Abhishek Rajbanshi was awarded a Rideal Travel Bursary to attend the 36th European Colloid & Interface Society Conference in Crete, Greece. Here he tells us about his research and his highlights from the conference.
"I am a 3rd year PhD candidate working in Dr Cook’s group at the University of Hertfordshire and King’s College London. My research focuses on the synthesis and investigation of novel branched copolymer surfactants to generate thermoresponsive emulsions. Thermoresponsive materials of this type are uncommon and novel having a wide range of applications. These highly functional materials have the potential to switch from a liquid to gel state upon warming and form in-situ gelation for drug delivery to topical or parenteral sites.
"It was a great experience attending the 36th European Colloid and Interface Society (ECIS 2022) conference from 4 – 9 September 2022 in Crete, Greece. This was my first in-person international conference of my PhD as most of the conferences I've attended and presented at were based online due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. I actively participated in the conference and presented my research during the poster session. This led to many interesting discussions with other scientists at varying stages of their careers and I received a lot of valuable feedback.
"The ECIS 2022 conference was a great platform to learn the broader aspect of polymer and colloid science. Listening to the great talks by the conference participants broadened my horizons and motivated me to excel in my field. The networking session with researchers and academics from different parts of the world was extremely beneficial. We shared many new ideas and I learned a great deal about the work of others. I also had an amazing time engaging with another culture, especially the group from Charles University, Prague. This has provided me with opportunities for European collaboration to take my research further.
"Overall, I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend and present a poster at ECIS 2022, and would like to thank the supervisory team from the University of Hertfordshire and King's College London for their constant support. Moreover, I would like to thank the Rideal Travel Bursary and the RSC Researcher Development Grant for the funds that enabled me to attend this conference."
Abhishek Rajbanshi
PhD student
Department of Life and Medical Sciences
University of Hertfordshire
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