By Vanessa Parks
Internal Communications and Engagement Specialist
Dr. Germán Sciaini from Chemistry and Dr. Tonya DelSontro from Earth and Environmental Sciences are both recent recipients of funding delivered through the Ontario Research Fund-Research Infrastructure (ORF-RI). This funding supports ground-breaking research that will advance knowledge, drive innovation and create a better future for the people of Ontario.
“When we invest in research, we invest in our province’s future,” says Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges and Universities. "These critical investments will ensure Ontario’s researchers can continue making discoveries that drive key sectors, create good-paying jobs, and improve the lives of all Ontarians.”
Electron microscope enables ground-breaking research
Sciaini is a world expert in the field of ultrafast electron imaging. Sciaini’s group develops atomic-level cameras and nanofluidic methods to enable the observation of molecules and dynamical phenomena with atomic resolution.
This ORF-RI funding has allowed the team, which includes co-principal investigators Dr. Michaela Devries-Aboud (Kinesiology) and Dr. Jenine McCutcheon (Earth and Environmental Sciences), to acquire a workhorse biological transmission electron microscope for their core facility at Waterloo. The microscope enables ground-breaking research into new technology and strategies for addressing pressing challenges in Canada, including obesity, type-2 diabetes and sustainable management of mine waste. It has recently been installed in the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre and will be available to users this winter.
Resolving greenhouse gas dynamics in reservoirs
DelSontro’s research focuses on how human activities and climate change alter aquatic carbon cycles and greenhouse gas budgets. Her ORF-funded project aims to resolve the greenhouse gas dynamics in reservoirs managed for flood control or hydropower, as well as in restored wetlands in agricultural areas. All these man-made systems are undergoing continued anthropogenic influence that may impact their greenhouse gas cycling. An improved understanding of these dynamics will help in mitigating their potential climatic impacts.
Greenhouse gases from aquatic systems are important components of the overall carbon cycle of freshwaters. DelSontro’s group studies multiple aspects of this carbon cycle, including aquatic emissions from water surfaces via diffusion or bubbling. Support from ORF allows them to use state-of-the-art field-going gas analyzers and a scientific echosounder (i.e., sonar) to engage in multiple approaches to understanding the greenhouse gas dynamics of freshwater. The lab is still growing and looking for new members interested in working on these exciting and climate-relevant processes that make inland waters, particularly human-impacted ones, a significant component of the global carbon cycle.