Dr. Jennifer van Wijngaarden
Professor, Department of Chemistry
University of Manitoba, MB
Jennifer van Wijngaarden has been a faculty member at the University of Manitoba since 2006 and has held the rank of Associate Professor since 2012, achieving the position of Professor of Chemistry in 2019. She is currently responsible for overseeing the graduate program in the Department of Chemistry.
Dr. van Wijngaarden received her B.Sc. Honours in Chemistry from The University of Western Ontario in 1997. She continued her studies at the University of Alberta where she earned her Ph. D. in 2002. After completing a NSERC-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Basel (Switzerland) in 2004, Dr. van Wijngaarden joined the faculty at Mount Holyoke College, a women’s liberal arts institution in Massachusetts, where she began her career as a teacher, researcher and mentor to the next generation of scientists.
In 2005, she had her first exposure to synchrotron science through a six week stay in Saskatoon working at the far infrared beamline in its very first stages of operation. When the opportunity arose to return to Canada the following year, Dr. van Wijngaarden accepted a position at University of Manitoba where she has established an active, externally-funded research program and has been recognized for excellence in teaching, research and service.
Dr. van Wijngaarden currently serves as a member of the NSERC Evaluation Group for Chemistry. She is a past member of the NSERC RTI panel for Chemistry, editorial board member of the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy and a member of the International Advisory Committee of the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy.
Dr. van Wijngaarden's research is in the field of high resolution molecular spectroscopy and focuses on the low energy spectral signatures of molecules in the gas phase. These include rotational (microwave) transitions which are recorded using two custom built spectrometers in her Winnipeg laboratory and rovibrational (infrared) spectra collected at the CLS far infrared beamline. Analysis of rotationally-resolved spectra provides accurate and detailed information about molecular structure and dynamics which serves to further our understanding of chemical properties. The species of interest are those involved in astrophysical and atmospheric processes which may be identified remotely once laboratory-based fingerprints in these spectral regions are established.