Man-Yin Tsang came to U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science to gain an ocean of knowledge, studying microbial activities below the seafloor by measuring chemical changes. While earning her PhD in the Department of Earth Sciences in the Faculty of Arts & Science, she was a shipboard geoscientist in an International Ocean Discovery Program expedition that studied the temperature limit of life below the seafloor.
Tsang’s work was supported by a number of awards and scholarships. U of T's Centre for Global Change Science Graduate Student Research Award, open to grad students with research topics related to global change science, generously supported her research expenses. She was also awarded the Best Graduate Student Presentation Award at the Department of Earth Sciences’ RockFest and received the D.H. Gorman Explorers Fund Graduate Scholarship, among other prestigious awards. She loves going to the sea, hiking, kayaking and afternoon tea.
Why did you choose U of T Earth Sciences?
It has long been my passion to study nature in nature. Earth Sciences provided me with a great opportunity to learn about the Earth with rocks from the field. I chose U of T because my supervisor, Ulrich Wortmann, is an executive committee member of the International Ocean Discovery Program - Canada. Researching in his laboratory gave me the opportunity to join world-class projects in marine geoscience.
What were you hoping to accomplish by going to the sea to collect samples?
I had the chance to join the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 370 in 2016. I collected samples in Nankai Trough, south of Japan. It is a subduction zone that brings Japan a high risk of earthquakes and has hot marine sediments. As the sediment temperature there increases from 2 C to 120 C, we hoped to verify whether marine microorganisms can survive in such hot sediments. Laboratory culture suggested the microbes can survive 122 C but it had not been proven in nature.
Can you elaborate on your experience conveying marine geoscience to the public?
I always think it is important for scientists to let the public know what they are doing and spread the wonder of nature, especially to children. In 2018, the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology organized the Science Blogging & Writing Workshop. There I learned the basic skills to write to the public and young readers. Some outreach activities I did afterwards include writing to young readers about microorganisms under the seafloor in Frontiers for Young Minds. I also exchanged letters with elementary school students from low-income communities through the program Letters to a Pre-Scientist. This is to let the students know the diversity of scientists and the daily work behind scientific discoveries, and to encourage students' interests in STEM (science, technology engineering and math); and joined our department's visits to local schools to introduce students to what we do.
How has this work helped set you up for your post-university plans?
Based on my offshore work in the earthquake zone of Japan, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science has awarded me their Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan. I will move to Kobe for two years to find out more about the hot sediments of the Nankai Trough — their interactions with microorganisms and records of hot fluid flowing underground in the earthquake zone.
What advice would you give your first-year self?
In the PhD journey, unexpected challenges will hit you. During difficult times, count the unexpected joy, too. Programs and fellows on campus are great resources. I was glad to join the Hart House Mentorship Program — my mentor, Peter Wong, gave me great advice throughout the years on achieving a fruitful student life. He always sent me links to interesting events on campus. I am sure I will keep in touch with him after graduation.
What have been some of your most memorable experiences at U of T?
The field trips in our department! The first fall I was in Toronto, I went to Algonquin Provincial Park with other grad students to look at rocks, not really the fall foliage. Another year we had the chance to look at fossils of the early complex life on Earth in Eastern Canada. I also taught undergraduate classes in the field. The field is our best and biggest geological textbook. It is where long-lasting friendships are built, too.
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