Students and faculty go through a lot to share their research. This group of CEE students and faculty endured the hottest two days in Sydney, Australia, that the city has had in over 70 years. Temperatures exceeded 110 degrees Farenheit, but that didn’t keep them from presenting at the 11th Annual International Water Association (IWA) Symposium on Tastes, Odours & Algal Toxins in Water. Six researchers from Virginia Tech had the opportunity to present during the conference that took place in mid-February at the University of South Wales. Those presenters were:
Andrea M. Dietrich: Themed speaker on Occurrence and detection of taste and odour compounds and algal toxins
Daniel Gallagher: Themed speaker on Intricacies of odour response to chemicals in Mixtures
Co-Authors: Katherine Phetxumphou, Elizabeth Smiley, and Andrea M. Dietrich
Katherine Phetxumphou (CEE Ph.D. Student): Speaker on Improving consumer lexicon to describe aesthetic issues in water quality
Co-Authors: Aarathi Raghuraman and Andrea M. Dietrich
Xiaoyan Ma (Former CEE Visiting Scholar. Professor at Zhejiang University of Technology in China): Speaker occurrence of phenylacetonitrile as an odourous nitrogenous disinfection by-products in drinking water and its amino acid and algal precursors
Co-Authors: Jing Deng, Jiao Feng, Narasimhamurthy Shanaiah, Elizabeth Smiley, and Andrea M. Dietrich
Alli Wang (VT Ph.D Graduate Food and Science Technology): Speaker on Effect of drinking water minerals on sweetness and metallic taste perception and emotional response of sweetened beverage
Co-Authors: Susan Duncan, Andrea M. Dietrich
Susan Duncan (VT Professor of Food Science and Technology): Speaker on assessment of drinking water quality and user perceptions between filling stations and water fountains on a college campus: A mixed methods approach
Co-Authors: Courtney A. Crist, Andrea M. Dietrich, Matthew Schroeder
The symposium is known as the most reputable specialist event in the field of taste, odour and algal toxins in water. The participants had the opportunity to view poster presentations and attend workshop sessions focusing on recent innovations in the field.