MEET THE PROFESSORS
 |
Dr. Leonid Braverman was born and grew up very, very far away from Calgary: almost on the other side of the Earth in Perm, USSR (now Russia). Luckily, the laws of physics are the same everywhere, which allowed him to continue doing the thing he loves the most even after moving: teaching students that physics is truly fascinating. Since 2003, Dr. Braverman has been working at St. Mary's University College, where he teaches physics and astronomy. In his free time, he enjoys hiking in the mountains and taking road trips around Canada and the US. |
 |
Dr. Matthew Clay was born and raised in Nova Scotia and developed a passion for science and chemistry as he conducted experiments on a quest to develop his own fireworks. Moving on relatively unscathed from his early forays into chemistry, he obtained his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Ottawa in 2006 where he conducted research with applications in the fields of molecular electronics and pharmaceutical synthesis. Since 2008 he has been at St. Mary’s University College as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry teaching courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry. His love of science and passion for teaching come together every Wednesday night as he dons his goggles and gloves to bring the excitement and fascination of science to aspiring scientists. |
 |
Dr. Gary Grothman was born and raised in Calgary. His interest in science was kindled by his grade nine science teacher, and he grew up watching Carl Sagan and David Suzuki’s wonder-filled specials on TV. After a stint at New School University in New York he began teaching at St. Mary's in 2002, migrating unerringly from the ocean back to his birthplace like a giant, man-shaped salmon. Between classes, Gary gathers moss to pick through for so-called “water bears”, which he insists are cute enough to justify hours at the microscope. He’s looking forward to sharing the fun of using a good ‘scope, and learning a few things about magnetism and chemistry himself. |
 |
Dr. Mary Ann McLean is an Associate Professor of Biology at St. Mary’s University College where she teaches ecology, biology and conservation. Dr. McLean has always wanted to know how things work, which was encouraged by a high school science teacher who allowed her to experiment. The move to Alberta was a huge adventure, with whole new ecosystems to explore. She has watched golden eagles doing a mating dance in the foothills south of Calgary, listened to elk communicating quietly with each other, raised microscopic mites for many generations, watched a grizzly bear cub gambol and play at its mother’s side, admired many beautiful fungi, spent hours in a patch of wild roses watching goldfinches feeding their nestlings and searched far and wide for earthworms. She is keen to share her excitement about all aspects of the natural world, from the microscopic to the macroscopic with students on Wednesday evenings (she is also really looking forward to making things explode and fly and levitate). |
 |
Eric McLeod is the laboratory coordinator for the biology and chemistry labs at St. Mary's, and is also the chemistry lab instructor. He completed both his chemistry degrees (BSc, MSc) at the University of Calgary, and specialized in corrosion electrochemistry. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |