book on grain quality methods is out!
One of the projects I spent a lot of time on in my final year at the International Rice Research Institute (as a scientist) was contributing to seven chapters in a book of grain quality methods. After many months in the making, the book has finally been released.
Writing the different chapters was like reflecting on the past years that I've been in the laboratory (I started off as a researcher; then I became a scholar, a post-doctoral fellow, and then a scientist). The chapters I contributed to described protocols in characterising rice grain quality using the usual protocols and non-routine methodologies. In some of the chapters, I wrote content that provided context to possible applications and data interpretation coming from the results of assays I haven't performed yet (e.g., inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry and near infrared spectroscopy).
People come and go; the lab is in constant flux. The group I started out with has largely moved on to other career paths and adventures. The scientist who started grain quality research has passed on (the book is dedicated to him). The scientist who established the Grain Quality and Nutrition Centre is a professor at the University of Queensland. Others who started as researchers have gone to Australia after getting their PhDs. Some are currently pursuing graduate degrees. Two associate scientists have retired.
Though the original group has gone, this book is a record of the accomplishments we've had over the years as a team... and a starting point for the people who will continue on with the important work of ensuring that newly developed rice varieties satisfy farmer and consumer preferences.
