Zelisko Research Team - Silicon Chemistry

09/22/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Julio Treviño (guess who he is in the photo!) who successfully defended his PhD on the use of fluorosilicone systems to achieve superhydrophobicity. I’d like to thank the external examiners, Andrew Vreugdenhil and Amir Mofidi, PhD, P.Eng. for participating in the examination, and my colleagues Melanie Pilkington (FRSC) and Travis Dudding for dedicating their time as part of the supervisory committee.

It’s been a fun journey with Julio, with some great science along the way.

09/21/2026

PhD candidate Julio Treviño Silva will defend the thesis titled “Fluorosilicones: A Route Towards Superhydrophobicit” on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in Plaza 600F.

The examination committee includes: Val Fajardo, Chair; Andrew Vreugdenhil (Trent University), External Examiner; Amir Mofidi, Internal Examiner; Paul Zelisko, Supervisor; Melanie Pilkington and Travis Dudding, Supervisory Committee Members.

06/20/2026

Shae-Lynn helping to keep things rockin’ for the Silent Disco at the Canada Cup of Robotics.

06/02/2026

Our latest paper comparing platinum catalysts for the hydrosilylation of alkenoic acids has just been published in a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry dedicated to Prof. Willie Leigh.

Three platinum sources, Adam's catalyst, Karstedt's catalyst, and platinum black, were utilized to mediate the hydrosilylation of alkenoic acids with hydrosilanes. All catalysts exhibited the capacity to mediate hydrosilylation with varying degrees of efficiency, which correlated to the nature of th...

05/28/2026

Presenting our team’s work on the incorporation of renewable materials into silicone polymers and healable and remouldable silicones using DNA based. Laura Voigt

05/28/2026

Corradina Towie presented her research incorporating renewable materials into silicone matrices today at the Canadian Societies for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering 2026 Conferences and Exhibition.

05/26/2026

A great couple of days for presentations from the team. Corri gave a talk summarizing her incorporating agar into silicone systems while Shae-Lynn presented a poster highlighting her work continuing the team’s interest in silo and-containing biocatalytic systems. Paul M. Zelisko gave a talk outlining the group’s work in superhydrophobic coatings. .

12/03/2025

Another successful PolyNog!