George Agnes

Please tell us a little about yourself.

10 things you’ll find me doing on campus:

Smiling & laughing, teaching, meeting, researching, coffee consuming, emailing, mentoring, marking, getting some stress relief time (at the gym or hiking or jogging or cycling on the mountain trails), and non-generally repeating all of the above.

10 things you’ll find me doing when not on campus:

Socializing with family & friends, making and drinking cappuccino and repeating likely too often, skiing, windsurfing, 500 and 750 g weight-lifting, wearing sunglasses, tech gear, trying out new recipes, cycling, hiking & trail running.

About my research in the Department of Chemistry:

Together with students, the program of research that has been developed emphasizes asking new questions that cause us to investigate areas of science (and society) that are for us, new. My research began with fundamental studies of ionization for ion sources used with mass spectrometry, that transitioned to studies of particles prepared in wall-less environments (electrical and sonic levitation), then to the chemistry of particulate air pollution that underlies linkages to adverse effects on human health. And now, we are investigating tools & methods for selective sieving of water molecules.

Why did you want to join this role?

Being admitted in a graduate program is an invitation to immerse oneself in an academic park of finite dimensions.

Being enrolled in a graduate program is an open invitation to academically explore. Simply put, it is an arena of opportunity to expand your knowledge base & skill set, be exposed to disciplinary norms of research, learn and embrace academic risk, ethics, societal well-being, and diversity. It is a way to develop an ever-evolving life-long learning philosophy, skills in leadership and communication in interacting with peers and others from around the world.

Joining the office of the Graduate Studies allows me to be an enabler, for students, for faculty members, and for staff members, to explore the many and varied features of the Graduate Enterprise. That is, in part, my reward; to assist others in their explorations within, and in pushing out, the boundaries of the academic park.

Some of George's hobbies