Trent University Doctoral Candidate Honoured For Research Excellence In Electrochemistry

Doctoral candidate Tyra Lewis has been given the Electrochemical Society (ECS) Canada Section Student Award for her research exploring the relationship between electrical energy and chemical reactions over her seven years in the Martic Lab at Trent University.

Photo courtesy of Trent University.

Her research has earned her three major awards in the last year and is the first at Trent to receive this award. She was recognized for her research exploring electrochemistry as a greener approach to synthesizing and recycling organic compounds from environmental pollutants. 

The Materials Science Ph.D. candidate was also honoured with the Analytical Chemistry Division of the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) Graduate Student Award and the International Conference for Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy (ICASS) Burgener Research Graduate Student Travel Award. 

"Tyra is an exceptional student and we are lucky to have her here at Trent,” said Dr. Sanela Martic, associate professor in Forensic Science. “She has contributed significantly to scientific discovery well beyond my own lab, as evidenced by the well-deserved national and international recognitions she has received over the last year." 

Lewis joined Professor Martic’s lab in 2019, conducting research while she completed both her bachelor’s degree in Forensic Science and master’s degree in Environmental and Life Sciences at Trent.

Her work includes applying electrochemistry expertise to a new environmental challenge in agriculture: detecting sugars in soil according to Trent.

“Traditional methods for detecting sugars often require larger analytical tools that can be costly and time-intensive to use,” explains Lewis. “My research aims to introduce alternative approaches that could make testing sugars faster and more accessible.”

She is developing two approaches for detecting sugars. One is an electrochemical sensor that can be integrated with a smartphone for quick results. The other is a rapid colour-change test kit.

These solutions could improve on-site soil health assessment, helping farmers make informed decisions to optimize crop growth and productivity according to Lewis.

“The potential for this research to have a global impact motivates me to keep pushing it forward,” she explained. “Each research project has helped me recognize the value of the skills that I’m learning at Trent. While the topics have varied, the projects relied on many of the same core technical and soft skills. These are experiences that I will always be grateful for.”

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