From Waterloo to Paris: A quantum leap
Nanotechnology Engineering (NE) alumnus, Edgar Cao (BASc 2011) is currently working in Paris, France for a company called Nexdot, which specializes in the development of Quantum Dots and their application in industry.
Cao was in the second class accepted into the newly launched NE Program in 2006. His journey in nanotechnology engineering has taken him across continents, industries and disciplines, rooted in the foundations he built in UWaterloo's NE Program.
Today, Cao is a Senior Project Manager at Nexdot, where he works at the interface of materials science, diagnostics, and biotechnology.
A culture of possibilities
For Cao, his co-op experience in the NE Program was an integral part of his career development. He went from doing research in academic labs, to working at a tech transfer hub, to quality testing, to product development in industry. Having worked in the automotive sector and agricultural research and development, his experience sparked his longer-term goal of working on product development projects.
Each experience added new dimensions to his understanding of applied science and engineering innovation.
“I would say because it was a new program at the time, the people who were in the program definitely had drive," says Cao. “The focus was on thinking unconventionally, trying to find the best way to do something more efficiently. I think the people that I met were the best thing about the nano program.”
In fact, Cao and two friends founded a UW Nanorobotics group called UW NRG as a side project in 2007, inspired by a NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Microbotics competition.
After graduating, Cao had a job offer to work in product development, at one of his former co-op placements. “Their global R&D director was ready to bring me on full-time,” Cao recalls. “But he said, if you want to do research, you’ll need a PhD.’”
That advice was a turning point. Cao obtained a PhD from the University of Waterloo in Chemical Engineering under the supervision of Professor Eric Pouzet, under a cotutelle PhD program. Through his project with Pouzet, Cao was offered a collaborative research opportunity with the University of Bordeaux in France, eventually leading to a postdoctoral position and a full-time job in Paris designing new materials and applications.
Working at the leading-edge of industry
In this position, he took these quantum dots from their colloidal suspension and developed processes that transformed them into bulk materials and proof of concepts for different client needs.
He currently leads aresearch project developing coded materials using quantum dots. These can be tagged to different allergens or pathogens, enabling faster, more accurate diagnostic tools.
Reflecting on his journey which began in the NE program almost 20 years ago, Cao emphasizes that nanotechnology is everywhere.
"Nano touches more parts of our lives than we realize. It's in the everyday products that you use, from shampoo to that tennis racket that you use to the chair you are sitting on. Nano is whatever you make it, so use your imagination! That's the only limit," says Cao. “If I could go back, I might give myself a bit of advice—but I wouldn’t change anything. Every step mattered.”