Poster Presentation at AbSciCon 2022
Author: Hailey Littlrell | Major: Biology | Semester: Spring 2022
For my research, I grow methanogens, which is a microorganism, in the presence of kaolinite, which is a type of clay. Methanogens release methane as a byproduct, meaning that the presence of methane could indicate the presence of life. Both methane and kaolinite have been identified on Mars.
For my conference, I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to participate in AbSciCon, a conference for the astrobiology community to come together and share new ideas and ongoing research. I got to present a poster in a poster hall, and meet with undergraduates, graduates, post-docs, and professionals in my field of interest. The best part was going to panels, where researchers gave talks on recent and ongoing research. I was able to attend several that were of interest to me, about many different topics.
When I presented my poster, several people gave helpful insights into how to improve my experiment, as well as new ideas for future projects. One person suggested that I sterilize and clean the kaolinite so that there are little to no contaminants that could affect the experiment. Those who gave feedback and discussed ideas about my poster were incredibly helpful, and just from their conversations alone, I learned so much. Presenting my work and looking at other students’ work helped me to get a better idea of what was going on in the astrobiology community and helped put into perspective exactly how important this research is.
This was my first conference, as well as my first look into the astrobiology community and its work. It helped to solidify my place in the community and made me feel that I am capable of being a part of this field. I met several people, mostly graduate students, who were pursuing a career in research in astrobiology or something related. It was incredibly helpful to talk to other students who were on a similar path that I am trying to follow, I feel that I am more capable of achieving my career goals and it helped solidify the idea of going to graduate school. It also gave me a realistic perspective on what kind of work I would be doing in the future. Once I have completed this experiment, I will be looking for my next project to begin. I now know what to realistically expect when creating an idea for an experiment and what my limits are, which will help to steer me in the right direction. I will continue to perform experiments within this field and expand my knowledge as an aspiring scientist, and I will continue to look for opportunities to work with NASA.
My advice to any student attending this event would be to reach out to anyone that has work that you are interested in and tell them about how you love their work. Ask questions, start a discussion, and don’t be afraid to say something. This is a great place to get your foot in the door with people who have similar interests as you. As an undergraduate, I know that I am early in my career, and I am grateful to have been given this opportunity so early.