UPEI chemistry students host ChemCon 2025 conference
From May 22 to 24, 2025, UPEI proudly hosted ChemCon 2025, an annual conference held in conjunction with Science Atlantic for undergraduate and graduate chemistry students in Atlantic Canada. ChemCon is organized completely by students, along with some help from faculty advisors.
This year’s organizing committee members were Julia Larkin, Tyler Taylor, Emma Ramsay, Beth Meenink, Olivia Van Hul, Catherine Walker, Justine Guidon, Ali Nasoudi, Ziad Mohamed, and Hailey Hill—all from UPEI’s Chemistry Department. Faculty advisors Drs. Brian Wagner, Amani Abdelghani, and Marya Ahmed provided mentorship and support throughout the planning process
The theme for ChemCon 2025 was “Sustainability in Chemistry,” which was chosen to highlight the efforts of the chemistry community across Atlantic Canada to contribute to a more sustainable, green future. The organizing committee aimed to showcase outstanding research not only in the field but also promote open conversations about what can be done to further sustainability-forward initiatives and how sustainability practices can be incorporated into research, laboratory settings, and everyday life.
ChemCon 2025 hosted over 160 attendees, and included oral and poster presentations from undergraduate and graduate students, a student panel discussion, an AI in Chemistry panel, an Introduction to Industry workshop, and two keynote presentations from Dr. Marissa Clapson (UPEI) and Dr. Mita Dasog (Dalhousie University). The conference concluded with an awards banquet hosted at the Delta Hotel Prince Edward, where 33 awards were presented to students. Among the award winners were UPEI students Emma Ramsay (Best Graduate Oral Presentation in the Physical, Computational, and Theoretical Division), Olivia Van Hul (Best Undergraduate Oral Presentation in the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division), and Ali Nasoudi (Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation in the Inorganic Division).
Overall, ChemCon 2025 was a resounding success, giving students a platform to share their research, engage with peers and professionals, and explore the future of chemistry through the lens of sustainability. UPEI was honoured to host this year’s conference and looks forward to seeing the momentum continue at ChemCon 2026 at the University of New Brunswick.
