By Chyi-Shin Chen
These past few weeks have not been as busy as previous ones. We had previously completed an extensive fermentation campaign, so we were working on a simpler fermentation process that lasted only for a day. But I learned new concepts during the process. There are several details that need to be attended to during a single study, which can be understood only when performed. Besides fermentation, we had two interesting training sessions: Watson-Marlow pump operation and SAS-JMP software training.
Watson-Marlow is a company that specializes in peristaltic and OEM pumps, hoses, tubes, and other related equipment. Their headquarters is in England, and they have acquired many European companies specializing in pumps and tubes. Watson-Marlow sent three representatives to ABPDU to demonstrate the efficient operation of their pumps. This training only lasted for about two hours, but was very useful. For example, not many people know that there is a mode, “Memodose”, which kicks in if you push the “stop” button two times. This mode can remember the pumping time and do it again automatically. After the training, I chatted with Rich, their sales manager and found out that he is also an alumnus of UC Berkeley. What a surprise!
SAS-JMP is a very powerful statistical software that is used extensively both in research and industry. It can automatically generate many charts and perform comparisons and calculations based on the data input from our experiment result. JMP can also predict or give an optimal condition in a well-defined environment. I can’t say I am familiar with JMP because I just started to learn this powerful tool. However, by participating in this training, I got a quick overview of it and understood how ABPDU applies this software into its experimental design and data analysis.
Overall, I liked these trainings very much. They gave me a thorough understanding about one topic and I now know how to apply them to our daily use. Also, I will keep learning JMP by myself as its performance is so amazing and I can do this by several online demonstration videos offered by SAS.