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Graduate Student Symposium - By Grads For Grads

The Association of Chemical Engineering Students (ACES) Professional Development Chair, Jared Shadish, reports on the 8th Annual Graduate Student Symposium held on September 24, organized by grads for grads.

The ChemE graduate students, faculty and local industry members gathered for the 8th Annual Graduate Student Symposium (GSS). Organized by ACES, this one of a kind event – put on by grad students for grad students – is a daylong showcase of student research through presentations and a poster session mixer.

This year, the Clean Energy Institute sponsored a keynote speaker, Dr. Mark Verbrugge, Director of the Chemical and Materials Systems Lab at the General Motors Research and Development. Dr. Verbrugge, a renowned leader in the energy field, spoke on translating chemical engineering fundamentals to the market and how engineering problems are often dictated by consumer needs.

Following the keynote address, six students gave a whirlwind of ten-minute presentations on their research. Despite the difficulty of cramming years of work into such a short time, each speaker did an excellent job communicating their research concisely, with topics ranging from protein engineering and catalysis to optical trapping of nanowires in solution.

The event ended with a poster presentation where students, faculty and industry members mixed over hors d'oeuvres and discussed research, goals and career paths. Graduate Students teamed up with industry members from the Puget Sound area to judge posters and network. The incoming graduate class had the opportunity to see the research being done in the department for the first time. If you missed this year’s symposium, mark your calendars: the Graduate Student Symposium will be back on September 22, 2016!