National Lab Research SLAM celebrates excellence in science, innovation and communication

Three minutes. One slide. On March 5, that’s all that 17 early-career researchers — each representing one of the Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories — had to present their science at the second-annual National Lab Research SLAM.

Sponsored by the House Science & National Labs Caucus and the Senate National Labs Caucus, the event took place in the Congressional Auditorium on Capitol Hill in front of an audience of 200 policymakers, congressional staffers and laboratory representatives. The competition, which was livestreamed to over 3,500 additional viewers, aims to highlight the key role and impact of DOE laboratories on the nation’s innovation ecosystem.

Finalists vied for awards in five categories: national security, energy security, scientific discovery, environment and people’s choice. Nicholas Cross represented Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with his presentation, “Predicting critical failure in next-generation batteries."

Olivia Pimentel from Los Alamos National Laboratory captured the award for national security with her presentation, “Packaging the Black Death: macro problem, nano solution.” Pimentel also won the People’s Choice award, which was voted on by the in-person and virtual audience.

"I think that communicating science so that anyone can understand it allows for inspiration of anybody. It allows for people, especially in the case of national lab research, to understand where their money is going and to see that it's going to really huge, impactful, positive things," Pimentel said. “I am just so floored and inspired by these other scientists. It was a tough competition, and I'm really honored to be with these guys.”

In the Energy Security category, Yufan Xu of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory received the award for his talk, “Can Terminator 2 help humanity unlock unlimited fusion power?”

“I think everybody's a winner, to be honest. You know, we all present different aspects of the research that we do, and we deliver it on the stage,” Xu said. “We try to represent something unimaginable in three minutes. I learned a lot from everybody. So, it's a celebration of the research that everyone does.”

Karolina Wresilo from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory was recognized for her presentation in the scientific discovery category, “Seeing the invisible: can neutrinos explain the origins of the universe?”

"To me, it's a huge accomplishment. Being given the opportunity to present on a national stage, and then also be honored with a win, is extremely important to me,” Wresilo said. “Especially as someone who's quite passionate about outreach, I just feel very honored."

In the environment category, Michael Leveille of Sandia National Laboratories was awarded for his talk, “Blend green and flow clean: hydrogen in gas pipelines.”

"[Winning this award] means so much. I'm really honored to be able to represent Sandia and to share my research with so many people,” Leveille said. “Communication is key — we need to be able to talk about our research and make an impression on someone for it to really have impact. To have the opportunity to take such a big stage, relay a message, and potentially make an impression on so many people — I'm still shocked."

The winners were evaluated based on their comprehension, content, engagement and communication. Results (excepting the People’s Choice award) were decided by a panel of esteemed judges:

• Harriet Kung, acting director of the Office of Science in the DOE
• Theresa Maldonado, vice president of research & innovation in the University of California Office of the President and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Alton D. Romig, Jr., executive officer of the National Academy of Engineering
• Wendin Smith, deputy under secretary for counterterrorism and counterproliferation in the DOE
• Steve Walker, vice president & chief technology officer at Lockheed Martin and former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

The competition included remarks from Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. congressman for Tennessee’s 3^rd district, Bill Foster, U.S. congressman for Illinois’s 11^th district, and Ben Ray Luján, U.S. senator for New Mexico. Jean-luc Doumont, a noted expert in research communication, coached the finalists and emceed the event.

Organizers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Meg Rodriguez, director of the Career Pathways Office, and Jonathan Nurse, director of Federal Relations) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Christine Zachow, operations manager for the Academic Engagement Office, and Stephanie Turza, communications manager) were key to the competition’s success.

Learn more about the finalists, judges and the event at the National Lab Research SLAM site.

Past Research Slam event recordings are available to view here.