When molecular physicist, Dr. Gerard Meijer, addresses the Faculty of Science Class of 2026 as this year’s Honorary Doctorate, graduates will hear from a scientist whose career began not in a world-class laboratory, but on a farm in the Netherlands.
As the oldest son in a farming family and the first in his family to attend university, Meijer was drawn to math, chemistry and physics from an early age. Yet his path to molecular physics was far from planned.
At age 21, a chance encounter at a protest march changed everything.
There, he met a molecular physicist who invited him to visit his research lab. Seeing the equipment, the experiments and the excitement of discovery firsthand sparked something profound.
“I just fell in love with it,” Meijer says. More than 40 years later, that fascination remains.
Dr. Meijer and family at his farm
Seeing the invisible
Throughout his career, Meijer has helped scientists understand one of nature’s smallest and most complex building blocks: molecules.
His research focuses on molecular physics and spectroscopy, using laser equipment to reveal how molecules are structured and how they behave. Infrared spectroscopy, one of his specialties, allows scientists to identify molecules through their unique spectral “fingerprints.”
“Once you know a molecule’s fingerprint, you can recognize it anywhere,” he says.
Those insights have applications far beyond the laboratory. Precise molecular identification helps researchers develop new medicines, monitor environmental pollutants, understand chemical reactions and design advanced materials.
Meijer is internationally recognized for pioneering methods that allow scientists to slow down, trap and control molecules. His team developed the Stark decelerator, a breakthrough technology that gave researchers unprecedented control over molecular motion and opened new frontiers in molecular physics.
His work also helped advance the use of infrared free-electron lasers (IR-FELs) to study increasingly complex molecules, enabling researchers to explore structures that were previously beyond reach.
Dr. Meijer with Sander Dekker at FELIX Facility
Photo credit: Dick van Aalst, Radboud University
A lasting connection to Waterloo
For Meijer, the University of Waterloo holds special significance.
He points to pioneers in molecular spectroscopy, including Giacinto Scoles, Robert LeRoy, Roger Miller and Peter Bernath, as researchers who helped establish Waterloo as a global centre for molecular science.
Today, he sees that tradition continuing through the work of Scott Hopkins and the development of Waterloo’s WaterFEL facility. Meijer describes the research as defining the “state of the art,” pushing the boundaries of what scientists can measure and understand about molecules.
Science, responsibility and the future
For the Class of 2026, Meijer's message is both simple and timely. He encourages graduates to pursue the work that genuinely excites them, even when the path ahead is uncertain. "The world needs bright young minds with original ideas," he says. "Do what interests you most and what makes you happy."
He also believes that scientific training carries a responsibility beyond the laboratory. At a time when public discourse is often shaped by the loudest voices, Meijer argues that scientists must not remain on the sidelines. "We know facts, and the world needs those facts to be heard," he says. "Don't leave the stage to those who yell the loudest."
It is a message that reflects his own career: follow your curiosity, think independently and have the courage to contribute your voice. For graduates preparing to shape the future, there may be no more fitting advice from a scientist whose life's work has been built on discovering what others could not yet see.
Dr. Meijer addresses the Class of 2026 during the Faculty of of Science morning Convocation ceremony on Friday, June 19th.