The alumni of the University of Waterloo Department of Physics and Astronomy go on to do a wide variety of things after Convocation. Many of our graduates go into work in physics related jobs in the private sector (no doubt with some thanks to our great co-op programs) while others choose a career in public service or continue their education to graduate studies and even into academia. However, there is a small number of our graduates that just didn’t leave the University of Waterloo! These people did their undergraduate education at the University of Waterloo and then never left…ever.
May we introduce to you this group of fine individuals that could not get enough of UW physics and have gone from undergraduate students to valued members of the department. Be it current staff or faculty, ladies and gentlemen may we present, The Lifers.
In chronological order they are:
Jeff Gardiner, BSc. ’87- started as a lab demonstrator in July 1987 has been in physics ever since.
Heather Anderson, BSc. ‘00- started in 2001 as a demonstrator/outreach coordinator/undergraduate advisor
Brenda Lee, PhD ’17, BSc ’12- Lecturer, 2017, part-time full-time continuing lecturer, as of October 2023 Associate Chair.
We caught up with each of these people to try and unravel the mystery of just what compelled them to stay at UW, and some of the memories they have of their times in the department. We also asked them to share a bit of their wisdom from their collective 82 years at the University of Waterloo!
Jeff Gardiner
Many of our alumni will remember Jeff Gardiner as he has recently celebrated his 35th year with UW physics. Jeff originally applied to engineering, and when he did not get into that program he decided to go into general science. Jeff likes to say that while enrolled in general science it was physics that chose him rather than the other way around. By second year Jeff was in the honours physics program. To no one’s surprise, Jeff always liked his labs in undergraduate studies, and lists the analogue electronics course as among his favourites. That is not to say Jeff did not enjoy his more theoretical courses, and he lists Des Hemming, who taught electromagnetism, as his favourite prof of his undergraduate experience. A compliment to our teachers of yesteryear, Jeff notes that really most of his instructors were very good!
Jeff was not part of the co-op program, so while many of his classmates were finding nice co-op jobs, Jeff was getting a bit nervous. The economy was tightening up at the time, and Jeff was not sure what he would be able to find after graduation. As luck would have it, his roommate came home one day and told Jeff about a notice posted in the physics department for a lab demonstrator position. Jeff’s father was a high school teacher and the idea of teaching at the University, especially in the labs that he had enjoyed so much as a student, was instantly appealing. Jeff applied for the job, interviewed, and as they say, “the rest is history”.
While Jeff is an outstanding lab demonstrator, he also has a number of other interests and passions in his life. Jeff loves to spend time with his family, especially outdoors, and lists trying to be a good father as one of his most important roles. Ever since high school, Jeff has been passionate about theatre, and now also likes spending time playing guitar.
Since Jeff has been a department staff member for over 35 years, he has seen a lot of change. In terms of the University itself Jeff has watched UW transform from what seemed like a rural University outside of the town, to a massive campus almost in the middle of the growing city. When Jeff started he was in UW building 4 (physics building), and his new office in the science teaching complex is in building 54! In terms of the students, while they have of course changed, Jeff notes that one constant factor is their eagerness and desire to learn. His main goal in teaching the students is to give them some tools to help them on their path of lifelong learning. His advice to incoming physics students is to take lots of labs (only partially tongue in cheek). Jeff comments that “It will be really hard, but it’s worth it”. When asked to reflect over his long career Jeff says that “36 years has gone by in an instant it seems. For the most part I’ve had a great time”.
Heather Anderson
Heather originally applied to Chemical Engineering and was accepted into applied chemistry. This led her to the very difficult chemical physics program. In second year, and to avoid a notorious chem lab (we won’t say which one), Heather decided to transfer into the physics program. After struggling with PDE’s in 3rd year and hearing from her roommates that 4th year was basically nothing but PDE’s, Heather decided it made more sense to take the more general 4-year honours science degree with a minor in physics.
Heather lists the now discontinued course PHYS 259 – Crystallography and X-Ray Diffraction as her favourite. She also notes that she enjoyed all the lab courses (I’m sure Jeff would be happy to hear that!). Heather had several excellent lecturers during her time as an undergraduate and was unable to nail down a favourite – opting for a three-way tie between John Smith, Gretchen Harris (see article this issue), and Stefan Idziak. She notes that each of these excellent teachers that gave valuable insights that she continues to hold dear.
During her undergrad, Heather had a rather pragmatic goal of finding a way to pay back her student loans! As she was graduating, the once flourishing tech sector was in shambles and jobs for physics students were fairly scarce. She also wasn’t quite ready to leave Waterloo just yet and so bounced around in contract positions for awhile until one of those contracts led to a permanent role. Since then, she has evolved her position within the department. Through her outreach efforts Heather has been a leader in bringing physics to the Waterloo community and beyond! Heather continues to evolve and has recently taken on the position of undergraduate advisor.
When Heather is not working, she spends all the time she can with her kids. Heather is soaking up every second they want to spend with her “before I start being a stupid stick-in-the-mud, walking bank machine, and chauffeur. So far, I’m better than Google at gr 9 science homework help –so I’ll take it”. A few years ago, Heather was raising a service dog, however the pandemic made that difficult and so his training wasn’t successful. He now enjoys a full life as the family pet.
Heather has evolved with the campus, and with her kids approaching the age of incoming students, she says the campus feels like home. Her advice to new students is “Always find time to do the things that light your soul on fire! You can’t pour from an empty pitcher – remember that self-care is as important as everything else. Most importantly, it is ok to change your mind about your path.”
Brenda Lee
Our most recent lifer is Brenda Lee. Brenda’s history in Waterloo goes to the very beginning. She was born here at Grand River Hospital. Brenda grew up with very traditional parents and it was always the plan that when she grew up, that her role included looking after her parents and being close to home. When it came time to apply to university, she only applied to UW. As an excellent applicant, Brenda received the President's Scholarship of Distinction which lead to a Research Award that allowed her to explore research opportunities starting in 2nd year. She decided she wanted to do biophysics, worked a semester in the research lab of faculty member Zoya Leonenko, and then continued to work in that lab during her undergraduate education.
As she approached the end of her undergraduate degree, Brenda had two options for her future- grad school (which she really wanted to do) and medical school (which her parents were very enthusiastic about). Brenda continued with a Masters program to buy herself more time to secure a future in academia. Eventually transferring into a PhD program, she finally decided to write the MCAT just before her PhD comprehensive exam. Of course, she did better on her PhD exam and the MCAT test “didn’t go well!” While Brenda is a lecturer in physics, it’s worth noting she was never in a physics major program. There was no Life Physics program or biophysics-related program for her during her undergraduate degree, so she forged her own path and took biomedical sciences with a minor in physics in the hopes of applying physics to study biological systems and medical devices. For her graduate studies, Brenda was a PhD student in Biology (Nanotechnology), taking courses from biology, physics, and engineering. The program was cancelled halfway through her PhD studies, so she is proud of the fact that she is the only one who has this degree, receiving it in 2017.
An important part of Brenda’s story is her extracurricular activity during her time as an undergraduate and graduate student. Along with her mother, a former teacher, Brenda started the charity “Tutoring Beyond Borders” to provide free tutoring services to those who could not afford it. While this is the topic of another story in itself (and will be soon!) it certainly used more than the spare time Brenda had while being an undergraduate student. She hardly had any time at all for her other hobby of late-night video game binges.
Brenda also wanted to stay in Waterloo and had a real passion for teaching so after her PhD she started looking for teaching positions at UW. At the time there were no possibilities in her preferred areas of Physics or Biology, so she ended up starting out as a sessional in the Faculty of Math. Brenda’s comments on those days were that people in those departments were “not as welcoming as those in Physics”, and she never felt at home without being able to apply what she had learnt in her academic career. Finally, in 2019, Brenda applied for and successfully obtained her position as Continuing Lecturer. Since joining the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brenda has been an important part of our teaching efforts: an undergraduate advisor, Teaching Fellow, and starting in October 2023 (after a much delayed honeymoon) Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies.
Brenda still keeps herself busy and, on the side, spends her time building websites and drawing scientific schematics for her husband's business. The biggest change she has noted during her time at UW is the number of new engineering buildings compared to science buildings, and her advice to new students is to never give up and “keep doing what you love”.
