By Andru McCracken

Johan Foster is making his way in the world as a research scientist at the University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

The son of Glen and Sheilagh, Johan went to elementary school and high school in McBride. Later he took an undergraduate degree in chemistry at Simon Fraser University and this month he received his PhD from there.

Imagine inventing new molecules that the world might have never seen before with properties unlike any other to be found on earth. In a sense this is the work that Johan is engaged in, at this new job as a post doctorate fellow at Eindhoven: exploring new synthetic organic compounds, the likes of which are used in pharmaceuticals, plastics, and microchips.

“I am making new types of molecules and we test them for certain properties,” said Johan.

“My project right now is based on foldamers, molecules that fold in predictable way. The ones that I have worked on form helices. We try to design them to have different electronic or material properties.”

He said that his research could be applied into electronic applications, but right now it is pure science.

His new boss, Bert Meijer, is a leader in the field worldwide and runs a very large research group.

Johan said that he is enjoying Eindhoven.

“It’s a very good location to work. The boss I have now is the best I could imagine,” he said.

He said that travel opportunities are abundant. “In Holland you can be in another country in a half an hour,” he said.

As far as language goes, Johan said it’s no burden, as all of the research is done in English.

While he is currently engaged at a university, there are no shortage of jobs in industry.

Johan said that there are a lot of jobs available with pharmaceutical companies, and businesses engaged in nanotechnology, but he is also pulled towards academics.

“The draw of academics is that you get to do your own research, decide your own hours, get your own students and which way you want to go. There is also the job security,” he said. “The downside is that you publish or perish.”