A recent four-day power outage at Western University in London, Ont., has resulted in the loss of 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.

Following an incident at a campus power substation, the Biological & Geological Sciences Building, Materials Sciences Addition, Chemistry Building, and Natural Sciences Centre have been running on backup power since Friday. While most buildings had power restored on Friday evening, the four affected buildings are still on backup power as repairs continue. The university has limited access to these buildings as a precautionary measure and is collaborating with students, faculty, and staff to address individual concerns, ensuring research needs are met.

This power outage marks the fifth major disruption to biology research facilities since August 2025, causing significant challenges for researchers, particularly in maintaining stable conditions for living organisms and sensitive materials. Issues include overheating growth chambers, thawing research sample freezers due to insufficient backup power, and the inability to access animals used in studies.

Beth MacDougall-Shackleton, a biology professor at Western, expressed concerns about the impact on research, emphasizing the critical nature of maintaining stable conditions for ongoing experiments. Graduate students have suffered losses of irreplaceable samples, including specimens from extinct species, decades-old collections, and materials from long-term studies that cannot be replicated.

Calls for action have been made by students and faculty, urging Western to enhance communication during outages and invest in modernizing the campus electrical system to prevent future disruptions. Concerns about reputational damage and potential funding losses have been raised, with warnings that repeated outages could jeopardize Western’s standing with key research organizations and impact major research funding.

The ongoing challenges with power outages not only disrupt research activities but also pose risks to the university’s reputation and financial stability, prompting urgent calls for improvements in infrastructure and maintenance to support teaching and research endeavors.