Undergraduate Research Assistant student Miles Yoshida shares perspective on his experience developing soil oxygen sensors
During the 2026 winter and spring terms, undergraduate student Miles Yoshida spent his co-ops developing and calibrating a fibre-optic oxygen sensor system to measure soil oxygen levels. Miles worked as part of the ERG under the supervision of Philippe Van Cappellen and Fereidoun Rezanezhad.
Miles, a fourth-year Environmental Sciences student in the Water Science specialization, was supported through the Faculty of Science's Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF). SURF is an initiative designed to increase undergraduate research opportunities.
Miles’ research focused on the development and calibration of an in-house oxygen sensor system, specifically designed for fine-scale measurements in soils. He 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. He used it to quantify changes in soil oxygen levels based on changes in emitted light intensity that he captures with a standard DSLR camera.
Working as an undergraduate Research Assistant, Miles made gradual improvements to the sensor design and tested the new system at various temperatures and oxygen concentrations. He also analyzed data to calculate numerical parameters related to the system’s performance that can be compared to commercial oxygen sensors.
Reflecting on his experience, Miles says “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.”
Miles’ work 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.
Read the full post here: https://uwaterloo.ca/science/news/developing-new-tools-measure-soil-oxygen-levels
