Completing a PhD is at once the end and the beginning of a journey of exploration and discovery in a student’s academic career.
One of Waterloo Engineering's new cohort of doctoral graduates at the 2023 Spring Convocation is Dylan Jubinville who completed a PhD in chemical engineering. His research project and dissertation, “Highly filled, durable, and sustainable wood-plastic composites from recycled thermoplastics,” was completed under the supervision of Dr. Tizazu Mekonnen.
His research focused on the recycling and reuse of plastic waste for use in bio-based, heavily filled composites, such as wood-plastic or hemp-plastic composites for construction applications.
But for Jubinville, working toward a PhD wasn’t just about the research. He also got involved in campus and community initiatives, including one that especially stands out in his mind.
“One of my fondest memories as a University of Waterloo student was volunteering at the FIRST LEGO League robots competition,” he says. “I got to help young students, aged ten to 14, test their Lego robots before having their robots compete in the various challenges.”
Jubinville is already on to the next stage of his academic career, having started a post-doctoral fellowship. He intends to continue working in a university or research lab setting.
“Waterloo is a great place to grow your academic career and create personal connections with colleagues,” he says. “I’m going to miss most the mentorship of my supervisors and guidance of my committee members, who all helped to shaped me into an independent and successful researcher.”
Go to New PhDs ready to take on the big challenges for the full story celebrating University PhD students from each faculty.