Robin Sweeney's Conference Summary
Robin Sweeney
Ph.D. Student
Biomedical Engineering GIDP
Conference Summary
SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing: Commercial + Scientific Sensing and Imaging
Anaheim, California
Attending SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing: Commercial + Scientific Sensing and Imaging 2017 provided me with a wide variety of experiences. To start the conference, I attended numerous research presentations from leaders in both industry and academia. I was able to get an overview of some of the newest research in areas such as bacterial detection, species and strain identification (ex. MRSA vs. MSSA or pathogenic vs. non-pathogenic E. coli), and the use of augmented reality in research, industry, and even in space. I spent much of my time attending the Advanced Environmental, Chemical, and Biological Sensing Technologies XIV conference, which I presented in.
On the second day of the conference, I presented in the Chemical Sensing + Biomedical Diagnostic Systems session of the above conference. My twenty minute presentation resulted in many questions and much interest from those in attendance. Following my presentation, I was approached by industry leaders to further discuss the methods, impact, and future directions of my own research.
One of the highlights of the conference were the plenary sessions. Presentations were given by Thomas J. Burns (Director, Strategic Technology Office; Defense Advanced Research Agency) and Parker Abercrombie (Immersive Visualization Project Lead, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory). The presentation by Parker Abercrombie was of particular interest to me. He discussed the ways that NASA is using state-of-the-art augmented reality technologies to explore Mars, train astronauts, and to aid the development of new rovers and spacecraft. As someone who works in a smartphone-based biosensor lab, it was interesting to see the ways that augmented reality is being used already. One key area that this presentation touched on was the potential for combining augmented reality with telemedicine for instances where astronauts require medical attention in space, but physicians remain on Earth.
Throughout the latter portion of the conference, I attended the industry exhibition and job fair. Here, I had the opportunity to speak to leaders and recruiters for numerous companies about what exactly they do and saw how my background and degree could fit into various areas within industry. At the job fair in particular, I spoke to recruiters at various companies and got a good idea of options I could potentially explore following my graduation. It was quite encouraging to get positive feedback on and excitement about the work that I have pursued here at the University of Arizona to prepare me for a job in the future.
Throughout the conference, I attended several social and networking events, such as the Welcome Reception and the student networking lunch. At these events I had the chance to speak to other conference attendees in a more casual setting, which was particularly helpful for learning about the various paths people took to get to where they are currently.
Overall, the conference was a positive and successful experience, both for the presentation of my research and as someone who is getting close to graduation and trying to figure out my next steps.