executive members at large:
- Robert Mawhinney (2026), Lakehead University
- M. Shajahan Gulam Razul (2026), St. Francis Xavier University
- Pierre-Nicholas Roy (2025), University of Waterloo
- Samuel Atkinson (2025), Memorial University of Newfoundland
Additional roles:
- Student/PDF member-at-large: Sean Park (2025), University of Waterloo
- Student/PDF member-at-large: Scott McKay (2025), Ontario Tech University
- Past Chair: Alex Brown (2026), University of Alberta
PTC awards
The Keith Laidler Award recognizes outstanding early-career contributions to physical chemistry, for research carried out in Canada, by a scientist residing in Canada. Details on the award and how to apply can be found here.
The John C. Polanyi Award is presented for excellence by a scientist carrying out research in Canada in physical, theoretical or computational chemistry or chemical physics. Details on the award and how to apply can be found here.
The Tom Ziegler Award is presented in honour of Prof. Tom Ziegler (1945-2015) to a scientist residing in Canada who has made an outstanding early-career contribution to theoretical and/or computational chemistry. The award is sponsored by Software for Chemistry & Material B.V. Details on the award and how to apply can be found here.
CSC Student Awards
At the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition (CSC 2024) held June 2-6, 2024, in Winnipeg MB, the Physical, Theoretical, and Computational Division (PTC) had many great oral and poster presentations by students from all over Canada. Therefore, judging the posters and oral presentations to select awards was pleasantly challenging (a huge thank you to our many judges who volunteered their time and expertise). We are thrilled to recognize the recipients of awards for the best poster and oral presentations (in alphabetical order by presenter, whose name is underlined):
Poster awards
Sadam Adetunji Adebayo and Cory M. Widdifield, Enhancing the Efficiency of Computing Carbon-13 Isotropic Chemical Shift Values under GIPAW DFT for Powdered Pharmaceuticals, University of Regina,
Regina, SK, Canada
Tyler Warren Hiltermann, Subhajit Sarkar, Venkataraman Thangadurai, and Todd Sutherland, Diamino-Substituted Quinones as Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
Zhehan Jia, Alberto Otero-de-la-Roza, and Gino DiLabio, Improving the Accuracy and Reliability of M06-2X Using the Atom-Centered Potential Approach, University of British Colombia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
Lucille Kuster and Mathieu Frenette, Melt-React-Trap: A Novel Approach for the Generation and Identification of Reactive Intermediates using Raman Spectroscopy, UQAM, Verdun, QC, Canada
Farzad Mostafavi and Katie Wilson, Exploring DFT Functional Methods for Investigating Noncovalent Interactions Between Carbohydrates and Proteins: A Benchmark Study, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John’s, NL, Canada
Oral presentation awards
Jason Malenfant, Lucille Kuster, Marilyne Bélanger-Bouliga, Mathieu Frenette, and Ali Nazemi, Raman Spectroscopy in Routine Structure Determination and In-Depth Bonding Investigation of Organic and NHC-Metal, UQAM, Verdun, QC, Canada
Nathaniel Andrew Leonard, Irina Paci, Kirsten Aasen, and Heather Louisa Buckley, Investigating reverse osmosis desalination performance of functionalized covalent organic framework membranes with molecular dynamics simulations, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
Samantha Priyadarshani Disanayaka Mudiyanselage, Anthony Jolly, Jean-Francois Morin, and Amy Louise Stevens, Photophysical Characterization of Dichlorobenzene Precursors Utilized in Photochemical Cyclodehydrochlorination Reaction Using Optical Spectroscopy, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Tristan Perodeau, Audrey Laventure, and Mickael Dollé, Towards a better understanding of the polymer – salt coordination phenomenon in solid polymer electrolyte, Université de Montréal, Sainte Catherine, QC, Canada
Hanh Doan Minh Pham, Direct optimization of the ground and excited states in DFT, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada