Winners of WSC21: People in Science

The following post list the winners of WSC 2021.

The winning submission of People in Science category shows us research activity of young scientists at the Kyiv and Kaniv reservoirs. It was made by Olena Bilous.

Comment from the author:

My name is Olena Bilous and I am a young scientist. My research deals mainly with aquatic ecosystems. More specifically, its main focus is the investigation of algal diversity, as well as the nomenclature, taxonomy, ecology, and geographical distribution of such organisms.

In the photo, you see me and my colleagues working on a scientific project whose main focus is the description of the interactions between aquatic plants and cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater reservoir ecosystems. It is believed that aquatic plants inhibit or reduce the development of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), and we monitor the phenomenon in specific ecosystems.

The boats are standing in Kyiv Reservoir during the period of cyanobacterial water bloom, in a cluster of aquatic species called water caltrop (Trapa natans L.) and yellow waterlily (Nuphar lutea (L.) Sm.). You may observe how we usually collect samples in the water body for further analysis in the laboratory. During such field trips, we also perform some simple measurements of physicochemical parameters of the water (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, salinity and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)) in each sampling site. They are measured using multifunction device AZ-86031 (AZ Instrument corp., Taiwan). A complete hydrochemical analysis is done later in the laboratory, where I also identify species of algae under the microscope.

Comment from the jury:

Images showing scientists at work in the field, and specifically in wild areas, are usually appreciated in this category, and this file is no exception. This image captures the concept of team effort behind an expedition, presenting the complexity of the human factor and the structured teamwork. The natural environment under study is correctly presented in the snapshot but, thanks to its relative homogeneity, it does not deflect too much attention to the boats, where all the different equipment are displayed.

Runners-up:

Investigation of active Coulomb systems in colloidal plasma. Mixxy 2m from Russia.
Geological fieldworks in the Estonian underground oilshale mine. Peeter Paaver from Estonia.
Students in the limestone fields, looking for fossils. Peeter Paaver from Estonia.
Women of the FMN Laboratory team acquiring SEM images of manufactured devices. FMNLab from Russia.
FMN Laboratory researcher in the process of assembling a neuromorphic processor based on a photonic integrated circuit. FMNLab from Russia.
Study of geological samples. Владимир Андреевич Гурьев from Russia.

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