The experience attained through summer 2014 research and extensive work in laboratories associated with various disciplines led to the exploration of the topic of interest and developing the depth of knowledge and breadth of academic experience. My major research experience involved working in a group  of PhD, Masters, Post-Docs and undergraduate students. 

 

As part of a group of researchers, I was working on the project which was aimed to increase the economic viability of biodiesel industry. Specifically, the project examined the conversion of biodiesel by-product ,crude glycerol, into more valuable chemicals.

My work was primarily experimental and it comprised the examination of consumption of glycerol samples, obtained from a biodiesel manufacturing facility, by different microorganisms. In order to achieve my task I was trained in using different laboratory skills such as experimentation in sterilized conditions, sampling techniques and using different lab equipment such as PCR machine, plate reader, spectrophotometer, Gel-Doc, centrifuge, incubator, autoclave machine and high performance liquid chromatography. I also familiarized myself with regulations and safety precautions in the laboratory environment through several safety courses such as WHMIS, departmental safety training and biosafety training program.

 

As a routine, I collected my experimental results in one notebook and experimental ideas and protocols in another notebook. I was also summarizing the literature available for a specific subject from published papers, my findings and data analysis in the form of a written report, graphs or tables almost every week. My other responsibilities included contributing to lab clean up, attending working hours 9am- 5pm from Monday to Friday, attending weekly group meetings and present findings and experimental results to my colleagues at the end of the summer.

 

I grasped the real meaning of team work as I entered this reseach group on campus from the competitive environment of undergraduate studies. Besides their own work, graduate students were willingly assisting their colleagues and summer students in the areas related to their expertise. This provided a great environment for the research works to productively progress