On November 14th, a small portion of the team drove down to St. Ambrose University in Davenport to present a poster at the 7th Annual American Chemical Society Undergraduate Research Conference being hosted on campus. The presentation group consisted of Bobbi, Brittnie, Jose along with Dr. Sebree and Dr. Shen. Before leaving Cedar Falls, the day started out perfectly for Brittnie for one very vital reason...
My favorite part of the day was when Dr. Sebree handed me my Caramel Brûlée Latte from Starbucks! -Brittnie
Starbucks in hand, the team was ready to get to the conference. They headed down to Davenport in time for the conference's breakfast.
After breakfast, the team had the opportunity to see some research presentations before lunch. After lunch, the team presented BETA's first poster. This poster can be found on the "Past Presentations" page or by clicking this link.
The students had a blast and the project caught the eye of many undergraduate students and researchers.
Several people were very interested in the questions our poster was asking. They commented that they would be excited to see our return to the conference next year for more results. I felt very good about our presentation. -Bobbi
The one negative aspect of the presentation was the lack of data to share.
We could not answer some of the questions being asked due to us not having any data which was kind of a bummer. All we could say was that we will be getting data later on due to us just starting. -Jose
The lack of data didn't stop the team, however. It was a good way to introduce BETA's goal to a broader scientific community than just UNI's campus. It also was a great opportunity to see what other undergraduates are researching.
At the conference, I saw quite a few of interesting presentations, such as whether essential oils work or not, testing of the chemicals in different shampoos, how to properly make better beer, and if heart variability reduces pain and anxiety. -Brittnie
Something to note would be the ability for the team members to present their poster. Many schools do not provide these kinds of opportunities for their undergraduates, but a large portion of this project includes sharing the results. The benefits of presenting at conferences like this are immense, but it begs the question- why did BETA go to this conference?
It’s time to get BETA out in the public’s eye. Let them know what we are doing. -Dr. Sebree
I have a much better idea of what to expect during the next undergraduate research conference. I feel very well prepared for any future presentations we give on our research. Also, it made me realize that I should take General Chemistry really, really soon. -Bobbi
It provided me with a great opportunity of experiencing a conference, I would like to do more conferences like this. It also gave me a great opportunity to network with many undergraduate students. -Jose
The conference benefited me by preparing me to know how to properly explain the research that we’re doing and plan to do. Before the conference, I was a little worried about not explaining the goal of research project well to others. During the conference, I felt more confident, especially when I had the help of Bobbi and Jose to explain some things. -Brittnie
Not only did the team have a great time presenting and learning about other research projects, but they were able to reflect upon what to change for next time. Dr. Sebree brought up a good point.
Could have used some business cards for the team to handout with our website. -Dr. Sebree
While the poster presentation was a great way to get BETA out there, spreading the word about the website will help keep individuals updated about BETA in between conference presentations.
After this successful poster presentation, BETA is sure to be making more appearances in the future (with some data to share as well)!