Increasing the efficiency of solar energy and combating drug resistance were two of many research topics showcased at the Faculty of Mathematics and Science Undergraduate Research Symposium.

More than two dozen students exhibited posters and discussed their research with faculty members and peers during the second annual event on Thursday, Aug. 8.

Irene Charley, a third-year Biomedical Sciences student, shared her research on synthesizing new antifungal drugs to overcome resistance in pathogenic fungi. Her focus is on compounds that selectively target the fungal enzyme Erg25p, which directly affects the growth and survival of fungi, without also affecting human enzymes.

Her approach addresses the global health issue of antimicrobial drug resistance and could offer more effective treatments for fungal infections.

“There is an urgent need for effective antifungal therapies, as current treatments are increasingly rendered ineffective due to rising drug resistance,” she says. “By synthesizing a new variety of more effective antifungals, we can pave the way for new antifungal treatments with fewer side effects.”

Third-year Physics student Kaiden Wakeman shared his research project titled “Instrumentation development for photoluminescence spectroscopy.”

Charley is working under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dustin Duncan, whose research group is interested in the discovery and development of compounds with antibacterial or antifungal activity as well as alternative approaches to the treatment or prevention of microbial infections through interrupting pathogenesis.

Kaiden Wakeman, a third-year Physics student, is developing an instrumental setup that measures the photoluminescence of materials such as halide double perovskite crystals, which have promising properties for use in high-efficiency solar panels.

Photoluminescence is the light emitted by a material after absorbing light from another source, “like glow-in-the-dark objects,” he says.

The halide perovskites could be a low-cost alternative to silicon, which has been the dominant material used in solar panels for decades.

“By measuring the photoluminescence of these samples, we can determine their suitability as a solar cell material, and by testing different types of these crystals, it may be possible to improve the efficiency of solar cells,” he says.

Wakeman is working under the supervision of Physics Professors David Crandles and Maureen Reedyk, who both investigate optical properties, such as photoluminescence, of various materials.

All students who participated in the symposium were judged based on their presentation skills and their poster design. Cash prizes funded by Scion Instruments Canada were awarded to three students in recognition of outstanding poster presentations:

• Paige Au, fourth-year Biological Sciences student under the supervision of Assistant Professor Kiyoko Gotanda — “Examining the correlation between prepartum behaviours and embryo implantation in the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus).”
• Izaak Gagnon, fourth-year Mathematics and Statistics student under the supervision of Professor William Marshall — “Investigating Heuristic Measures of Integrated Information in Causal Networks.” 
• Isabelle Marincic, fourth-year Biophysics student at the University of Waterloo, who has been doing summer co-ops with Professor Mariek Schmidt — “Quantitative Analysis of Dust Accumulation on Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover Hardware.”

Three students were recognized for their outstanding poster presentations. From left, Paige Au, a fourth-year Biological Sciences student; Isabelle Marincic, a fourth-year Biophysics student at the University of Waterloo; and Izaak Gagnon, a fourth-year Mathematics and Statistics student.