Tuesday, September 22, 2026

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• Postdoc appreciation week: Keeping updated on all things Postdoc

• Developing new tools to measure soil oxygen levels

• Inside the ecosystem behind Waterloo’s entrepreneurial success

Postdoc appreciation week: Keeping updated on all things Postdoc

Did you know that postdoctoral scholars have a website and e-news dedicated to them? Hosted by Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), the postdoctoral scholars website covers information postdoc should be aware of before and during their time at Waterloo including topics such as postdoctoral scholar guidelines, funding, housing, benefits, life and work transitions, professional development, and more.

Postdocs also automatically receive the Postdoc e-news on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Postdocs can use the Postdoc e-news to plan by registering for events and workshops, applying for awards or funding, exploring opportunities to connect with the postdoc community, or using resources that can improve their postdoc experience. Do you have an event or opportunity coming up that is open to postdocs? Send in a submission request to have this information shared in the Postdoc e-news.

Developing new tools to measure soil oxygen levels

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Science website. 

As a fourth-year Environmental Sciences student in the Water Science specialization Miles Yoshida gained hands-on research experience by developing and calibrating a fibre-optic oxygen sensor system to measure soil oxygen levels. His work was supported through the Faculty of Science's Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF), an initiative designed to increase undergraduate research opportunities. The experience has strengthened his skills as an independent researcher and provided valuable preparation for his future goal of pursuing graduate studies in water and environmental science.

Whose lab did you work in this summer, and what is your relationship like with your supervisor?  

I worked with the Ecohydrology Research Group in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences under Drs. Philippe Van Cappellen and Fereidoun Rezanezhad. Ecohydrology is a very large group, so I’m also lucky to work with a team of full-time staff who help me plan my lab work, design my setup, and analyze my data. Dr. Rezanezhad and I had offices right across the hall from each other, so we had meetings on a regular basis to discuss project updates, results of new tests, and potential next steps.  

Tell us about the research, and what you are learning 

My research is focused on the development and calibration of an in-house oxygen sensor system, specifically designed for fine-scale measurements in soils. I used fibre-optic cables coated in Platinum(II) meso-tetra(pentafluorophenyl)porphine (PtTFPP), a platinum complex whose luminescence decreases in the presence of increased oxygen. I used it to quantify changes in soil oxygen levels based on changes in emitted light intensity that I capture with a standard DSLR camera.  

Throughout the summer, I made gradual improvements to the sensor design and tested the new system at various temperatures and oxygen concentrations. I also analyzed data to calculate numerical parameters related to the system’s performance that can be compared to commercial oxygen sensors. 

What is the impact of this research?  

Soil oxygen levels have a huge impact on other environmental characteristics like microbial activity, nutrient cycling, contaminant transport, and more. Therefore, it’s incredibly important to understand soil oxygen dynamics to study where these processes occur and how they change over time, especially in environments like shorelines and wetlands where water level fluctuations create incredibly dynamic conditions. Commercial oxygen sensors can be expensive and difficult to customize to experimental needs. So, we hope that through this project, we can create something versatile, easy to build, and accessible to other researchers. 

How did you receive this summer research assistantship?  

I was initially hired as a research assistant for my second co-op term in Fall of 2024 through Waterloo Works. I was very interested in the work the group did on biogeochemical cycling and microplastic pollution in unique environments such as stormwater ponds and I knew I wanted to return for my honour's thesis. I reached out to the group about returning as a Research Assistant for my last two co-op terms to get a head start on my senior thesis project. 

Why did you choose to study at the University of Waterloo? 

Environmental science is a very broad, interdisciplinary field. I liked that Waterloo allowed me to choose a specialization early to help focus my studies. I chose the Water Science specialization because of the university’s commitment to solving complex water-related issues through organizations like the Water Institute, the Global Water Futures Observatories (GWFO), and the many hydrology and hydrogeology focused groups in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department.  

How do you feel you have benefited from being a summer Research Assistant?  

This summer, I took on more responsibility than I have at any of my previous jobs. It’s been an incredibly difficult but rewarding experience to be able work on this project and help guide its progress. I’ve rapidly developed my skill set in independent data collection and management. I’ve also become more confident in my ability to ask and answer relevant research questions. In many ways, it’s felt like a practice run for graduate school. 

What are your career goals, and what would you like to do after you graduate?  

I'm hoping to pursue a master's degree after completing my undergraduate studies and continue working in a research lab setting. While I haven't yet decided exactly where my research journey will lead, I'm eager to keep exploring the many ways water shapes our environment and our everyday lives, and to contribute to solving the complex challenges that come with it. 

Inside the ecosystem behind Waterloo’s entrepreneurial success

This is an excerpt from an article that was originally in Waterloo News.

On a recent Saturday, hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs, founders, investors and business leaders gathered in Waterloo for the latest edition of the Velocity Pitch Competition. Students had just two minutes to pitch their ideas, but the real story was not the competition itself. It was the ecosystem behind it.

According to PitchBook's latest university rankings, Waterloo ranks first in Canada and seventh in the world for producing venture-backed founders. Those results reflect not only the outstanding alumni that the University of Waterloo trains but also an ecosystem of founders, alumni, mentors, investors and business leaders who help students turn ideas into companies.

That ecosystem was on full display at the pitch competition where more than 100 judges volunteered their time to meet with students, provide candid feedback and make introductions. These judges are all connected Velocity, Waterloo's flagship startup incubator, as alumni founders, investors, operators, executives and startup leaders who have built successful companies and continue to support the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Read the full story.