At the 10th annual Georgia Tech Postdoctoral Research Symposium, seven postdoctoral scholars were awarded conference travel awards for their outstanding presentations. Hosted by the Office of Postdoctoral Services on Nov. 8, the symposium featured 21 postdocs presenting innovative and diverse research through 10-minute research talks and 5-minute lightning talks.

Congratulations to the following winners:
Huanqi He, Best Research Talk Overall

Building plumbing influences the microbial diversity and turnover patterns of the drinking water microbiome

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Hannah Youngblood, Best Lightning Talk Overall

Understanding the biochemistry of glaucoma-relevant protein LOXL1

School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Kunal Datta, Best Research Talk from the College of Engineering

Nanoscopic structural control in lower-dimensional metal halide perovskite semiconductors through physical vapor deposition 

School of Materials Science and Engineering

Daniel Benkeser, Best Lightning Talk from the College of Engineering

Utilizing machine learning to optimize limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) mix designs 

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Yinghao Wen, Best Research Talk from the College of Sciences

Fundamental understanding and sequential recovery of critical metals from solid wastes

School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

Chi-Ho Chan, Best Lightning Talk from the College of Sciences

Electromagnetic signatures of massive black hole binaries heading for merger

School of Physics

Milka Trajkova, Best Talk from the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

aiDance: How can we quantify a plié? 

 School of Literature, Media, and Communication 

Franziska Roscher, Best Talk from the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

How clientelist party mobilization closes the gender turnout gap: Theory and evidence from India

Sam Nunn School of International Affairs

Thank you to the Executive Vice President for Research, the Deans of Engineering, Sciences, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education for sponsoring the awards. 

Appreciation is extended to the following judges for the event:

• Sarah Brackmann, Director of Community-Based Learning, Office of Experiential and Engaged Learning
• Laura Carruth, Associate Vice Provost for Transformative Teaching and Learning and Executive Director, Center for Teaching & Learning
• Jay Forrest, Assistant Dean for Content Strategy and Development, GT Library
• Andrew Hummel, Lecturer, Nuclear & Radiological Engineering & Medical Physics
• Jordan Moore, Faculty/User Experience Librarian, GT Library
• Lakshmi Raju, Director of Student Engagement and Well-Being, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Haley Steele, Academic Professional, Biological Sciences
• Alison Valk, Multimedia and Emerging Technologies Librarian, GT Library

We are thankful to the following postdocs who assisted with abstract reviews:

• Eduardo Gigante, Biological Sciences
• Mridula Nandi, Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Jimin Lee, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
• Vardhan Satalkar, Biological Sciences

View the photos from this year's Symposium here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBRzhV