Boston, Massachusetts, United States
PROGRAM: Materials Science & Engineering

With the support of the Graduate Professional Development Award, I was able to attend the 2019 Fall Materials Research Society Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. Throughout this five-day conference I was able to not only explore the city and enjoy the first big snowfall of the year, but also see what’s happening in cutting-edge research and technology advances. One of the most beneficial things about attending such a large conference is the wide variety of topics covered. From green energy and solar cell research to neural devices and cancer treatment strategies, they had it all. I presented my own work on biocompatible nanoparticles which have a cell membrane coating, enabling them to target bone marrow with the potential to deliver drugs in a session that also consisted of using platelets for immunotherapy and programmable logic gates to dose bacterial infections.

However, one of my most enjoyed talks was one that was different from the standard research presentation. Felice Frankel, a photographer and research scientist at MIT, focused on science photography and how by stepping back from the science and focusing on creating the most compelling visual can increase the impact and understanding of our work. This fell in line with the Science as Art competition held every year where conference attendees submit pictures from their research that look like they could belong in a museum, similar to Art in Science that UD runs every year where we aim to engage the larger community in scientific research by making them want to know more about the pictures they’re seeing. This theme of art even continued through to the organizers having a caricature artist on-site for an afternoon!

I thank the Graduate College for supporting this opportunity to present my research and connect with the larger materials science community. This was an excellent forum to work toward my professional goals of working in industry after I leave the University of Delaware due to the many interactions and possibilities available to attendees.