One grad’s dreams come true thanks to Waterloo co-op

How do you go from being a new grad of an undergraduate engineering program  - to studying for a PhD at Princeton University?

If you’re a University of Waterloo student with a passion for research like Bryan Nerger, you take advantage of Waterloo’s world-renowned co-operative education program. Sixty-six per cent of Waterloo students come to the University for its co-operative education program, the largest of its kind in the world. 

“My co-op experience at Harvard University had a significant impact on my career. I had the opportunity to work with a group of truly brilliant individuals. The result was an unprecedented rate of learning and achievement in my career,” says Nerger.

Nerger, who graduates this week and will begin his doctoral studies next fall at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University, completed six research-focused co-op terms during his undergraduate studies in the Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering:

• Two co-op terms as a research assistant at University of Waterloo
• Two co-op terms as a research assistant at Harvard University
• One term as research assistant at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada
• One term as a materials engineer at Ambri Inc., an MIT startup company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Waterloo co-op student invents new ink design for 3D printing

During his term at Xerox, Nerger successfully invented a new ink design for 3D printing. The invention has been filed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with him listed as a co-inventor.

“Ultimately, my co-op experience at Harvard confirmed my desire to pursue graduate studies and sparked my interest in entrepreneurship,” he said. “I’m confident that my co-op terms at Harvard played an integral role in helping me gain admission to the PhD program at Princeton.”

Outside of his own work terms, Nerger helped other Waterloo students secure international co-op work, visa paperwork and accommodation. He has also assisted students who are interested in research positions at universities like Harvard and Waterloo.

“Bryan personifies the creative, innovative, and socially conscious character of the University of Waterloo,” says Rocco Fondacaro, acting executive director of Co-operative Education & Career Action.  “Like so many other Waterloo co-op students, Bryan exudes the personal leadership that strengthens institutional leadership in engineering and invention.”

In 2012, Nerger earned the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award, and in 2014, he received the NSERC Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Award for his strong academic standing and research aptitude.

Nerger is also nominated for the 2015 Co-operative Education Internship Association (CEIA) Co-operative Education Achievement Award.