Biotech student researchers rewarded

 

Three people were awarded prizes at the Waikato Sustainable Bioeconomy Student Poster Conference at the University of Waikato on May 13.

They were Ho Ying Yuen, who is doing a Bachelor of Science (Tech) in chemistry at Waikato University. She was researching combining polymer with beeswax to use as a controlled release for drug delivery in animals.

Another winner was Pathik Trivedi, who is doing a Masters of Science in biology at Waikato University. He was studying a way to accelerate the aging of the seeds of the white bryony plant, a hardy environmental weed whose seeds can lie dormant in the ground for a long time. By understanding the seed’s germination process, the weed can be better controlled.

The third winner was Jamaine Fraser, who works for Scion in Rotorua. He researched the design of marae seating using engineered biocomposite plastic.

Competition was stiff among the 24 young researchers who took the opportunity to showcase their research in areas ranging from developing bioplastics to ageing wine. One entrant, MSc student Thomas Williams, had recently taken third place at the National NZBio Student Scientific Poster Competition for a poster on “The Huhu Grub, a Wood Digesting Machine,” covering his research into micro-organisms that could open the way to a sustainable way of turning woody waste into biofuel.

The university’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Doug Sutton, opened the event by saying a key challenge in moving to a bioeconomy was to ensure that biotechnology developments were sustainable, taking into account economic, environmental, ethical/social and cultural perspectives.

“University research on the sustainable bioeconomy is therefore not limited to one faculty, but is conducted from a variety of perspectives across a number of faculties, including Science and Engineering, Computer Science, Law, Management, and Social Sciences as we grapple not just with the new technologies that underpin the bioeconomy, but how we monitor them, regulate them and manage them in a way that meets the physical, socio-economic and cultural needs of our society,” he said.

The Waikato Sustainable Bioeconomy Student Poster Conference provided a focus to draw together young emerging researchers with an interest in biotechnology and the bioeconomy, and an opportunity to meet others who shared their passion.

Guest speaker, Steven Wrigley, Marketing Manager of BioStart, one of New Zealand’s leading agricultural science companies, said: “Taking biotechnology to market is a time consuming and expensive business, but the harder you work, the luckier you get.

“Now is a good time to be in the biotech industry. It’s primed to take off. There are market forces pushing farmers into adopting new technologies and the government is putting money into research.”

Mr Wrigley was one of a panel of three judges including Associate Professor Vic Arcus, from the University’s Biological Sciences Department, and Nigel Slaughter, WaikatoLink’s new general manager, commercial. Judging criteria was on the basis of originality, research quality and the potential impact of the research.

About 100 students, university researchers and guests from the biotech industry attended the event which was jointly sponsored by the university, its commercialisation arm, WaikatoLink, and NZBio.

Cash prizes for the three best posters were donated by AgResearch, James and Wells, and LIC.