David Rider, PhD

Associate Professor of Materials Chemistry and Engineering & Design

About

David Rider joined the Departments of Chemistry and Engineering & Design as an assistant professor in the fall of 2010. David grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and completed his undergraduate degree at Simon Fraser University in 2002. For graduate school, he attended the University of Toronto and was awarded his PhD in chemistry in 2007. His research during this period focused on the synthesis and self-assembly of organometallic polymers. In the summer of 2007, David began a postdoctoral position at Canada’s National Institute for Nanotechnology in Edmonton, Alberta and began investigating conducting polymers and nanostructured electrodes for plastic solar panels. David came to WWU as a member the Advanced Materials Science and Engineering Center (AMSEC) and is always eager to contribute to its role in educating students and driving interdisciplinary research. David teaches classes in general chemistry and plastics & composites engineering as well as courses in the material science minor offered by AMSEC. 

Educational & Professional Experience

Education

  • B.S. Simon Fraser University, 1997-2002
  • Ph.D. University of Toronto, 2002-2007
  • Killam Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Alberta and National Institute for Nanotechnology of Canada, 2007-2009
  • NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Alberta and National Institute for Nanotechnology of Canada, 2009-2010

Sabbatical Position and Other Professional Experience​

  • Visiting Professor, Simon Fraser University (Dept. of Chemistry), November 2017 - August 2018
  • Academic Editor for PLOS ONE, March 2018 - present

Current Position

  • Associate Professor of Chemistry and Engineering & Design, WWU

Research Interests

Prof. Rider's research group is interested in the design, synthesis and self-assembly of organic and inorganic polymers for applications in energy, nanotechnology and materials science. Current projects include electrochemistry using polymeric templates for fabricating plastic optoelectronic devices and electrocatalysts for fuel cells.

For information on our publications and the impact of our work, please see Google Scholar.