Like the previous week, most of my work did not take place in the lab. We prepared and ran the last samples on the TGMS and obtained the last piece of data I will need for my poster. I only had six samples to prepare, and the process did not deviate from previous lab procedures, so it was fairly simple. Unfortunately, starting a few weeks ago, an issue that we have encountered is that we are running out of zeolite samples. Because there is a limited amount of time before the poster is due, we decided it would not be ideal to create new samples from scratch since it is very time-consuming. For that reason, tried our best to scrape out all of the samples from their capsules. Fortunately, my samples ran smoothly and I now possess the plotted data on charts. I still need to further analyze the significance of the data to then determine what is most interesting and impactful to include in my poster.

Additionally, I learned a lot about research posters this week. I went to a research poster workshop and learned many valuable tips to consider when creating the presentation. Having some previous knowledge from the Honors College at Lone Star College, some of the information given throughout the workshop was familiar. However, because I mainly have a background in slide presentations, it was very beneficial for me to learn poster-making skills from an expert. I learned that the poster has to tell a story that attracts people passing by while also maintaining an easily digestible presentation, both visually and informationally. Color schemes and design styles can make the presentation appealing, but the choice must be meaningful. There are also traditional formats that one can follow when making a poster presentation: three vertical columns. However, there are stylistic changes that can be made that can actually enhance the presentation and better fit the figures one is trying to display.

Once I met with my mentor after my morning meetings, she took my fellow intern and me around our cubicle area to look at the various graduate posters on the wall. Most of the posters were in different disciplines, but they provided me with even more inspiration on how I could format my poster.

Another aspect of my project that I have been working on is my abstract. Like poster-making, I have previous experience in writing abstracts. However, it was primarily over literature-based research. The format of my abstract completely changed over time as I got feedback from others and I am proud to have submitted its finalized version. As many others would say, the hardest part about writing an abstract is condensing everything you did and learned into a brief paragraph. There is so much information that is valuable but exceeds the character limit. I believe writing this abstract allowed me to further develop my writing skills since I had to figure out ways to rewrite and condense sentences that are very information-heavy.

Lastly, this week was the last week for the teacher working in the same lab as me. Alongside my mentor and another graduate student, we attended the first poster session of the teacher symposium. It was a little bittersweet to say goodbye, but it was exciting to have weeks of lab work come to full fruition for everyone to see. I am excited to see my poster come to life in about a week.