IOB Mini Symposium: New Semester, Same Chaos, Great Science 🔬✨

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls (and researchers)!

New semester, same tradition: The new semester (115-1) at IOB universe kicked off with a BANG, aka the IOB Mini Symposium, where every PhD student from year 2 onwards gets their moment in the spotlight.

Year 2s bring posters, year 3 and up bring the oral presentations (aka the "no more hiding behind a poster board" tier). And our expert judges choose 3 winners in both the sections and awards them with prizes (both cash and certificates). No, I am not going to answer if I ever won this award or not! However, I am going to offer you a sneak peek into today's Symposium from a new graduate's (edit: someone who doesn't have to present) perspective.

Yusril, our 3rd year PhD student, talked rice and greenhouse gases, and now we can't stop thinking about it! His talk on greenhouse gas emission mitigation and heat stress alleviation using Rhodopseudomonas palustris strains was genuinely next-level! The big reveal: these PGPR strains can help rice cope with heat stress, though it's strain-dependent. Very good news for anyone (all of us) who considers rice a food group. BONUS: He is also working on combining methanogens with PGPR! (the rest I cannot tell: I have been sworn to secrecy).

Wei-Sung's poster left the judges speechless. LITERALLY. Our 2nd year PhD student presented his published work on PBAT plastic bio-degradation with the help of the fungi strain P. lilacinum BA1S (rumor has it BA1S might be named after him, we cannot confirm this from official channels). The IOB professors took one look at his poster and had NO COMMENTS! We (mere mortals) couldn't ask anything either!

All in all, a great day spent cheering our colleagues and seeing their hard work come together!

Okay enough said! Now, lets take a look at our pictures!

Log back in for more details next week when we find out who won the poster and oral presentation contest! ( I have already placed my bets)

-By Roy (de-stressed unlike my peers)