Maricor Arlos, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, honoured with CWP Alumni Award
The Water Institute is pleased to announce the recipient of the inaugural Collaborative Water Program (CWP) Alumni Achievement Award.
The award, introduced this year at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Collaborative Water Program, recognizes outstanding alumni contributions in their professional careers and in community service. This year’s winner is Maricor Arlos, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta.
Dr. Mark Servos, Director Emeritus, Collaborative Water Program, professor, Canada Research Chair in Water Quality Protection, Department of Biology and Dr. Maricor Arlos, 2023 CWP Alumni Achievement Award winner.
Looking back, Maricor demonstrated curiosity across disciplines right from the beginning of her academic journey. After completing undergraduate and Masters degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering, in 2018 she completed a PhD in Biology (Water) under the supervision of Dr. Mark Servos and Dr. Susan Andrews (University of Toronto). Entering the CWP in 2013/14, Maricor was part of our very first CWP cohort!
After completing her PhD, Maricor’s work took her to Switzerland where she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at one of the world’s top university’s, the Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH) in Switzerland. The move to Switzerland emerged from meeting with Dr. Christian Stamm from Eawag who was a Water Institute RBC Visiting Fellow in 2017.
Her research at ETH included collaboration with environmental scientists at Eawag using multidisciplinary approaches and methods on the fate and transport modeling of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products and hormones in aquatic ecosystems.
“The move to Switzerland was a mixture of professional and personal growth,” said Arlos. “But one thing stood out the most - despite of all the differences in approaches in water research, I came to understand that those who are in this field attract water professionals around the globe that share a common collective; that is to protect this important resource for generations to come. Throughout my time there, I expanded my network of water professionals where to this day, I continue to collaborate in proposals and research activities.”
“It requires many different perspectives to come up with sustainable, meaningful, and inclusive approaches
to address 21st century challenges,” said Arlos.
“The CWP provided training for understanding different perspectives in water research and with that comes humility, knowing that your own way of thinking is not the ONLY solution”.
At the 10th anniversary celebration of the CWP, Dr. Mark Servos, Director Emeritus of the CWP, professor, Canada Research Chair in Water Quality Protection, Department of Biology said, “In so many ways Maricor represents what the Collaborative Water Program is about, and she is a truly deserving recipient of the first Alumni Achievement Award.”
“Maricor is a remarkable individual. She is not out to participate in the world, she is out to change the world. She wants water to be on everybody’s agenda, and she wants to make it happen.”
Maricor Arlos, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta.
In 2020, Maricor accepted a position as assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta, where she teaches environmental engineering and continues her research on the ecological risks of micropollutants in municipal wastewater and potential remediation approaches. Her lab focuses specifically within the interface of exposure science and ecotoxicology to address the risk associated with organic contaminant exposure.
Upon accepting her alumni award, Maricor shared a few reflections. “My graduate experiences at Waterloo really helped to shape the way I think, I work and play in my day-to-day activities. I'm trying to build something similar at the University of Alberta, and we now have two professors at the University of Alberta that have gone through the Collaborative Water Program, so that’s really exciting.”
“And with approximately 400 CWP alumni out there, I'm sure we can accomplish lots of great things towards water protection in the future.”
“In my journey thus far, I recognize that those who are working in this field carry some sort of emotional labour which I did not quite understand fully when I was a student. I now realize that in the literature, it is recognized as “ecological grief” – an emotional response to ecological or climate change-related loss. This was an interesting “aha” moment for me as this response is what I have observed in myself and other CWP graduates – but the beautiful thing I see is that most of us transform this energy into something creative. It brings strength and it creates a tougher collective and motivation to do good work.”
Looking ahead
“I have been very fortunate to have incredible water mentors who shaped the way I am today. A key figure is Mark Servos. Nonetheless, I am still in my transformative journey in deepening my connection to water. I continue to advance sustainable solutions and strategies though innovative and inclusive water research. I extend this value to my graduate students and trainees as they create their own “watermark”. Also, as an assistant professor at the University of Alberta, I feel that I have a platform to amplify my desire to work with underserved communities.”
“In 2022, I visited the Philippines (my home country) and collaborated with local authorities in answering their questions related to micropollutant contamination and impacts on aquatic life. I am also establishing key relationships with the Indigenous communities in Alberta. Overall, I plan to continue to work in this space and will be immersing myself here until another path opens up.”