Hi, my name is Saeed, I am a PhD student at the University of Nottingham in the School of Biosciences, and on the 14th of November I attended an Early Career Researchers Meeting on the Environmental Chemistry of Water, Sediment and Soil at the Royal Society of Chemistry.PhD Research
I am investigating the availability of iodine and selenium in soil and their uptake by crop plants in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Gilgit-Baltistan is an extremely remote area in North East Pakistan and situated at the border region of Pakistan, China and India. The landscape of the area is very mountainous and more than half of the area is located 4500 meters above sea level. The local population is largely dependent on locally produced agriculture produce. The Gilgit-Baltistan area has a high rate of endemic goitre and a low concentration of urinary iodine in the local population. The overall aims of my study are to assess the factors controlling the iodine and selenium status in soils, water and plants in Gilgit-Baltistan, and ultimately examine the effects on the local population. I have recently collected soil, plants and water samples from GB which I am currently analysing by using different analytical techniques. After completing a preliminary investigation and obtaining some data on iodine and selenium contents of soil and wheat crop I presented a poster on Geochemistry of iodine and selenium in Gilgit-Baltistan at the Royal Society of Chemistry in London. |
| Students from the Geochemistry Group attending the conference. |
Excitement and concern
Leading up to the conference I was both excited and concerned. I was excited that I would have the opportunity to present my work and talk with other early career researchers. My concern was about missing the train and not getting to conference on time as I had to catch an early train from Nottingham. Luckily I managed to catch 6.30 am train and got to the conference venue on time along with my other colleagues from the Geochemistry Group from the University of Nottingham. |
| Chris Collins presenting me with my 1st prize certificate. |
Poster Presentation
When we arrived at the Royal society of Chemistry, we were welcomed at the registration desk by very friendly staff from the organising committee and were guided to the poster stands. After putting my poster up, I walked around the lobby and glanced at the other posters. Everybody’s poster was very impressive, eye catching, and presenting new ideas and findings on a variety of topics in environmental chemistry. All those who gave oral presentation also did really well. Two of my colleagues Baset and Heather gave amazing presentations on iodine and selenium.A Great Result
The key note speaker Professor Chris Collins also gave an impressive presentation. It was a great day and I had the opportunity to speak to researchers from other universities across the UK, it was amazing to see what other people are researching. The posters were judged by the judges during poster sessions and lunch break. At the end of the day a prize giving ceremony took place, and the conference organisers announced that I had won 1st prize in the poster competition! When they called my name I couldn’t believe it! I felt extremely happy and honoured to go to the front and receive the certificate and a prize from Professor Chris Collins. It was a day that I’ll never forget. It all happened due to the invaluable support and guidance I get from my supervisors who are always available whenever I need them and for encouraging me and the whole group to attend such events. My day began with the stress and worry of missing the train and ended with the joys and happiness of winning the 1st prize.My PhD is supervised by Dr Scott Young and Dr Liz Bailey from the University of Nottingham and Dr Michael Watts from BGS, within the joint Centre for Environmental Geochemistry.
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