All BPI researchers are invited to participate in the BPI Research Day Poster Competition on May 1st. This event serves as a celebration of their dedication and passion, providing an opportunity to showcase excellence on a larger stage. The aim is to inspire continuous refinement of communication skills, ensuring that the impact of research resonates effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.
Eligibility
- Students and postdocs who work within or collaborate with BPI research groups can apply.
Topics
- Presentation topics should align with BPI research themes.
- Ensure that your presentation is not a broad overview of your research team; instead, concentrate on a specific research or applied research area where you are actively engaged. Highlight a significant outcome or work in progress, demonstrating its impact on society. The outcome doesn't have to be physical; it should, however, exhibit a tangible or conceptual contribution to the betterment of society.
Poster Presentation Guidelines
- Format: Print your poster in either 3’W x 4’H or 4'W x 3'H format. It's acceptable to reuse an existing poster if the dimensions are slightly different.
- Setup: Poster boards and thumb tacks will be provided. Please arrive by 9:45 AM, and mount your poster on the designated poster board by 10:00 AM.
- Presentation: Participants will be divided into two groups and will present during either Poster Session A or B.
- Stamp Rally: Pick up a stamp at the check-in and give a stamp to your visitors. When you are not presenting, you can visit other presenters to collect 15+ stamps and enter the prize draw.
Judges
- Industry Partners: Avid Khamenehfar, David McCormick, Ellie Rahmani, Harry Chang, Marcelo Mora, Michael Rushton, Rishikesh Mankidy, Soheyl Mottahedeh, Stephanie Lee, Taylor Wright, Yitzac Goldstein
- UBC Faculty: Lindsay Eltis, Honbgin Li, Nigel Fisher, Shahab Sokhansanj, Susan Baldwin, Tianxi Yang, Vikram Yadav
- UBC Researchers & Staff: Abul Hossain, Alberto Renteria, Andrea Lloyd, Araz Rajabi, Ariane Fernandes, Eupidio Scopel, Kudzanai Nyamayaro, Majid Shirazi, Pu Yang, Ran Bi, Tao Zou
- Judge Coordinators: Barb Conway, Branden Deiss, Daisy Shen
Judging Criteria
Best Poster & PackLead Poster Awards
- Content & Impact (25%)
- Relevance: Aligns with BPI’s scope and addresses well defined challenges
- Impact: Highlights potential benefits for science, society, environment, and/or industry
- Originality: Demonstrates innovative and novel approaches
- Clarity: Clearly states purpose, progress, and outcomes
- Design & Accessibility (25%)
- Accessibility: Effective display of science and technology, understandable to audiences both within and external to the specific research field
- Design Quality: Creativity and quality of poster layout and design that enhances the message
- Communication Skills (25%)
- Concept Explanation: Ability to clearly and effectively communicate complex concepts to both scientific and general audiences
- Body Language: Effective use of body language, including eye contact, vocal variety, and gestures
- Confidence and Enthusiasm: Knowledge of and enthusiasm about the research and its impacts
- Engagement & Professionalism (25%)
- Interaction: Ability to address judges' questions and engage in discussions
- Professionalism: Professional demeanor in hosting visitor
*Participants will be assessed based on the effectiveness of their communication, not on language fluency, to ensure a fair evaluation for everyone, regardless of their native language.
EDI.I Excellence Award
- Impact: Show your research's potential for significant contributions to advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigeneity
- Community Engagement: Demonstrate your strategies for meaningful community engagement in your research process, addressing inclusivity across gender, race, age, cultural backgrounds, Indigenous communities, or underrepresented groups
- Data Collection & Analysis: Highlight how your data collection mitigates biases, and your analysis and reporting processes take diversity factors into account
- Accessible Dissemination: Present your findings in formats accessible to all, using inclusive language and clearly explaining technical terms, while acknowledging contributions from diverse groups
Prizes
- Best Poster Awards : Three winners will each receive a $500 travel and education award (for conference or course registration).
- PackLead Poster Award: One winner from PackLead program will receive a $500 travel and education award
- EDI.I Excellence Award : One winner will receive a $500 travel and education award.
- People's Choice Award : One audience favorite from each session (two in total) will receive a $100 Visa gift card.
Timeline
- 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM Poster Setup
- 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Coffee & Mingle
- 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Welcome & BPI Update
- 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Poster Session - Group A
- 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Networking lunch
- 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM Poster Session - Group B (Lunch continues)
- 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM Keynote Presentations
- 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM Award Ceremony & Closing
- 2:15 PM - 2:45 PM Teardown
Poster List
- Posters are listed by number. Please remember your assigned number and mount your poster on the corresponding board.
- Presentation times:
- Group A: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Group B: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
- All posters are evaluated for the Best Poster Award, except those marked Ⓝ (non-competition).
- Posters marked Ⓔ are also considered for the EDI.I Excellence Award.
- Posters marked Ⓟ are also eligible for the PackLead Poster Award.
Group A
| A-1 Emilie Payment (Master's Student) : Connecting the Ice Nucleating Activity of Lignin to Its Physicochemical Properties to Better Predict Biomass Burning Organic Aerosols’ Cloud Formation |
| A-2 Ⓔ℗ Mohsen Roytvand Ghiasvand (PhD Student) : A Decision Support System for Sustainable Food Packaging and Transportation Planning |
| A-3 Lara Amiouny (Master's Student) : Integrating Biomaterials and Bacterial Mechanisms for Water Treatment Systems |
| A-4 Raewyn Rozak (Undergrad Student) : Evaluating Cyrene as a Non-Toxic, Bio-Based Solvent for Lignin Isolation |
| A-5 Kevin Ballu (Postdoc) : Colloidal Stability of Carboxylated Cellulose Nanocrystals Fully Explained by DLVO Theory |
| A-6 Julia Desbiens (Master's Student) : Developing Strategies to Improve Bacterial Nanocellulose Yield in Organic Wastes |
| A-7 Ⓔ Hyeonjeong Kim (PhD Student) : Development of Lignin-Derived Porous Material for CO₂ Capture |
| A-8 ℗ Simon Sheppard (Master's Student) : Probabilistic Rewards Increase the Use of Reusable Cups |
| A-9 Tuan Ngoc Tran (Postdoc) : Mechanochemical Preparation of Cellulose Nanocrystals |
| A-10 Punitha Govindasamy (PhD Student) : Microbial Valorization of Aromatic Compounds from Lignin to Value-Added Products – Approach Towards Sustainable Biorefining |
| A-11 Alexandra Rousseau (PhD Student) : Towards Industrial Production of Highly Charged Cellulose Nanocrystals |
| A-12 Yee Do Chun (PhD Student) : High-Throughput Microfluidics for Precision Regenerated Cellulose Sieves |
| A-13 Ⓔ℗ Golshan Matinfar (PhD Student) : Bark to Barrier: Transforming Suberin into Functional Coatings |
| A-14 Sarah Rundle (Undergrad Student) : Crosslinking in Citric Acid-Modified Cellulose Nanocrystals for Mechanically Enhanced Chiral Nematic Films |
| A-15 Nannaphat Sukkasam (Postdoc) : From Lab to Pilot Scale: Optimizing the Production of Phycoerythrin, a Red Protein Pigment from Red Microalga Porphyridium cruentum |
| A-16 Daniel Barker-Rothschild (PhD Student) : Harmonizing Approaches for Size and Zeta Potential Measurements of Colloidal Lignin Particles |
| A-17 Amalia Diaz de Leon Derby (Master's Student) : Bacterial Functional Amyloid Structure and Assembly |
| A-18 Alexandre Babin (PhD Student) : Microwave-Assisted Catalytic Pyrolysis of Biomass in a Pilot Fluidized Bed Reactor |
| A-19 Ruyu Geng-Ji (Master's Student) : Effects of Processing and Starch Source on Resistant Starch in Extruded Dog Kibbles |
| A-20 Ling Guo (PhD Student) : Tailored Deep Learning–Assisted In Situ SERS: Overcoming Surface Irregularities-Induced Large Signal Variation on Biological Tissues |
| A-21 Ⓔ Ivy Li (PhD Student) : Towards Engineered Living Therapeutic Materials Inspired by Kombucha |
| A-22 Maidinai Sabier (Visiting Research Assistant) : Unravelling Aroma Evolution and Olfactory Perception Mechanisms in Polygonatum Rhizoma Following ‘Nine Steaming and Nine Drying’ Processing Using GC–MS and Molecular Docking Analyses |
| A-24 Ⓝ Emma Woodtke, Bonne Pathmanathan, & Sofia Ormeno (Undergrad Students, BCIT) : The Effect of Stabilizers on Paper Strength in Highly Alkaline Peroxide Treatment |
Group B
| B-1 Alexandre Leblond (Research Assistant) : Transplantable Fungi: Enhancing Resilience in Production of Composite Myco-Materials |
| B-2 Ⓔ℗ Clara Kramer (PhD Student) : Understanding the Role of Cellulose Nanocrystals on Crystallization, Structure, and Performance in Biodegradable Polyester Composites |
| B-3 Wenrui Yao (PhD Student) : Mechanochemical Supramolecular Reconstruction of Bio-Derived Polymerizable DES Gels for Flexible Electronics |
| B-4 Drew Sanders (PhD Student) : Understanding Protein Energy Optimality to Build Better Catalysts and Functional Structures |
| B-6 Evelyn Lewicki (Undergrad Student) : Engineered Phototrophy to Improve Bacterial Nanocellulose Yield for Sustainable Biomaterials |
| B-7 Amanda Ackroyd (PhD Student) : Controllable Defect Formation in Confined Suspensions of Cellulose Nanocrystals |
| B-8 Andras Szeitz (PhD Student) : Developing a Volatilome Detection Platform for Functional Metagenomic Screening |
| B-9 Ⓔ Jiaou Ren (Undergrad Student) : Bark Biorefinery for Cosmetic Ingredients |
| B-10 Xuetong Shi (Postdoc) : Lignin Reassembly and Relocalization in Wood: Sustainable Energy Harvesting |
| B-11 Philip Lauman (Postdoc) : Bacteriophages Control Pseudomonas syringae Infections of Blueberry Leaves |
| B-12 ℗ Hayley Simpson (Master's Student) : Public Perceptions of Vertical Farming: Produce and Packaging of the Future? |
| B-13 Ⓔ Minghui Han (PhD Student) : Cell-Wall-Like Hemicellulose Assembly with Structural Color |
| B-14 ℗ Martin Galambos (PhD Student) : Ultralight Cellulose Nanocrystal Cryogels with Tunable Properties |
| B-15 Haoming Yang (Master's Student) : Rapid Separation and Ultrasensitive SERS Detection of PFAS Using MPNs-Modified SERS Substrates with Machine Learning Assistance |
| B-16 Xin Shu (PhD Student) : Seeing Through Cellulose: Biofabricated Nanocellulose/GelMA Double-Network Hydrogel for Corneal Substitution |
| B-17 Joe Ho (PhD Student) : Mass-Spectral Fingerprinting of Technical Lignin for Characterization of Enzymatic Transformations |
| B-18 Siti Firmansyah (PhD Student) : Drop-In Sustainable Aviation Fuels from Native Lignin Under Hydrogen-Free Environment |
| B-19 Aaryan Gulati (Undergrad Student) : Chitosan-Based Pickering Emulsions for Cosmetic Applications |
| B-20 Minke Yang (PhD Student) : Dual Jamming of Bio-Based CNC-Stabilized Bijel Fibers via Continuous Solvent Transfer Induced Phase Separation |
| B-21 Ⓔ Sara Rostami (PhD Student) : Architected Wood-Derived Janus Xerogels by In Situ Direct Ink Writing and Ambient Drying |
| B-22 Anne Lalande (PhD Student) : Metabolic Engineering of Rhodococcus Aromaticivorans RHA1 for Valorization of Oxidatively Depolymerized Lignin to Muconate |
| B-23 Ⓝ Chloe Wang (Undergrad Student) : Production of Artemisinic Acid Using Genetically Modified Yeast |
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at contact.bpi@ubc.ca. Thank you.
