The 2026 Berkeley Lab Research SLAM was held on Wednesday, September 23, from 3:00–4:30 p.m. in Berkeley Lab’s Building 50 Auditorium. SLAM alumni Syed Saqline and Thasneem Frousnoon co-hosted the culminating live event, where 12 early-career scientists delivered compelling three-minute talks about their research. A distinguished panel of judges from academia, government, and industry selected the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-place winners, while the in-person audience voted for the People’s Choice Award. First place was awarded to Hakyung Lee of the Biosciences Area. Second place went to Adway Gupta of the Energy Science Area. Paula-Marie Ivey of the Energy Sciences Area won third place, and Mythili Surendran of the Energy Science Area won the People's Choice Award.
Embedded Files
2026 SLAM Winners
2026 SLAM Winners
1st Place
1st Place
Hakyung Lee
Biosciences
"The Picky Metal-Shopping Bacterium"
2nd Place
2nd Place
Adway Gupta
Energy Sciences
"Ions in Batteries: The More the Merrier?"
3rd Place
3rd Place
Paula-Marie Ivey
Energy Sciences
"X-rays: Connecting Invisible Dots to Unlock Discovery"
People's Choice
People's Choice
Mythili Surendran
Energy Sciences
"Quantum Computing's Dirty Secret"
2026 SLAM Finalists
2026 SLAM Finalists
Flavien Maucourt - "Phage Therapy, the Alternative to Antibiotics"
Flavien Maucourt - "Phage Therapy, the Alternative to Antibiotics"
Hakyung Lee - "The Picky Metal-Shopping Bacterium"
Hakyung Lee - "The Picky Metal-Shopping Bacterium"
Sora Yu - "Can't Move Out? Remodel the Neighbors!"
Sora Yu - "Can't Move Out? Remodel the Neighbors!"
Anupam Mitra - "Tuning into a Quantum Magnet
Anupam Mitra - "Tuning into a Quantum Magnet
Durga Keerthi Mandarapu - Are Your Fluffy Dogs as Unpredictable as my Computer Programs?
Durga Keerthi Mandarapu - Are Your Fluffy Dogs as Unpredictable as my Computer Programs?
Adway Gupta - "Ions in Batteries: The More the Merrier?"
Emma Archer - "From Potluck to Plutonium: Discovering the Recipe"
Londrea Garrett - "The Dual-Use Conundrum: Shining a Light on What Happens in a Nuclear Reactor"
Mythili Surendran - "Quantum Computing's Dirty Secret"
Paula-Marie Ivey - "X-rays: Connecting Invisible Dots to Unlock Discovery"
Zhiting Chen - "Bridging Molecules to a Printable Future"
Alec Lindman - "The Case of the Ghostly Neutrinos and their Mysterious Mass"
Alec Lindman - "The Case of the Ghostly Neutrinos and their Mysterious Mass"
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