We are excited to let you know that the annual ORF CEC-REN symposium is now scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, 2026. This will be a full-day event again in Chernoff Hall, Room 117.
Registration has now closed.
We look forward to a day of sharing and showcasing research related to environmental contaminants, re-connecting with colleagues, and forming new partnerships and collaborations.
Hoping you can participate!
TENTATIVE AGENDA June 10, 2026
7:45 – Check-in & Coffee/Tea (Chernoff Hall, 1st floor atrium)
8:00-8:15 – Introduction from Dr. Philip Jessop, Head of the Chemistry Department at Queen’s University and Co-Principal Investigator, CEC-REN (Chernoff Hall, Room 117)
8:15 – 9:00 Project Overview from Dr. Pascale Champagne, Co-Principal Investigator & Scientific Director, CEC-REN and Director General, Clean Energy Innovation (CEI) Research Centre, National Research Council Canada (NRC) (Chernoff Hall, Room 117)
9:00 – 10:00 Keynote Speaker Dr. Jana Levison, University of Guelph Engineering: Continuous inputs, enduring impacts: Non-point source contamination of groundwater (Chernoff Hall, Room 117)
10:00 – 10:20 Break
Research Presentations (Chernoff Hall, Room 117)
10:20-10:40
Maryam Aghili. Electric-Field–Enhanced SERS Detection of PFAS Using Amine-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles.
10:40-11:00
Caroline Kupczyk. Enhanced Electrochemical Detection Coupled with Soil Washing as an Integrated Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Remedial Approach.
11:00-11:20
Wen-Qiang Wang. Precision Water Remediation: Leveraging Single-Atom Catalysts for Emerging Contaminant Destruction.
11:20-11:40
Nasim Fadaie. Protein Nanofibril–Chitosan Aerogels with Enhanced Adsorption Toward Pharmaceuticals and Toxic Metal Ions.
11:40-12:00
Jessica Ni. The Fate of AgNPs in Environmental Matrices.
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch (Chernoff Hall courtyard)
13:00 – 14:00 The Critical Role of Scientific Publishing and Communication: Presentation and panel discussion including Dr. John Smol (Queen’s Biology) & Dr. Stephen Brown (Queen’s Chemistry) (Chernoff Hall, Room 117)
Research Presentations (Chernoff Hall, Room 117)
14:00-14:20
Natalie Niro. Passive Sampling for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment.
14:20-14:40
Gillian Brouwer. Development of a Rapid, Real-time Detection Method for Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (ARB) in Environmental Waters.
14:40-15:00
Rebecca Chen. Developing Electrochemical Biosensors to Detect Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Escherichia coli towards Building the Infrastructure to Manage the Antimicrobial Crisis.
15:00-15:20
Jordan Rensing. Normalization of Viral Levels In Wastewater Through the Use of Human Biomarkers.
15:20 – 16:20 Poster Session & Snack (Chernoff Hall, 1st floor atrium)
16:20 - 16:30 Awards & Closing Remarks (Chernoff Hall, 1st floor atrium)
Poster Session
Rayane Azani. Rapid Detection of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli in the Presence of Ampicillin and Carbapenem Using Advanced Quantitative Culture Methods.
Meg Bashall. Effect of Temperature on the Osmotic Pressure of LCST Thermoresponsive Polyether Draw
Solutes for Forward Osmosis.
Chloe Earnshaw-Osler. Wildfires and Mining Contamination: How Fire Alters Arsenic Mobility in Subarctic Regions.
Mehmet Emci. 3 New Ways to Test Geomembranes for Contaminant Containment.
Nasim Fadaie. CEC-REN Outreach: Fiscal Year Snapshots & Projections.
James Greer. Monitoring the Thermal Based Remediation of Soil and Groundwater.
Sierra Legare. Modelling Contaminant Remobilization due to Sediment Resuspension.
Rhiannon Punch. Wastewater Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes from Two Adjacent Wastewater Treatment Plants: A One Health Approach.
Wen-Qiang Wang. Precision Water Remediation: Leveraging Single-Atom Catalysts for Emerging Contaminant Destruction.