Breaking boundaries in water research

Waterloo graduate student Thiruni Thirimanne a PhD candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been awarded the Water Institute’s 2026 John Parish Memorial Graduate Scholarship, recognizing excellence in research on river systems and fluvial geomorphology.

A new collaborative study by water researchers at the University of Waterloo reveals that major investments in wastewater treatment have contributed to significant ecological recovery in the Grand River downstream of the Kitchener and Waterloo, ON wastewater treatment plants.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a sunlight-driven, bio-inspired photocatalysis process that degrades microplastic into acetic acid, the main ingredient in vinegar.

The research is led by PhD student Wei Wei under the guidance of Prof. Yimin Wu and published in Advanced Energy Materials.