A power outage lasting four days at Western University in London, Ontario, has caused significant damage to invaluable research samples, disrupted experiments, and raised concerns among biology students and faculty about the university’s ability to safeguard millions of dollars’ worth of scientific research assets.
The Biological & Geological Sciences Building, Materials Sciences Addition, Chemistry Building, and Natural Sciences Centre have been relying on backup power since Friday due to a disruption at a campus power substation. While power has been restored to most buildings, the four affected structures are still on backup power as repairs continue. Access to these buildings has been limited as a precaution, with the university working closely with students, faculty, and staff to address individual concerns and ensure research needs are met.
This recent outage marks the fifth major incident affecting biology research facilities since August 2025. Beth MacDougall-Shackleton, a biology professor, expressed concerns about the university’s reliability, highlighting that other countries, including those considered less developed, have more dependable power access for research purposes.
Maintaining stable conditions for living organisms and temperature-sensitive materials is crucial for biology research. However, the outages have led to overheating growth chambers, thawing research sample freezers, and hindered access to animals used in studies. The department has incurred financial losses in replacing reagents, enzymes, and research materials, but the true impact goes beyond monetary value.
Graduate students have lost months or even years of work breeding insects, growing plants, and cultivating bacterial strains, with irreplaceable samples, including those from extinct species and decades-old collections, now gone. The consequences extend to delays in research projects and potential setbacks in academic timelines.
Calls for action have been made by students and faculty, urging Western University to enhance communication during outages, invest in modernizing the campus electrical system, and increase maintenance staffing levels. Concerns have been raised about the university’s reputation, potential funding losses, and compliance with regulations governing research involving vertebrate animals.
The repeated outages not only risk damaging Western’s standing with research partners and donors but also pose a threat to research funding, including approximately $60 million in annual Tri-Council funding. The inability to access animal facilities independently due to the outages has raised safety concerns, necessitating repeated interactions with security personnel to prevent risks to research animals.
The ongoing challenges underscore the need for immediate and long-term solutions to safeguard research continuity and uphold Western University’s reputation as a leading research institution.