Mark McInnes

Newmarket, Ontario
Biology and Chemistry

As an undergraduate student at Trent, Mark McInnes, a recent Biology and Chemistry graduate, gained invaluable research experience. Working with the Canadian Centre for Environmental Modeling and Chemistry at Trent during the summers, Mark says “I learned more in one summer of research than I could have imagined. It’s unlikely I would have had such an opportunity at other schools.”

That experience has already paid off for Mark who is currently studying on scholarship at the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Science, continuing the internationally-recognized research he began at Trent on how the synthetic compound Nonylphenol Ethoxylate (NE) travels in water.

“My passions in life definitely include science and adventure I will take the opportunity to do just about anything if I can,” he says.

Such opportunities took Mark to several international conferences, including the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Conference in New Orleans last summer. For his research presentation, Mark was awarded the prize for best student presentation.

“My experiences at these conferences solidified my decision to stay in academia,” Mark says.

Mark came to Trent as a transfer student from Fleming College. Speaking about his Trent experience, Mark says, “Trent and the Trent community have been extremely important in defining me as the person I am today.

“Without sounding cliché, my time at Trent has taught me that I am capable of accomplishing anything I want in life and that it is imperative to wake up each day and be the person you wish to be.”

In the fall, Mark will return to Trent to begin his Masters.