Postdocs captivate at 2023 LLNL Research SLAM!

Gathered in a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) auditorium on Thursday, Aug. 24, a dozen LLNL postdocs used three minutes and a single slide to answer the question "Why is my research important?" Lab trivia, guest appearances from previous Research SLAM! winners and thematic walk-up music for each of the finalists added to the festive atmosphere of the live event.

Talks were judged using an extensive rubric quantifying intellectual significance, individual contribution to the project, clarity, delivery, visuals and engagement. The panel of judges included Lab Director Kim Budil, Associate Deputy Director Sandra Brereton, Chief Protocol Officer Dustin Riggs, Laboratory Directed Research and Development Director Doug Rotman and Alan Wan, executive director of University of California National Laboratory Programs.

Once the talks had been given, the finalists and audience members adjourned to a reception in the cafeteria while the judges deliberated. Budil and the judges then joined the reception to announce the three winners, in addition to a People’s Choice winner determined by applause from the audience.

Budil congratulated all the finalists on a job well done, addressing how much preparation went into the compelling talks.

“All of the participants did an exceptionally good job of framing and motivating their research projects," she said. "Everybody just knocked that out of the park. It’s so important to explain why your research is important to people who aren't in your field, and you all presented an amazing array of topics. If you can engage me on black holes and electrochemistry and brain science and additive manufacturing in a single event, you have a really special group of people.”

Riggs served as a judge for the first time in his Lab tenure, noting that his extensive background in theater made him especially attuned to the energy levels and stage presence of the participants.

“I focused on the visuals of the performance. Eye contact is crucial. Were they just using their hands, or were they using their hands to emphasize specific points that contributed to their key messages? I wish the auditorium could be packed full and overflowing; this event deserves so much support from the Lab community.”

Lab staff have big ideas for continually improving the event. Susan Carroll, postdoc director, has been working to increase participation across the Lab’s postdoc population.

“From preliminary rounds to today’s final, it’s clear that getting more people involved exponentially increases the benefits of the event,” Carroll said. “The postdocs learn from each other while learning how to give compelling, insightful presentations.”

The winning presentations are::

First place:

Brandon Zimmerman — 3D Printing the Future: Designing Additively Manufactured Materials for Extreme Environments

“It can be hard to recognize what makes a good talk. But in training for this competition, you have to think about the very intentional effort of ‘you have to walk at this point, you have to do this with your hands, this analogy connects with the audience.’ Learning how to insert those details helped me understand why certain speakers seem to connect more with the audience.”

Second place:

Aditya Prajapati — Climate Change is Hot. Electrochemistry is Cool

“One of the more surprising aspects of preparing a good speech was working on body language. When we’re presenting at conferences, it’s easy to say, ‘oh, look how good the data is, here’s the science.’ But we had to tune our talks to a new audience, not knowing their educational background or technical knowledge. By starting from scratch, we could build our stories out and add physical movement, which was a really fun and refreshing experience.”

Third place:

Widianto Moestopo — Igniting Tomorrow’s Clean Energy: 3D Printing for Fusion Power Plants

“Preparing for my Research SLAM! talk gave me an opportunity to grow in effectively communicating my research to a broader audience, from giving the right amount of background knowledge to choosing the appropriate analogies and visuals.”

People’s Choice:

Margarita Rangel — Defending Our Brains: Revolutionizing Neuroinfection Treatment for a Safer World

“My favorite part was hearing what everybody else came up with, and it was fun to hear people who fit comedy within their talks with creative analogies and metaphors.”

The event was sponsored by the Academic Engagement Office and Science Education Program within the Office of the Deputy Director for Science and Technology (DDST). Michelle Perez-Robles led the planning and execution of the event, a massive months-long undertaking.

“It was so fun to see the progression of where each of the participants started to their final, polished presentations. They were all amazing,” Perez-Robles said. Joanna Albala, head of the Science Education program, served as the event’s emcee. “It was really fun to see each presenter come alive with their presentation and show their enthusiasm for the work they do here at the Laboratory,” said Albala.

All four winners were awarded cash prizes (first place, $4,000; second place, $3,000; third place, $2,000; and People’s Choice, $750). The top three winners earned a spot to compete against researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories in the third annual Bay Area Research SLAM! on Oct. 5.

As the first-place winner of the 2023 LLNL Research SLAM!, Brandon Zimmerman stamped his ticket to the inaugural National Lab Research SLAM! being held in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 15. All 17 national laboratories will send a single postdoc or early-career staff member to compete, heightening competition and collaboration while raising visibility of the national laboratory system and federal research priorities.

Meg Rodriguez, director of the Career Pathways Office at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, attended the LLNL SLAM! to support her counterparts and check out the competition.

“The event went so smoothly," she said. "LBNL has some heavy competition for the Bay Area and National Research SLAMS! I’ll have to tell our postdocs to make sure they punch up their talks.”

Visit the Bay Area Research SLAM! website and the National Lab Research SLAM! website for more information on those events.