StFX students Kyla MacDonald and Darian MacLean will spend the summer getting hands-on research experience as recipients of the John P. Cunningham Internship, valued at $7,000 each. The award funds 16 weeks of summer research employment.
The students say the internship is an invaluable experience.
“This opportunity has been great for providing me with additional learning challenges to face with my chemistry knowledge,” says Ms. MacDonald a fourth year chemistry student from Truro, NS, who is supervised by Dr. Erwan Bertin.
Her research is based on using electrochemistry and pulsed laser ablation in liquids. “I use the nanoparticles formed by pulsed laser ablation in liquids to catalyze the reduction of CO2 to formate,” she says.
Darian MacLean, a fourth year honours chemistry student from Antigonish, NS, is supervised by Dr. Geniece Hallett-Tapley, and says the internship is a great opportunity to gain hands-on learning experience in her field of study and to explore research more in depth.
“The research that this award allows me to pursue entails the use of a light emitting species on a semiconductor and gold solid. This material is being used to oxidize an alcohol with the intention of making an efficient and recyclable reaction,” she says.
This research is, in part, made possible by the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.
