The 15th International Symposium on Bioplastics, Biocomposites and Biorefining (ISBBB) took place from July 24 - 27, 2018 at the Delta Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre. The event was attended by over 300 delegates from 25 countries. Participation representation was from academia, industry, and the government sector, with a high rate of participation from trainees.

The judges for this year's poster awards competition were Prof. Srikanth Pilla from Clemson University, USA; Prof. Nandika D'Souza from the University of North Texas, USA; and Dr. Jaya Shankar Tumuluru from Idaho National Laboratory, USA. 

The poster competition was split into three separate categories: Undergraduate, Graduate (Masters, PhD), and Senior Researchers (Post-Doc, Professors, etc.). 

The following prizes were awarded to presenters in each category:

Undergraduate Category:

First Place: Ximing Li, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Synthesis of highly fluorescent carbon dots using trans-aconitic acid and diethylenetriamine

Second Place: Xuning Zhang, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Fabrication of Graphite/Cellulose Composite Paper as Flexible Electrode

Third Place: Alexandra Ball, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

En route to biographite oxide production

Graduate Category:

First Place: Caihua Shi, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

Encapsulation and Triggered Release of Aldehydes from Their Imidazolidine Precursors for Shelf-life Extension of Fruits 

Second Place: Muhammad Safder, University of Alberta, SC, USA

Synthesis and Characterization of lipid based biopolymers and bionanocomposites from poultry industry by-product 

Third Place: Ewomazino Ojogbo, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

Hydrophobic Starch-Laurate Graft Polymers: Synthesis, and Structure – Property Correlations 

Senior Researchers:

First Place: Sonil Nanda, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

Fuel gas production from pellets made of agricultural residues

Second Place: Zhihui Yi, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Fluorescent Carbon Dots

Third Place: Yaseen Elkasabi, USDA-ARS, USA

Sustainable chemicals and products from fast pyrolysis bio-oils