A fourth-year physics student from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, has reached a rare academic milestone by co-authoring a study published in the prestigious journal Science on March 26, 2026. Keely Ralf, originally from Jasper, Alberta, is the only undergraduate listed as an author on the paper, which provides the first experimental evidence of a long-standing mystery regarding the behavior of water.
Working alongside her professor, Dr. Peter Poole, Ralf helped analyze data that confirms a liquid-liquid critical point in supercooled water. This critical point occurs at roughly -63 degrees Celsius and under pressure 1,000 times greater than that of Earth’s atmosphere. The discovery is significant because it helps explain the unusual properties of water, such as why it expands when cooled below freezing, and provides data that could improve climate modeling and the understanding of cloud formation.
The research was a massive international effort involving 25 scientists from Germany, Sweden, South Korea, and Canada. Experimental work was conducted at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free-Electron Laser in South Korea, where scientists used high-speed lasers to observe water before it could turn into ice. While the physical experiments happened overseas, Ralf and Dr. Poole focused on the theoretical side, using computer simulations to interpret the data.
This achievement marks a culmination of over three decades of research for Dr. Poole, who first proposed the theory behind this water mystery as a graduate student in 1992. It is believed to be the first time a current undergraduate student from the Antigonish university has appeared as an author in Science. Ralf, who supported her work through an Undergraduate Student Research Award, will graduate this May before heading into graduate studies.
