Sibia Ranjbar wins best student poster presentation at international conference

The College of Engineering congratulates Sibia Ranjbar, Ph.D. candidate, in her recent success at the Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation's 30th annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water and Energy, which was held in Amherst, Massachusetts from October 20-23. Sibia was awarded the Calgon Carbon Corporation best student poster presentation. Presentations were judged on originality, organization, communication, research techniques and overall quality of the presentation. The judging panel was comprised of members from the Conference Scientific Advisory Board and representatives from sponsoring organizations.

Sibia's presentation was titled "Microalgae for wastewater treatment and biofuel production: Effect of pharmaceuticals on cellular lipid content." The presentation outlined her research on the affects of common pharmaceuticals, present in municipal wastewater, on lipid accumulation in microalgae. Sibia's faculty advisor is Benoit Van Aken, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.