Advertisement
Grab your lab coat. Let's get started
Welcome!
Welcome!
Create an account below to get 6 C&EN articles per month, receive newsletters and more - all free.
It seems this is your first time logging in online. Please enter the following information to continue.
As an ACS member you automatically get access to this site. All we need is few more details to create your reading experience.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
People
Graduate student gets prison sentence for poisoning
Zijie Wang gets two 7-year terms to serve concurrently
by Dalmeet Singh Chawla
December 12, 2018
| A version of this story appeared in
Volume 96, Issue 49
A former chemistry PhD candidate at Queen’s University in Canada who confessed to poisoning a colleague has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Zijie Wang pleaded guilty on Oct. 25 to introducing the carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) to his colleague’s food and drink.
A Kingston court on Dec. 11 sentenced Wang to seven years each for one count of administering a noxious substance and one count of aggravated assault. He will serve the sentences concurrently. Subtracting time he has already spent in custody, he has just under six years left to serve.
“Our hearts go out to the victim and his family; we recognize this highly unusual and upsetting crime continues to have a significant impact on everyone involved,” a Queen’s spokesperson tells C&EN.
Wang worked in the lab of Guojun Liu, a chemist working on polymer synthesis and applications at Queen’s. During his time at Queen’s, Wang created cotton fabrics that can separate oil from oil-water mixtures (Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2016, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201507451).
Many of Wang’s colleagues had “unpleasant experiences” with him, the victim told the court in October, according to the Queen’s Journal.
Prosecutors showed video of Wang using a pipette to add a yellowish substance to the victim’s food on Jan. 29, 2018. The substance was later identified as a mixture of NDMA and ethanol, the Journal reported.
Wang’s victim told the court that he experienced nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. He added that he will always wonder whether he will develop cancer as a result of Wang’s actions, the Journal reported.
The victim also told the court that the chemistry department will not renew his contract because of “inadequate funding,” the Journal reported.
A 2 g dose of NDMA will kill 50% of the people who receive it, according to a statement submitted to the court by Queen’s chemistry professor Hans-Peter Loock, the Journal reported. Analysis of two of the victim’s water samples found 4.1 g and 5.8 g of the substance.
The victim’s lawyers declined to comment, citing policy of Canada’s Ministry of the Attorney General. Wang’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, did not respond to interview requests by C&EN’s deadline.
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society
You might also like...
The power is now in your (nitrile gloved) hands
Sign up for a free account to get more articles. Or choose the ACS option that’s right for you.
Already have an ACS ID? Log in
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on X