EBS Research Symposium showcases 25 presenters

The Division of Environmental and Biomolecular Systems (EBS) held its 6th annual research symposium at Oregon Health & Science University’s west campus on March 16, 2012. The afternoon event showcased 25 presenters ranging in education from undergraduates to postdoctoral scientists.

This year, EBS invited undergraduate science students from Pacific University to present at the symposium. This gave the students a real-world opportunity to present their research to EBS scientists and graduate students.

“We invited students and faculty from Pacific University so we could learn more about each other and the research taking place at each institution,” said Karen Watanabe, EBS professor and coordinator of the symposium. “We were excited to have six undergraduate students present posters in disciplines ranging from microbiology to computational chemistry.

A panel of three judges evaluated the posters and the best poster was selected as the winner in each category. In total, there were 12 judges who evaluated posters in five different categories. First place in each category went to:

Best Undergraduate Student Poster

Lars Holte
"Computational Modeling of Surfactant Molecules at the Water / Oil Interface

Best Master's Student Poster

Krissy Remple
"Isolating manganese oxidizing microbes from Portland’s water supply"

Best Poster Among 1st and 2nd Year Doctoral Students

Shefali Chauhan
"Unraveling the long distance electron transfer mechanism: A substrate mediated approach”

Best Poster - Advanced Doctoral Students (3+ yrs)

Michelle Maier
"Impact of Chytrid Parasites on Diatoms in the Lower Columbia River"

Best Poster - Postdoctoral Scientist

Binglin (Ben) Li
"Physical and biological controls on Mesodinium rubrum blooms in the lower Columbia River estuary"