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Graduate and undergraduate student positions available! Send an email to Ryan for more details.

People

	Ryan MacDonell Assistant Professor Department of Chemistry, Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science Ryan received his B.Sc. Honours Chemistry from Carleton University in 2014. He moved down the Rideau Canal to work on his Ph.D. at the University of Ottawa with Michael Schuurman (National Research Council Canada), which he completed in early 2020. He then moved to Sydney, Australia, to work as a postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Ivan Kassal at the University of Sydney, before returning to his home province of Nova Scotia in 2023 to work as an assistant professor at Dalhousie.
	Edith Leal-Sánchez Postdoctoral Fellow Edith completed her B.Chem. at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 2019. She remained at UNAM for her Ph.D., studying quantum molecular dynamics with Prof. Jesús Hernández Trujillo. After successfully defending her Ph.D. in late 2023, she joined the MacDonell Group as a postdoctoral fellow to work on hybrid digital quantum simulation algorithms for vibronic systems.
	Siri Williamson Masters Student Siri completed their B.Sc. in chemistry and physics at Carleton University in 2023. There, they worked on their Honours research project with Chris Rowley on the simulation of methane adsorption in covalent organic frameworks. They joined the group in Fall 2024, and they are working on the analog quantum simulation of rovibrational dynamics and spectra.
	Eli Kent Summer research student Eli is a student in the Department of Chemistry at Dal. He started his B.Sc. in 2025 after completing a Bachelor of Computer Science at Acadia University. He is currently working on investigating nuclear delocalization and the point charge approximation in molecules.

Group photos

May 2026

Eli Kent, Edith Leal-Sánchez, Jongkwon Ha, Ryan MacDonell, and Siri Williamson at the Northwest Arm In front of the Northwest Arm, in Point Pleasant Park. From left to right: Eli, Edith, Jongkwon, Ryan, and Siri

February 2026

Ryan MacDonell, Jongkwon Ha, Edith Leal-Sánchez, Siri Williamson, and Gus the Tortoise at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History At the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History. From left to right: Ryan, Jongkwon, Edith, Siri, and Gus (honorary member)

March 2025

Jongkwon Ha, Ryan MacDonell, Edith Leal-Sánchez, Siri Williamson, Katlyn Near, Andy Arrigoni Pérez, and Fanny Vain in front of the Dalhousie touch tanks In front of the Dalhousie touch tanks. From left to right: Jongkwon, Ryan, Edith, Siri, Katlyn, Andy, Fanny

July 2024

Sohan Sanjeev, Edith Leal-Sánchez, Ryan MacDonell, Jongkwon Ha, and Alex MacDonald in the Dalhousie Hicks Foyer In the Henry Hicks foyer. From left to right: Sohan, Edith, Ryan, Jongkwon, Alex

April 2024

Ryan MacDonell, Edith Leal-Sánchez, Katlyn Near, and Jongkwon Ha in the Dalhousie Quad In the Dalhousie Quad. From left to right: Ryan, Edith, Katlyn, Jongkwon

June 2023

Jongkwon Ha, Ryan MacDonell, and Veronika Keras at the Halifax Waterfront At the Hailfax Waterfront. From left to right: Jongkwon, Ryan, Veronika

Group alumni

Name	Last group position	Time in group	Current position
Jongkwon Ha	Postdoctoral fellow	Mar. 2023-May 2026	Postdoctoral fellow in Rhee Group (KAIST)
Katlyn Near	Honours student & part-time researcher	Sept. 2021-Dec. 2025	M.Chem. student in Althorpe Group (Cambridge)
Fanny Vain	Honours student	Sept. 2024-Apr. 2025	Working in industry in Estonia
Andy Arrigoni-Pérez	Research Assistant	Jan.-Apr. 2025	Graduate student
Alex MacDonald	Summer research student	May-Aug. 2024	M.Sc. student in Veinot Group (Dal)
Sohan Sanjeev	Summer research student	May-Aug. 2024	Completing B.Sc. at Dal
Veronika Keras	Summer research student	May-Aug. 2023	Completing B.Sc. at Dal