Grad student profile: Ben Ecclestone, PhD, Systems Design Engineering
Finding
a
welcoming
environment
Ben loves learning, and so from a young age, he knew he wanted to pursue graduate studies and take his learning as far as it possibly could go.
Ben completed his undergrad at the University of Guelph in Biomedical Engineering, and while completing his degree, he did a co-op work placement at Waterloo in the lab that he is currently working at. While working there, Ben grew fond of the research environment and the support that Waterloo gave to their students.
Ben's PhD research is being applied to cancer diagnosis.
“The opportunity that I've had working with this lab to develop and take projects and pursue them, I didn't see this at other labs when I was applying for grad school. And so, I think it really comes back to that environment or the culture of Waterloo that promotes an entrepreneurial mindset.”
Inspired by the welcoming community he received, Ben decided to pursue his PhD in Systems Design Engineering at Waterloo.
A love for research that can bring positive change
For Ben, he loves researching and discovering new things.
“Doing things that have never been done before and the excitement of designing something that ends up working, that is just an unparalleled experience.”
His current research topic is related to optical microscopy, where he and his lab group are designing a device that can image the light that is absorbed instead of the light that is reflected. He describes it as being able to see everything but the red in an apple. He wishes to apply this idea to view the structure of cells and tissues, and what they’re composed of.
His research has several applications in cancer diagnosis.
“In the cancer imaging space, to get the information which we are able to capture instantaneously, it's a two to three week process. So, we're taking something which is weeks down to minutes.”
Essentially, the technology they are testing will allow a doctor to perform surgery in a single trial, rather than waiting weeks for the cancer diagnosis results, and then bringing the patient back for another surgery.
Being such an interdisciplinary project, Ben expressed how fortunate he is to be able to collaborate with experts within different fields, which he believes is unique to Waterloo.
“We have a real opportunity to make a positive impact in the world if we can get this to work - there's a lot of people whose lives would be better with this in existence.”
My piece of advice for aspiring grad students
“Developing that self-motivation and being able to regulate how much time it's reasonable to work on something” is a skill you will need to develop for grad studies, says Ben.
He mentioned how as his grad studies journey progressed, he was able to be better manage his time while staying productive and maintaining a healthy balance with his work and life outside of school.
He mentions how “you learn to direct yourself as a professional” and the self-motivation will “dictate the kind of experience you have in grad school.”
My most memorable experience as a grad student
For Ben, his most memorable experience was when he completed his first conference presentation.
“It felt really good afterwards right because you do the presentation, and everyone comes up to ask questions and they're like obviously interested in your work which gives you a sense of validation.”
He also mentions how even the simplest moments, such as celebrating with his lab partners when an abstract idea came to life, have become memorable experiences.