The Biotechnology Division Student Excellence Award recognizes graduate students presenting outstanding oral or poster presentations within the Biotechnology technical program at the AOCS Annual Meeting.
What does the recipient receive?
- Certificate
- Complimentary AOCS Annual Meeting Registration
- Up to US $500 travel allowance
- Complimentary Biotechnology Division meal ticket
- Opportunity to present an award lecture at the AOCS Annual Meeting
Who is eligible?
Students presenting within the Biotechnology Division technical program at the AOCS Annual Meeting:
-
- whose abstract is relevant to biotechnological research and development of fats and oils
- who have never received the Biotechnology Division Student Award
How do I nominate someone?
Login to the Awards Portal to submit the following application materials.
- Complete application questions using the Awards Portal
- Letter of support from the student’s academic advisor
- At least one other letter of support from anyone familiar with the student’s academic endeavors
- University transcripts
- Detailed Curriculum Vitae
- Abstract submitted for the current year’s AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo
Most Recent Recipient
Laura J. Castellanos-Suárez is a Ph.D. candidate and Master in Food Science and Technology at The Ohio State University, working under the guidance of Dr. Osvaldo Campanella and Dr. Rafael Jimenez-Florez. She holds both a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Industrial de Santander in Colombia.
Laura’s research focuses on the valorization of agro-industrial byproducts within a biorefinery framework, specifically transforming waste streams from the dairy and poultry industries into high-value functional ingredients. Her work uniquely combines hands-on experimental research with advanced computational modeling, including kinetic analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), to optimize fermentation systems.
An active member of the AOCS since 2020, Laura currently serves as the Secretary of Education and Treasurer for the Biotechnology Division. Her leadership extends to serving as president of the Phi Tau Sigma Buckeye Chapter and receiving the Sustainability Institute Student Grant to support her research on bioactive peptides.