Applying chemistry’s findings to real-world problems
Material chemist Stefania Impellizzeri is leading research that can benefit a wide range of industries—from biomaterials to sustainable ice paints and composites
When we watch a hockey game or a figure skating competition, most of us tune into the action on the ice—but professor Stefania Impellizzeri is paying closer attention to the ice itself.
A material chemist researcher in the Department of Chemistry and Biology, Impellizzeri is exploring how to optimize the quality of ice used in arenas that host professional and recreational winter sports. It’s an inquiry she’s undertaking as the inaugural Jet Ice Research Chair in Sustainable Materials Chemistry, a position that was established in September by Jet Ice, a leader in providing ice-making products and services to arenas.
With guidance from the company’s leaders, Impellizzeri is experimenting with different processes to produce high-quality ice surfaces while reducing the energetic expenditure to assemble and maintain them. Her research will also yield insights on water conservation in ice-making that could help Canada’s thousands of arenas operate more sustainably.
“We want to determine the best practices for making good ice because everything that is currently known is based on tradition and word of mouth, and not as much on documented scientific knowledge. We want to develop sustainable best practices that are evidence-based and validated,” says Impellizzeri, who leads the Nanomaterials & Molecular Plasmonics Lab (external link, opens in new window) . Impellizzeri is also developing new, greener and smarter materials substitutes for paints specifically designed for ice sports and televised broadcasts.
The latter is part of Impellizzeri’s broader focus on developing new molecules and materials that can be used in nanocatalysis (a rapid chemical conversion process), computer and communication technologies, memory devices and super-resolution bio-imaging. She and her team of post-doctoral fellows and graduate students pursue projects that involve designing functional nanomaterials, engineering organic molecules that can be controlled by light, and pioneering new photochemical methods in lithography and biological microscopy.
One of Impellizzeri’s areas of study could positively impact the field of biomedical engineering. In recent years, she has produced multiple studies on metal-enhanced fluorescence microscopy that could help life scientists achieve higher-resolution visualizations of biological samples.
“Having more advanced imaging tools makes it possible for biologists to better analyze the inner workings of the cell,” she says. “The implications of this kind of research is that it can lead to understanding biological processes in more detail, even translating to real-world impact such as earlier health diagnoses and new therapeutics.”
Learn more about TMU’s partnership with Jet Ice.