Undergraduate Research Poster Competition Winners
The department is pleased to announce winners of the spring 2013 Undergraduate Research Poster Competition:
First Place
Annie Pan (Alper Group)
Itaconic Acid Production in S. Cerevisiae
$150 prize
Annie works with biological systems to produce biomolecular monomers used in the plastics industry-she engineers microorganisms to make plastic monomers as a biomolecular byproduct. Biomolecular monomers offer a promising alternative to existing petroleum-based monomers, which use intensive petrochemical processes and produce environmental waste. This new way of making plastic monomers would also free up non-renewable petroleum resources to produce energy.
Second Place
Mark Goldman (Rochelle Group)
Nitrosamine Formation in CO2 Capture
$100 prize
Mark’s research focuses on understanding the formation kinetics of carcinogenic compounds from NOx gas in a carbon capture system being developed by Dr. Rochelle’s group. These studies aim to reduce impact of the carcinogens and to ensure the carbon capture process meets environmental regulations.
Third Place
Do Soon Kim (Alper Group)
Improving Transfection in Mammalian Hosts
$50 prize
Do Soon’s research improves the engineering of mammalian cells to maximize their production of therapeutic proteins. The pharmaceutical industry utilizes mammalian cells to produce essential proteins used in medicine and various other applications.
Thanks to graduate student judges: Joe Abatemarco (Alper Group), Reika Katsumata (Ellison Group), Richard Pattinson (Baldea Group) and Bailee Roach (Eldridge Group). Also, thanks to the AIChE student chapter for providing this semester’s prizes.
Students are encouraged to participate in this competition, which takes place every semester in the McKetta Study Hall, to showcase their research and sharpen their presentation skills.
Tags: alternative to existing petroleum-based monomers, mammalian cells, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Nitrosamine Formation in CO2 Capture, plastic monomers, therapeutic proteins, undergraduate research poster competition, UT Austin