Savinda Aponso has been named one the Spring 2017 Undergraduate of the Quarter and we couldn’t be happier for him. Although he plans to graduate at the end of this year, he has spent most of his life in Corvallis and has been associated with Oregon State before he even decided where he wanted to go to college.

While Savinda was in high school he was part of ASE, the Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering, which during his junior year helped him get his first experience in a lab. He was selected to work in Dr. Subramanian’s lab. Along with the scholarships, he got to the school, his experiences in the lab helped him decide that OSU was his school of choice.

During his freshman year, he started working in Dr. Koley’s lab. His work focuses on sensors that detects bacterial metabolites and the interactions bacteria have with dental composites. He was trying to see how the smart dental composites react to changes in the local pH environment and how they work to prevent secondary cavities.

After he graduates at the end of this term, he is planning to apply to medical school and take a year off from school. During his year off he is hoping to finish his research projects for Dr. Koley and continue to be a researcher at least part-time. Savinda doesn’t know exactly what he wants to study to medical school, but he is interested in hematology.

Savinda’s favorite film is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He loves to eat sushi since it is his favorite food. His ideal vacation would be traveling through Europe. His favorite class was the Experimental 460 labs that he worked with Dr. Pastorek.

Students like Savinda are a huge part of what makes our Department so great. We wish him well in the future, and cannot wait to see what his next big adventure is.