This year I am introducing a new segment to the Science section, where I will be interviewing a student who has done science research at UofT. This gives them a chance to share their work and show other students the types of research that exist at the university. If you are interested in being interviewed, please email science@ thestrand.ca.
The Strand: What year are you and what are your majors?
Silas Peters: I’m going into my third year. I’m an [Ecology and Evolutionary Biology] specialist with a certificate in sustainability.
What is your research?
I was studying the impact of two different road salts on amphipods [which are a] species of aquatic decomposers. We were comparing sodium chloride and calcium chloride, and looking at how these different road salts impacted amphipods survival and reproduction, as well as the decomposition.
Why is this an important thing to research and how can this information be used in the future?
We use way too much road salt in Canada and so much of that is washed into our waterways. This can have really drastic impacts on organisms, but we still don’t fully know [what they are]. It’s important that we understand how the road salt affects [macroinvertebrates] because we’ll get a better picture of the entire ecosystem and how messed up it can become when you are dumping road salt into the water. Our hope is that this research will give us that kind of picture and then push both cities and individuals to use less road salt and look for more sustainable alternatives.
How did you get this position?
I essentially cold emailed a bunch of profs, and then my [Principal Investigators] got back to me and were interested in working with me. It was then a lot of applying to research funding and a lot of cover letters. Why you should give me money to do this and stuff like that.
What advice do you have for students looking to do research?
Something that I think really helped me with this research position was volunteering in a lab first. I cold emailed a professor, volunteered in his lab, and worked with him across the summer. And that gave me the experience that I was then able to use to apply for other research positions. You don’t always have to go straight for the flashy positions. If you want research experience, just emailing and volunteering for like five hours a week in the lab during the school year is a great way to get that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
