This past week, Nico (the Bailey Lab’s 5th-year mechanical engineering graduate student) presented his work at the 25th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (microTAS 2021) in Palm Springs, California. The microTAS conferences are a platform for scientists to report recent advances in microfluidics, microfabrication, nanotechnology, and detection technologies, among other topics, in life science and chemistry. Nico was able to hear cutting-edge research talks, network with other scientists, and present his work: “A droplet-based phase grating for refractometry and viscometry” in the “Sensors and Detection Technologies” poster session. The return to in-person conferences also allowed Nico to explore a new area, something which we have all enjoyed viewing through his many photos of the desert landscape!