We decided to do a mini-symposium to conclude two months of hard work. We had a number of fantastic undergraduate students joining our regular crew of grad students. They include newly joined UI undergrad Sophia Dallal (profile coming soon) and our REU student Katelyn Nguyen, who came to us from UCSD. Click [here](https://www.binhe-lab.org/news/2025-summer-symposium] to read more …

We spent a half day talking science, with lively discussions, accompanied by a hearty breakfast and a pizza lunch (MESA, local favorite). We even had some fun playing a Bingo game and gave out two awards to the best graduate and undergraduate talks. Congratulations Baylee and Arib (forgot to take photos).

Lastly, big shout out to Emily and Baylee, who did much of the organizing, which include making up a compact yet rich schedule and ordering food.

In addition to science, we also had some fun outside the lab playing sand volleyball. Our captain is a 10+ year veteran of the sport, Emily. While the team, due to its inexperience, has been smashed by our fearsome opponents, we are having lots of fun nonetheless. See picture!

Picture legend (clockwise from top left): Kelsey Martin posing with her awesome T-shirt and Pipette Power! then Jess, Zoe and Seren, and Kelsey in front of their posters.