BioKansas Release: Kansas Graduate Students Present Research To State Legislators

TOPEKA, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 14^th Annual Capitol Graduate Research Summit was held on March 10, 2017 at the Kansas State Capitol Building. Over 40 of the best and brightest graduate students from across the state presented their research on topics including biotechnology, agriculture, civil engineering, among others. “One of the best parts about this event is the great diversity in research topics we see from students. It really broadens everyone’s understanding of what is happening around Kansas,” said Dennis Ridenour, President & CEO of BioKansas. Students focused on explaining the results of their research and how it would benefit the state of Kansas.

“One of the best parts about this event is the great diversity in research topics we see from students. It really broadens everyone’s understanding of what is happening around Kansas”

Students were judged by individuals from each University, as well as select industry judges provided by BioKansas. Students were judged based on their poster organization, methods, oral presentation skills, and relevance to state issues. After the scores were tallied, each University selected their highest scoring student to receive an award. BioKansas judges also evaluated commercialization potential of each research project, and awarded $500 scholarships to winning students from each University. The following students received awards from their institutions and BioKansas:

ESU: Mary M. Ralston (University) and Thomas Houk (BioKansas)
FHSU: Adam Rusk (Both)
KSU: Ryan Schmid (University) and Zheng Zhao (BioKansas)
PSU: Rachel Bechtold (University) and Sanket Bhoyate (BioKansas)
KU: Cate Wisdom (Both)
KUMC: Jacob New (Both)
WSU: Kelsay E. Gardipey & Alicia Keow (University) and Mostafa Hasan (BioKansas)

About BioKansas: BioKansas serves as the voice of the bioscience community in Kansas, connecting, educating and advocating to grow bioscience jobs in human, animal and plant science technologies across the state. BioKansas is a member- and donor-funded 501(c)(3) public charity. BioKansas programs include monthly bioBreak networking events and educational programs that are open to people who are involved with and interested in the biosciences, health care and medical devices. BioKansas also runs awards programs for students in high school through post-doc studies, including the BioGENEius Challenge. If you would like more information about BioKansas, visit http://www.BioKansas.org.