The Entangler feature articles

The Fall 2025 term was a vibrant and community-driven term for the MNS Society. With a diverse lineup of events that blended science, creativity, and connection, the term brought together students from across all years and programs with something for everyone. Here’s a closer look at the events that defined our term. 

The fall term brings along a new cohort of young physicists. For the FemPhys team, this is always an exciting time as we prepare to welcome the incoming batch of first years. 

FemPhys kicked off 2025 with a redesigned club room layout with a new coffee machine and lounge area. Since then, FemPhys has run numerous events including the annual Mentoring Night, participation in the 2025 IUPAC GLobal Women’s Breakfast, and hosting of guest speakers such as Dr. Andre Issacs. 

Michelle Kao (she/her), a third-year Physics and Astronomy student, is the Faculty of Science Co-op Student of the Year as well as the 2024 Experiential & Work Integrated Learning Ontario (EWO) Co-op Student of the Year! Michelle made outstanding contributions at the National Research Council Canada, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre.

While most students spend their undergraduate years grounded in textbooks, Chloe Muhl has been splitting her time between the classroom and the skies. Over the last four years as an Honours Science student, Muhl has been balancing academics with flight training, completing the Commerical Flight Training Program at Spectrum Airways in Burlington, where she now works as a Class 4 flight instructor teaching others how to fly.

First-year Physics and Astronomy student Bushra Almalki chose the University of Waterloo for its top-ranked Physics program. What she didn’t expect is how quickly she would become involved in campus life and come full circle volunteering at an event that sparked her love for physics in elementary school.

According to the Standard Model of Cosmology, the expansion of our universe is driven by the simplest possible version of dark energy: an unchanging ‘cosmological constant’ called lambda. That longstanding model may be about to change. 

Physics and Astronomy’s Taylor Pacholko is helping bring quantum science to classrooms across Canada through the Quantum Explorations Student Toolbox (QuEST) project. In collaboration with IQC and the University of Toronto, the team secured USD$25,000 from the APS Innovation Fund to design hands-on kits that introduce students (from middle school to high school) to core quantum concepts like interference and superposition.

As a world-leading expert in quantum and artificial intelligence, University of Waterloo Science alum Dr. Roger Melko, BSc ’00 (Physics), MSc ’01 (Physics), consistently draws inspiration from recent technological revolutions and applies them to his innovative work in quantum science. Now, as a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, his research uncovers new, unique connections between physics and machine learning.

Donna Strickland, professor in the Physics and Astronomy department and Nobel Prize Laureate, has been named University Professor by the University of Waterloo. This designation recognizes exceptional scholarly achievement and international preeminence, both of which Strickland exemplifies.

In 2011, Physics Professor Anton Burkov theoretically predicted a way to engineer a Weyl semimetal from a topological semiconductor. Long thought to have been forgotten, recent work published in Nature has demonstrated for the first time in the world, an ideal Weyl semimetal and thus marking a breakthrough in a decades-old problem of quantum materials.

Congratulations to Professor Kostadinka Bizheva on being named a 2025 Optica Fellow for her exceptional contributions to optical imaging in ophthalmology. Bizheva has more than 20 years of experience conducting research and teaching in the field of biomedical optics. Her work is focused on designing optical imaging technology, called optical coherence tomography (OCT), for biomedical applications.

This semester the PhysClub did something a little different and hosted a three-part event series called the Rocket Chronicles. This adventure brought physics together with duct tape, clay and just the right amount of chaos to be a lot of fun!

Second-year Materials and Nanosciences student Nayla Qureshi is using her co-op placements as an opportunity to work on developing sustainable energy alternatives to combating climate change and building a more resilient global energy system. The hands-on research she’s doing in innovative labs under the guidance of renowned faculty is contributing to these solutions.

The MNS Society had a busy term filled with movie nights, lab events, a conference, and so much more. The much-anticipated MNS merch has also finally launched, and even alumni can get their hands on some!

The Entangler recently had the opportunity to talk with Niayesh Afshordi, author of the upcoming book Battle of the Big Bang, a compelling exploration of competing cosmological origin stories.

Meet Daniel Wang, a driven international student from Nanjing, China who is currently completing his third year of the Materials and Nanosciences (MNS) program at the University of Waterloo.

As we mark the first anniversary of the Physics Tutorial Centre, we reflect on the journey that has transformed a modest initiative into a cornerstone of academic success and community for students in the Department of Physics & Astronomy.

The Department of Physics & Astronomy is proud to congratulate Dr. Rajibul Islam on his election as Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), a prestigious recognition reserved for those who make groundbreaking contributions to physics and science education. In addition to this prestigious recognition, Dr. Islam was awarded the Excellence in Science Teaching Award for his innovative and inspiring approach to teaching quantum mechanics and optics. 

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at UWaterloo hosts The Sir Isaac Newton (SIN) Exam every year and this year, Zander Li from Waterloo received the highest score in the world, beating out 3076 other students from around the globe. This year, over 1200 students outside of Canada participated in the exam from countries like Australia, India, China and Japan, making it a truly international competition.