Throwback Third Thursday - April 2015 (sorry it's late)

This month's Throwback Third Thursday (#tbtt) is a day late (so I guess its actually a Flashback Friday) and only looks back one day but for good reason: I didn't have time!  The past few days I have been busy with the Genetics Graduate Student Association (GGSA) Spring Symposium featuring keynote speakers Dr. Bruce Budowle and Dr. Jeffrey Bennetzen.  As Vice-President of GGSA, I was in charge of planning the event and it went GREAT!  Our only criticism was there wasn't enough time for poster judging (but that was more of a venue availability problem than anything else).  And what I am most grateful for, there was a good number of people who were incredibly helpful with set up and clean up.  Amazing!

Our speakers were INCREDIBLE!  Dr. Jeffrey Bennetzen, University of Georgia, and Dr. Bruce Budowle, University of North Texas and a member of my graduate committee, couldn't be further apart on the genomics spectrum but their charisma and impeccable story telling abilities made for a very entertaining and educational evening for all.  We learned about applied genomics in plant breeding and forensics, respectively, from world-renowned, highly sought after scientists who are experts in their fields.  We were incredibly fortunate to have gotten two such wonderful speakers to agree to speak at our little symposium!

Dr. Bruce Budowle

Dr. Jeffrey Bennetzen