Environment

The University of Alberta Department of Chemistry is a world-class research center that is generally regarded as one of the very best chemistry departments in Canada. Professors in the Department of Chemistry have won many prestigious national and international awards. The infrastructure and staff in our department such as the NMR, MS and analytical services are first-rate and provide exceptional support of our research program. Our lab space, located in the modern and spacious CCIS Building, has a view of the river valley and downtown Edmonton, with 17 8-foot fume hoods. In addition to the usual equipment and glassware for synthetic chemistry research, our labs possess several state-of-the-art instruments, including:

inert-atmosphere glove box
cartridge-based solvent purification system
a microwave reactor
parallel synthesizers for combinatorial chemistry
automated flash chromatography
a rapid high-vacuum evaporator
HPLC’s with UV and mass spectrometric detectors
a microtiter plate reader / UV spectrophotometer

The training philosophy in our group aims at preparing graduate students so they can be competitive in the modern job market by acquiring a broad skills set that includes:

technical abilities
knowledge of modern instrumentation
familiarization with the current literature
leadership and ability to work efficiently in a team
organization and communication skills (oral and written)
scientific autonomy
problem-solving
proper reporting and data collection

These important skills are acquired from various opportunities:

a congenial group atmosphere with individual projects and opportunity for exchange of collective knowledge and expertise
weekly group meetings: highly formative with literature presentations, fun knowledge quizzes, problem solving sessions
additional training activities like “Paper of the Week” and Journal Club
attendance and presentations in national and international conferences
annual group retreat (in the summer, and usually somewhere in the mountains!), where we mix research presentations with a lot of fun activities

The effectiveness of this training environment is evident from the large number of former group members who have secured attractive positions as college teachers, patent agents, university professors, and medicinal chemists in major pharmaceutical companies like Gilead Alberta, ParazaPharma, Pfizer, Novartis, and (see Alumni section). Several students obtain major scholarships and awards after joining the group. Typical achievements of students graduating from the Hall Group include:

co-authorship of 3-5 publications for Ph.D. students, usually with some in chemistry’s top journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. and Angewandte Chemie
many students have co-authored a book chapter with Prof. Hall
various awards and presentation prizes in conferences
many former Ph.D. students from the Hall Group were awarded a prestigious NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship and did a postdoc in prestigious institutions like UC Berkeley, the University of Chicago, Harvard University, Columbia University, Max-Planck Institute, etc.

Outside the lab, group members enjoy occasional social events :

recreational soccer, volleyball, etc.
summer group barbecue
end-of-year party
frequent outings for lunch and drinks

Life outside of the Chemistry Department is interesting, for Edmonton is a metropolitan, multicultural city with numerous arts and sports amenities. The Province of Alberta is blessed with geographical diversity and beauty like the majestic Rocky Mountain National Park system, which offers plenty of opportunities for outdoors enthusiasts. Plus, according to meteorologists from Environment Canada, Alberta has the most pleasant climate in the country (a well-kept secret!), with the most sunshine hours, low humidity with little snow and rain (excellent for setting up anhydrous reactions), and the energizing Alberta big blue sky.