"I love looking for answers in life, solving problems, moving forward. Competences such as leadership and critical thinking have become as much part of myself as much as my love for science. And that necessarily involves contextualizing the impact that research has in society and the environment. Developing more sustainable ways to accomplish the scientific goals of my lab is an imperative to continue my scientific career according to my core values."

Brendon Samuels is a PhD candidate in the Department of Biology at Western University in the City of London, Ontario. Brendon is an advocate and researcher focusing on various sustainability topics on and off campus, serving in advisory roles for the university, the city and nonprofit sector. Brendon's interests include birds, biodiversity, waste reduction, pollution prevention, climate change adaptation and public education.

Dr.  Oleksandr Voznyy became an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough in 2018.  His topics of interest are materials for energy storage and novel materials discovery, specifically development of new materials for Li-ion batteries, hydrogen storage, CO2 capture, and photovoltaics  for development and adoption of low-cost and scalable energy storage solutions. The group utilizes atomistic simulations, machine learning, automated high-throughput materials synthesis and characterization to demonstrate proof-of-principle devices that will speed-up the transition to renewables.