I’m beyond thrilled to share that I’ve been selected as this year’s winner of the International Society of Electrochemistry's (ISE) Early Career Prize in Division 1, Analytical Electrochemistry! 

This award recognizes my work in analytical electrochemistry for corrosion. It reflects not just my own efforts, but the incredible dedication, creativity, and resilience of my research team. I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and this recognition only fuels our excitement for what’s ahead.

More info here: https://lnkd.in/gNt9AHdF

I’m incredibly honoured to be named the recipient of Western University's Postdoctoral Supervisor of the Year Award!

This award recognizes a faculty member who goes above and beyond to support postdoctoral scholars—offering mentorship, guidance, and a commitment to creating a meaningful, productive experience for their career development. 

Thank you to my wonderful postdocs and to Western for this recognition. It’s a privilege to work with such talented and thoughtful people.

We are excited to share our latest work "Influence of Electrolyte Concentration on the Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy Feedback Behavior of Copper" published in the ACS Journal of Physical Chemistry C!

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a go-to method for probing surface reactivity of corroding metals—but what happens when we tweak something as simple as electrolyte concentration? Turns out, it can dramatically change the story we tell about corrosion.

In this paper, we explored how varying NaCl concentrations influence SECM feedback signals over copper when using hexaammineruthenium(III) chloride as the redox mediator. At high [Cl⁻], the mediator was rapidly depleted, accelerating corrosion and transitioned the feedback signal to negative. At low [Cl⁻], Cu became less reactive and the feedback signal stayed positive longer, enabling reliable SECM imaging. We also used finite element modeling to track how surface electroactivity changes over time—providing deeper insight into how and why these shifts occur.

A big congratulations to all authors, Ali Pilehrood, Dr. Reza Moshrefi, and Dr. Emmanuel Mena-Morcillo. This work was done in collaboration with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). Check out the full paper here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c02065

We are excited to share our latest publication, which is a part of the special issue for Rising Stars in Measurement Science 2024. In this work, we provide a new method to estimate the wetted surface area of the working electrode during scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM). By using retraction curves, this information can be accurately and quickly obtained in situ, rather than using time consuming ex situ microscopy methods at each region of pipette landing.

A huge congratulations to all authors, especially PhD student Nishtha Saxena, Postdoc Dr. Emmanuel Mena-Morcillo, and undergraduate student (now at Dalhousie for her MSc) Mia Tripp. This work was done in collaboration with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). Check out the full paper here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.4c00042

Our recent perspective paper on developing new non-hormonal IUDs reaches the public through recent news article in CTV News London and Western News, as well as on the air during a live CBC radio interview!

Check them out!
https://london.ctvnews.ca/western-researchers-set-their-eyes-on-innovating-contraceptive-technology-1.6953101

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-193-fresh-air/clip/16087009-a-corrosive-metals-expert-developing-type-iud

https://news.westernu.ca/2024/07/iron-iud/

We are thrilled to share our perspective article that addresses the need to revolutionize women's health by developing new materials for non-hormonal intrauterine devices (IUD). The copper IUD is the only long-term, reversible, and non-hormonal option commercially available. The mechanism of contraceptive action comes from the corrosion of the Cu coil that is wrapped around the device's plastic body. Yet, Cu ions also induce negative side effects for users. We discuss potential alternative materials and the sustainability and socioeconomic impact of a new device.

Congratulations to the entire team, including MSc student, Jacob Bunting. This work stems from an interdisciplinary collaboration with Profs. Joe Gilroy, Dean H. Betts, Kate Choi, Basim Abu Rafea, Lori Chambers, and Kirsten Oinonen who are working as a team to develop such new IUD materials.

To read more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44294-024-00026-y

This work was financially supported by Western's Interdisciplinary Development Initiatives.

The Gateman group is celebrating our first research article published in ACS Analytical Chemistry! We answered a long outstanding question in the SECM corrosion science literature about the effect of redox mediator choice on the macro and microscale corrosion properties of both active and passive metals. Turns out that the experimental SECM feedback response is mediator-dependent, but the kinetics remain the same once extracted using a finite element model to simulate the dynamics of the corrosion reactions occurring both at the microelectrode and substrate. 

Congratulations to the student/PDF authors Dr. Emmanuel Mena-Morcillo, Ali Pilehrood, Dr. Reza Moshrefi, and Ghazal Shafiee! This work was done in collaboration with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). Check out the full paper here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c00683#

Each year, the ACS Chemical and Engineering News Journal (C&EN) names twelve upcoming researchers that are taking on global chemistry challenges. Dr. Gateman is humbled to be named among the twelve excellent researchers in this year's class for 2024. She is the recipient of the Talented Twelve Award for the Material's division, tackling corrosion by developing analytical electrochemical tools.

You can read Samantha's profile and article here: https://cen.acs.org/materials/Samantha-M-Gateman/102/i15

To read the full article: https://cen.acs.org/people/profiles/CENs-Talented-12/102/i15

Dr. Gateman co-organized and presented at the second online meeting that showcased Canada's Rising Stars in Electrochemical Systems. This symposium brings together Canada’s emerging electrochemistry researchers in academia, industry and government for two days of vibrant discussions and valuable learning. Dr. Gateman's talk was entitled: "Understanding corrosion using multiscale radioelectrochemistry" that outlined exciting research happening in the group in collaboration with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). More info about the symposium can be found on the event's website. Please reach out to Dr. Gateman if you're an early career electrochemistry researcher interested in participating and/or co-organizing in the 3rd meeting!

Congratulations to Julia for taking home the prize of best presentation at the 52nd Southern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference for your hard work on the development of scanning ion conductance microscopy for studying conductive materials. You did a great job showcasing your undergraduate thesis work! 

We are thrilled to share that Ghazal Shafiee has won a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)! The scholarship is awarded to female students studying towards a Master's degree in nuclear related subjects and aims to inspire and support young women to pursue a career in the nuclear field. 

Way to go, Ghazal! Very well deserved!

It is a pleasure to welcome our new members to the Gateman group team! Ghazal Shafiee is a new master student who will study air-formed films on copper surfaces, and Ali Pilehrood is a PhD student working understanding potential localized corrosion of copper cold spray coatings using SECM. Jessie Mcdonald is an undergraduate student co-superivsed by Prof. Noel who will study corrosion of Zr alloys in ground water solutions.