Eric Donders

Experience

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  Canadian Nuclear Laboratories

  May 2013 - Aug 2013

  Software Developer

  I worked on a radiation dosimetry simulator/estimator program written in C++. My initial task was to debug the organic-bound tritium models which were predicting incorrect doses to certain organs. After fixing the issue in two weeks, I implemented a new plotting library to replace the old one which sometimes plotted data erroneously. I also moved the project to operate on Windows 7, updated software documentation, and made various smaller improvements and fixes.

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  Queen's University

  Jan 2014 - Apr 2016

  Teaching Assistant

  I supervised lab sessions where first year engineering students learned about computer programming by programming LEGO robots. I, along with two other teaching assistants, would wander around the lab and help any of the ~50 students when they had questions or problems. I also graded final project proposals, demonstrations, reports, and code.

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  Queen's Rocket Engineering Team

  Sept 2014 - Jul 2016

  Vice President (past: Safety & Certification Officer)

  This all student, all volunteer team designs, builds, and launches high powered rockets. I travelled with the team in June 2015 and 2016 to compete in the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) which is held in Utah. These rockets were designed to deploy a scientific payload at an altitude of 10,000' and return to the ground intact.Work covered technical topics such as fluid dynamics, structural analysis, topology optimization, circuits, and RF communication. We also needed engineering design principles and project skills to coordinate our work across the whole team. Lastly we got the unique experience of actually constructing the rocket ourselves: composite layup, machining, soldering, wiring, and assembly are all done in house, by students.My job as Vice President involved project management (setting team goals, recruitment, funding applications etc.) but I was also heavily involved with the rocket's electrical systems. In both years I designed, built, and tested all of the internal electronics and set up on-ground tracking of the rocket's location. I was also a major contributor to the payload design and construction.I helped secure funding for the team through both internal and external sponsors. For example, I and three others participated in the 2016 Gael's Den, where selected design teams pitch themselves in a bid for sponsorship from Queen's Young Engineering Alumni. Our team secured the largest share of the pot, receiving $2000 more than any of the other four teams.More information about the competition and our team can be found at soundingrocket.org and facebook.com/QueensRocketry. Show less

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  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

  Apr 2015 - Sept 2015

  Undergraduate Student Research Assistant - Department of Chemical Engineering

  I worked under a PhD student researching polymer dispersions for automotive coatings. These primarily acrylate/methacrylate based polymeric nanoparticles are used by Axalta Coatings Inc. as part of the clear coat that covers automotive paint, where they act as tiny shock absorbers and prevent crack propagation. We were investigating process and recipe improvements which could improve the final properties of the coating.Part of my job was loading a small semi-batch reactor and taking samples as the reaction progressed over the day. These samples were analyzed for particle size using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and molecular weight using gel permeation chromatography (GPC).I also analyzed the final product for processability as well as more subtle performance characteristics: viscosity was measured to ensure the dispersion could still be mixed and applied easily, and the unreacted dispersant was collected and analyzed for conversion and molecular weight using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and GPC.At the end of the project I created a poster and gave a short presentation summarizing my work at a research poster day. Show less

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  University of Toronto

  Sept 2016 - May 2022

  Teaching Assistant

  1st year physical chemistry (University of Toronto, May – August 2021)• I led 2-hour weekly tutorials focused on review and practice of concepts taught in class.3rd year organic chemistry (University of Toronto, September – December, 2017 – 2020)• I supervised 3-hour biweekly chemistry laboratories (2017-2018) and 1-hour weekly tutorials (2019-2020).• My organization skills were practised by preparing tutorial questions, experiment equipment/materials, and pre-lab presentations.• I demonstrated time management by concurrently keeping 17 students on track, answering questions, conducting knowledge-testing mini-interviews, and grading notebooks and performance.• My efforts to make the tutorials both informative and friendly resulted in positive reviews from all students.2nd year organic chemistry (University of Toronto, September 2016 – May 2020)• I applied time management and problem-solving skills while supervising undergraduate students in 6-hour chemistry labs (2016-2019) and grading technical reports (2020).• I fostered a learning environment through interactive pre-lab talks and one-on one, carefully guided interviews with students to discuss their results.• My approach of asking guiding questions to have the student bridge their current knowledge with new material resulted in students deeply understanding the concepts instead of memorizing facts.• My preparation, knowledge, communication, and grading practises were consistently rated excellent in evaluations by both students and course instructor.1st year computer programming (University of Toronto, September 2016 – June 2017)• I helped students during labs for courses teaching MATLAB (2016) and Python (2017) programming.• I practised using tools such as analogies, diagrams, and examples to effectively teach abstract concepts. Show less

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  University of Toronto

  Sept 2022 - Dec 2022

  Postdoctoral Researcher
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  BlueRock Therapeutics

  Jan 2023 - now

  • Scientist, Formulation Development

    Oct 2023 - now

  • Scientist, Formulation Development

    Jan 2023 - Oct 2023