Inspired by a pivotal moment witnessing first-hand the pollution produced by the food processing industry, Sasindu Gunawardana's decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Environmental and Life Sciences at Trent University. 

“I started my B.Sc. wanting to become a food scientist or nutritionist. During that program, we visited various food processing factories and food-related companies, and the amount of pollution I saw was staggering. I was shocked,” Gunawardana said.  

Flexible work environment makes it easy to keep head above water

After completing her Masters in B.C. and spending time raising her young family while working as a research assistant, Gunawardana enrolled at Trent to work alongside Dr. Maggie Xenopoulos, Tier I Canada Research Chair in Global Change of Freshwater Ecosystems.” I researched Dr. Xenopoulos before joining her lab and knew she was a strong woman who loves to train other women, which inspired me,” Gunawardana said. As she balances her research with family life, Gunawardana appreciates the flexible work environment of the Xenopoulos Aquatic Ecology Lab.  

Great expectations in exploring new waters

Like her mentor, Professor Xenopoulos, Gunawardana is breaking down barriers for women in science. She is using data from autonomous underwater vehicles, known as gliders, to evaluate the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide produced in these large lake ecosystems. Very few female researchers are working with gliders. 

Since these vehicles need ample space to operate, they are typically used in marine research. However, the size of the Great Lakes makes these a valuable tool for researchers like Gunawardana. “Gliders move up and down in the water column, and because of that, we get these big datasets that contain data from the top to bottom of the lake with the time stamp and its location,” Gunawardana said.  

Through her research, Gunawardana hopes to deepen our understanding of the Great Lakes’ contribution to global warming and the carbon cycle, which will help estimate the contribution of carbon dioxide emissions from other large lake ecosystems to the atmosphere. 

As she continues her exploration of the Great Lakes, Gunawardana looks forward to a future career in research and the opportunity to continue protecting our valuable freshwater resources.