Jay Werber

Dr. Jay Werber is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto and the Principal Investigator of the Advanced Membranes Lab. Dr. Werber’s professional career has focused on separation science. After obtaining his B.S. from Washington University, he worked for four years conducting bioprocess development to produce and purify protein therapeutics at Genentech in San Francisco, CA. For his Ph.D. work at Yale University, Dr. Werber transitioned into molecular and environmental separations using membranes, with particular focus on reverse-osmosis desalination. His thesis was on the selectivity limits of polymeric and biomimetic desalination membranes. In his postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Werber synthesized block copolymers, dispersible membranes for selective ion separations, and polymers with controlled pore size.

Jay has been awarded the Young Membrane Scientist Award from the North American Membrane Society (2021), the Abel Wolman Fellowship from the American Water Works Association (2017), the C. Ellen Gonter Award from the ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry (2017), and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2013).

At home, Jay spends most of his time trying not to step on toys and getting outside with his partner, 5-yo son, and dog.