Discovery Café Lecture Series — Healing Crystals: Fact or Myth? Inside the World of Dynamic Materials — Dr. Katherine Marczenko

When: Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 7:00 PM

Where: Blackburn Community Hall, 190 Glen Park Drive

When most people hear the term “healing crystals,” they think of folklore or wellness trends. But in modern chemistry labs, scientists are discovering real crystals that can bend, move, crack, and even repair themselves when exposed to light. This talk explores the science behind dynamic, self-healing materials and shows how crystals can be designed to respond to their environment. We’ll look at how something we usually think of as rigid and unchanging can actually be surprisingly active, and what these discoveries might mean for the future of technology.

Dr. Kate Marczenko is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Carleton University. She received her M.Sc. from McMaster University, where she studied unusual and highly reactive compounds made from noble gases such as xenon. She then completed her Ph.D. at Dalhousie University, focusing on new types of chemical bonding involving heavy elements.

During her graduate studies, she received several major awards, including the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. More recently, she was awarded the John Charles Polanyi Prize in Chemistry, which recognizes outstanding early-career researchers in Ontario.

She worked at the University of Guelph as both a crystallographer and course instructor, combining her interests in research and teaching, before joining Carleton University in 2023.

Dr. Marczenko’s research explores how crystals and solid materials respond to light, including materials that can bend, move, or even repair themselves. Her work aims to better understand how the structure of materials controls their properties, which could help inspire future technologies in areas such as smart materials and energy applications.

Admission to Discovery Café is free, people of all ages are welcome, and refreshments will be served.

Hope to see you there!

Questions & Suggestions? Please email barbara@blackburnhamlet.ca.