Susana Y.Kimura-Hara, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry

Email: s.kimurahara@ucalgary.ca
​
​Dr. Susana Y. Kimura-Hara joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Calgary in July 2017. Additionally, Susana is a Tier 2 chairholder of the CRC in Analytical and Aquatic Chemistry.Prior to joining University of Calgary, Susana was a postdoctoral fellow for two and half years in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina and a postdoctoral research fellow for one year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Susana obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and B.Eng. in Industrial Engineering from CETYS Universidad in Mexico.
​Courses:
CHEM 321 Environmental Chemistry
CHEM 697 Water Chemistry
Meet The Team

PhD Student
Alice Alex
Alice started in September 2025. She studied at the University of Waterloo, Canada, and has a thesis-based masters in Inorganic chemistry. During her MSc, she synthesized semiconductor nanoclusters — specifically, coinage metal chalcogen compounds stabilized by a bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC). She received an MSc. in Analytical Chemistry and BSc in Chemistry from Mahatma Gandhi University, India. Her current research focuses on the generation and characterization of ozone nanobubbles (O₃-NBs) and the investigation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in O₃-NBs. During her free time, Alice enjoys swimming, cooking, and nature walks.

PhD Candidate
Kumudu Rathnayake
Kumudu started in September 2022. She completed her B.Sc. (Honors) degree in Chemistry from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. During her undergraduate studies, she developed a tea waste-derived activated carbon–polyacrylamide composite for removing heavy metals from wastewater.
Her current research focuses on identifying and characterizing disinfection byproducts (DBPs) formed during the bromination and iodination of model organic compounds (benzotriazole) using advanced analytical techniques. This includes elucidating reaction mechanisms and assessing the environmental relevance of emerging halogenated DBPs. Through this research, she aims to improve the understanding of DBP formation pathways and contribute to safer water disinfection practices.
In her free time, Kumudu enjoys drawing and growing plants.

M.Sc. Student
Julia Stroud
Julia started in late August 2023. She has an undergraduate-research background in NMR Spectroscopy-based metabolomics as well as aquatic toxicology, and she received a B.Sc. Biochemistry in April 2023 through the University of Lethbridge. Currently, she is working to elucidate the mechanisms behind the formation of nitrogenous disinfection by-products (N-DBPs) through chlorination and bromination of nitrogenous bases. Her general research interests surround environmental sustainability. During her free time, Julia enjoys listening to music, watching youtube, and learning different languages
Former Group Members
Research Staff
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Dr. Tatek Temesgen Terfasa, Post Doctoral Associate. (May 2018-Jan 2021) 
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Dr. Sunaina, Post Doctoral Associate. (May 2018-Jan 2021) 
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Thilina Jayawardana. Research Associate. (May 2018-Jan 2021) 
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Jeas Grejoy Andrews. Research Associate. (May 2018-Jan 2021) 
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Jill Murakami, PhD. (May 2018-Jan 2021) 
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Kyle Lee, BS. (May 2020- Aug 2021) 
Graduate Research Students
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Jorge Pérez Pérez, MSc (Jan 2021 - Dec 2023) 
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Thilina Jayawardana, PhD (May 2018 - Dec 2023) 
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Jeas Andrew Grejoy, MSc (Sep 2020 - Aug 2023) 
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Md Fahim Hossain, MSc (Sep 2019 -Dec 2022) 
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Chad Verwold, MSc (Sep 2018 - Aug 2021) 
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Alejandro Ortega-Hernandez, MSc (Sep 2017-Dec 2020) 
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Raphael Acayaba (Jan-Jun 2019) 
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Visiting from The University of Campinas, UNICAMP (Brazil) 
Undergraduate Research Students
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Nefertari Aguilar (May-Jul 2023), MITACS Intern, Visiting from Instituto Técnologico de Celaya (México)​ 
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Sydney Parisien (Jan- Aug 2023), NSERC ​Undergraduate Student Research Award 2023​ 
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Frederick Van den Brande (Jan- June 2023), ​Visiting researcher from Belgium (Odisee) 
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Jasjeet Gill (June-Dec 2022) 
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Andrea Rodríguez Garza (July-Oct 2022), MITACS Intern, Visiting from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Mexico) 
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Jessy Tseng (May 2020-Aug 2022), NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards in 2020 and 2021)​ 
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Dhruvin Patel (June-Dec 2021) 
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Chris Tremblay (Sep 2019-Apr 2020) 
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Amy Fahlman (Sep 2019-Apr 2020 and May-Aug 2019) 
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Jorge Alberto Perez (May-Aug 2019), MITACS Intern, Visiting from The Universidad de las Americas Puebla, UDLAP (Mexico) 
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Miriam Patron (Apr-Jul 2019), Visiting from ​The University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany) 
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Matthew Eeles (May-Jun 2019) 
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Tao Siyuan (Jan-Jun 2019), Visiting from The China University of Petroleum (East China)​ 
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Kyle Lee (Jan-Apr 2019) 
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Olga Titica (Jan-Apr 2019) 
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Matthew Biscope (May-Aug 2018) 
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Francesca Retuta (May-Aug 2018) 
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Zongying Hu (Jan-Jun 2018), Visiting from The China University of Petroleum (East China)​ 

