Sciences were the big winners of the 2017 Research Poster Competition, individual winners were announced yesterday:
Best poster overall ($500 Prezzy card)
Claudia Clarkson: Proximate analysis and functionality of extracted locust protein and the key factors affecting consumer acceptance of its use as an ingredient
Degree: BSc(Hons) in Food Science
Supervisors: Dr Miranda Mirosa and Associate Professor John Birch, Department of Food Science
Best poster for a lay audience ($250 Prezzy card)
Manon Knapen: Homeopathy use in New Zealand – an explorative study
Degree: PhD in Science Communication
Supervisor: Dr Fabien Medvecky, Centre for Science Communication
Best poster for a research audience ($250 Prezzy card)
Holly Still: The effect of small-scale pinning points on the flow of the Ross Ice Shelf
Degree: Master of Science in Surveying
Supervisor: Professor Christina Hulbe, School of Surveying
Professor Rachel Spronken-Smith, Dean of the Graduate Research School, told the audience it had been extremely hard for her and fellow judges, Dr Brent Nichols (Media Film and Communication) and Jenny Rock (Centre of Science Communication) to decide winners, as there had been a real improvement in the quality of posters from last year.
“They were all terrific, making our job that much harder” she said.
The Best Overall award went to Claudia Clarkson, Department of Food Science, with her poster titled “Proximate analysis and functionality of extracted locust protein and the key factors affecting consumer acceptance of its use as an ingredient”.
The judges were seeking a poster that relayed excellent research, as well as being accessible to a lay audience. They loved the research, and from reading it, thought they could 'actually eat locusts'. The layout of the poster was very easy to follow with excellent use of images and clear implications for the research, so all round was a top effort.
Best poster for a lay audience was awarded to Manon Knapen (Centre for Science Communication) for her poster, “Homeopathy use in New Zealand – an explorative study”.
"Well done to all contestants, not only is your research really fascinating, but you've obviously got a strong ability to convey that research in visual terms also"
The judges felt Manon's poster was quite fascinating with good visuals in terms of layout and great graphics to illustrate the results.
Best poster for a research audience went to Holly Still (School of Surveying) for her poster “The effect of small-scale pinning points on the flow of the Ross Ice Shelf”. The criteria for this poster was to communicate a difficult field using visuals and text to explain complex concepts. Although several posters were considered in this category, Holly's was the one that stood out for the judges.
“We really liked the way she used graphics and images together with text to discuss iceflows around these pinpoints, resulting in some very complex material used” we were told.
Overall, it was considered the posters entered in this year's competition was of an extremely high standard.
“Well done to all contestants, not only is your research really fascinating, but you've obviously got a strong ability to convey that research in visual terms also” said Professor Spronken-Smith.
Further events programmed for the 2017 Graduate Research Festival are:
- Three Minute Thesis Grand Final: Fri 4 August 5-7pm, Castle 2
- UO Student Research Symposium: Sat 5 / Sun 6 Aug, St Davids
- Postgraduate Open Day: Tues 8 Aug 10-2pm, The Link
- Te Rōpū Pūtaiao Wine and Cheese Postgraduate Symposium: Tues 8 Aug, 5.30pm, Otago University Rugby Clubrooms, Logan Park
- OUSA Supervisor of the Year Awards: Thu 10 Aug, 5pm, Staff Club