As a Final Year Project, students from the Division of Science and Technology (DST) of UIC presented their finest research results after long and elaborate preparations, in the First Undergraduate Science & Technology Poster Presentation on the afternoon of 20 March.
The audience eagerly views the posters
"The research training teaches you how to identify important problems to be solved, how to formulate a strategy to solve them, how to gather and analyse available information, and how to carry out your work plan to achieve the goals," said Prof. Ng Ching-Fai, President of UIC, in his opening speech.
Prof. Ng Ching-Fai and Xu Yihang, a student from the Computer Science and Technology Programme, discussing Xu's research
"UIC equips students with life-long learning and working skills so that they will be better able to adapt to the fast changing world," remarked Prof. Stephen Chung, Dean of DST. Besides research skills, students in the annual Undergraduate Poster Presentation were required to demonstrate good communication skills to explain complicated concepts related to their research findings.
Prof. Stephen Chung says that researchers in a poster presentation present their research information at a conference with an academic or professional focus
Zheng Zhongdaixi, who earned the Best Poster Award, assessed heavy metal contents in some fishery product samples from Qi'ao Island in Zhuhai. "I examined copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) among 11 species of fish, one species of shrimp and one species of oyster, and the study showed that the oyster samples were at risk of contamination by Cu and Cd," said Zheng, who is a student in the Environmental Science Programme.
Zheng illustrates her research to the audience
Zhang Zhengyu, who studies in the same programme as Zheng Zhongdaixi, said during his presentation, "All of the mean concentration levels of heavy metals in the top soil in Jinwan and Hengqin regions, Zhuhai, are below the contamination standards; however, that of Zn in Doumen is over the standard, probably due to the region's heavy traffic, industrial activities and other urbanisation processes."
Zhang introduces his project to Prof. Ruan Huada, Programme Coordinator of Environmental Science
Wu Manjie and her teammates from the Applied Psychology Programme were investigating how meditation influences university students' Internet addiction regarding a number of psychological disorders. Undertaking this study was favoured by most students.
Prof. Zhang Genfa, Registrar, awards Wu and her teammates the Student Choice Award
Studying in Food Science and Technology, Zhang Mutian formulated a new recipe for laksa paste in a safe and healthy way that avoided preservatives but maintained laksa's antioxidant effects. "The commercial promotion of this new product must be carefully considered because it needs perfecting," Zhang said.
Dr. Karen Poon, Associate Dean of DST, takes an ardent interest in Zhang's developing product
At the end of the award ceremony, Prof. Mildred Yang from the Food Science and Technology Programme applauded the students' efforts. "A poster presentation is very common in western scientific conferences, in which people have to make full use of limited time to elaborate their research findings in a poster of limited size to draw the audience's attention. It thus requires both the research and English communication skills of UIC students, and most of what they presented today is extraordinarily interesting and fascinating."
The judges and the awarded students
The list of the awards
The Student Choice Award:
"Effects of Meditation on Intervening In Internet Addiction"
WU Manjie, WANG Qianyi, ZHU Yizhou, LIU Xing, LIN Ting, LI Yifei and FAN Jinxuan (Applied Psychology Programme)
The Outstanding Poster Award:
1) "Gender Affects Perceiving the Association between Darkness and Weight"
LIU Qing-bin and LIN Lu (Applied Psychology Programme)
2) "Chinese Shadow Puppetry with an Interactive Interface Using the Kinect Sensor"
SONG Yuhao, CHEN Zhuo, CAI Ji, SHEN Peilin, QIU Jian, FU Xu, ZHANG Yiyuan and ZHUO Chen (Computer Science and Technology Programme)
3)"Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Fishery Products of Qi'ao Island in Zhuhai City"
ZHENG Zhongdaixi (Environmental Science Programme)
4) "Growth Characterization of a Novel Anti-Estrogen Resistant Ovarian Cancer Cell Line"
ZHU Jinheng (Food Science and Technology Programme)
5) "On the Component-wised Condition Number of Random Sparse Matrix" (Statistics)
ZHANG Shihao (Statistics Programme)
The Best Poster Award:
"Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Fishery Products of Qi'ao Island in Zhuhai City"
ZHENG Zhongdaixi (Environmental Science Programme)
Photographers: Irene Yu and Liu Chang
Editor: Deen He
(from MPRO, with special thanks to the ELC)
