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Mars 2026
Congratulations Santiago!
Congratulations to Santiago Mareque, a Master’s student in Chemistry, who has received an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship! His research project, Dynamics of rare earth elements along a productivity gradient in lake sediments, will contribute to a better understanding of how rare earth elements behave across lake ecosystems.
Mars 2026
Lakes as Life-Sized Test Tubes
Our team took part in the GRIL Public Outreach Evening hosted by the Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie (GRIL) in Quebec City on March 19.
During the event, Méliane and Santiago presented an engaging and hands-on activity titled “Lakes as Life-Sized Test Tubes.” Their interactive station invited the public to discover how lakes can serve as natural laboratories for understanding complex environmental processes.
Santiago also shared his research in a lively 180-second science talk titled “Which Lake Would Be Best for Throwing My iPhone Into?”. Through this creative and thought-provoking presentation, he explained how the quality of organic matter in lakes can influence the speciation of rare earth elements, critical metals widely used in digital technologies such as smartphones.
By connecting lake chemistry to everyday objects like iPhones, the presentation offered a compelling example of how limnology helps us better understand the environmental behavior of the critical metals that power modern life.
