Dr. George Shimizu

University of Winnipeg alumnus Dr. George Shimizu (BSC Chemistry 1989) is a leading researcher in Supramolecular Materials in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Calgary.

Shimizu has taught at the University of Calgary since 1998. Prior to this, he was an NSERC postdoctoral fellow at the University of Birmingham and a Research Associate at the Steacie Institute of the National Research Council.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, such as the Strem Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry from the Canadian Society for Chemistry in recognition of his "outstanding contributions to inorganic chemistry," as well as the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award.

Shimizu has given more than 90 invited, keynote, and plenary talks nationally and internationally and has authored over 95 publications.

His expertise lies in the design and production of novel porous materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These solids can capture gases in a reversible manner and could be used, for instance, to remove carbon dioxide from industrial flue gas or safely store methane.

Shimizu's success as a researcher is evident by his excellent record of publication, including articles in high-impact journals such as Science and the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and the high quality of his trainees, who can be found in relevant academic and industrial positions across Canada.

He has received numerous high-profile grants, including an NSERC CREATE grant (2015) to start a training program in carbon capture technologies, which demonstrates the wide impact of his research program.