Undergraduate co-op student Melissa LeBlonc shares perspective on her experience with landfill research
In the spring of 2024, undergraduate student Melissa LeBlonc spent her co-op term conducting lab research for the Mitigation of Methane Emission Hot-spots from Municipal Landfills project. Melissa worked as part of the Ecohydrology Research Group lab under the supervision of Dr. Fereidoun Rezanezhad.
Melissa, a third-year biochemistry student in the Faculty of Science, was awarded an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). USRAs support undergraduate students with an interest in a research career by providing research work experience that complements their studies in an academic setting.
During her co-op term, Melissa played a key role in designing soil incubation experiments to study microbial methane mitigation in landfill cover soils, contributing to Activity 6 of the project. She learned first-hand how to start the experimental design and planning process. Melissa then conducted a series of experiments to test the column design and begin characterizing the methane removal efficiency of a local former landfill site, McLennan Park. She learned how to collect and analyze gas samples on a GHG analyzer, and how to process and interpret gas flux data.
Melissa describes her experience working on the project as “A thrilling challenge that helped me appreciate experimental design and expand my scientific skillset and a great opportunity to contribute to meaningful and environmentally relevant research.”
Melissa’s co-op term introduced her to a wide range of experimental techniques to add to her scientific toolkit. She developed lifelong skills and made meaningful connections with amazing people along the way.
