Gustitus, Barde win top prizes at Finish in 5 competition

Graduate students Sarah Gustitus of civil engineering and Mehul Barde of polymer and fiber engineering won the top prizes Wednesday at Auburn Engineering’s first Finish in 5 competition.

Sponsored by the Council of Engineering Graduate Students, the competition consists of five-minute, rapid-fire research presentations. A panel of faculty judges score each presenter on clarity, organization and speaking ability.

Gustitus was the overall winner, and Barde won the People’s Choice, which is based on audience voting.

Gustitus’ presentation was titled “Effects of crude oil weathering on oil-mineral interactions, and implications for the mitigation of oil spills in nearshore environments.” Barde’s presentation was on “High performance bio oil-based polymers and resins.”

To learn more about CEGS, visit eng.auburn.edu/organizations/cegs.

Sarah Gustitus	Mehul Barde