LLNL’s Big Ideas Lab podcast goes behind the scenes of the National Lab Research SLAM

Finalists representing each of the 17 U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories gathered at the Congressional Auditorium for the first National Lab Research SLAM in 2023. With one slide, three minutes and months of preparation behind them, each scientist stepped up to the microphone to explain their research through compelling storytelling to an audience outside of their field.

What began as an idea to teach postdoctoral researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) critical science communications skills has evolved into this annual grand competition and transformational journey for young scientists around the country.

The latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast takes listeners behind the curtain of the national stage to see how the program was built and why science communications matters. Listen to the new episode, now available on Apple and Spotify.

Before he became a staff scientist at LLNL, Brandon Zimmerman represented the Lab as a postdoctoral researcher at the 2023 National Lab Research SLAM competition and won the National Security and People’s Choice award categories. The inspiration for his talk on materials science came from an unusual source: the freezer.

Zimmerman explained the importance of choosing the right materials in his research by using the example of why you wouldn’t use a plastic spoon to scoop frozen ice-cream.

“We have a specific thing we need to do and we want to know: can I grab this material?” said Zimmerman. “Will it do the right thing?”

The communications skills he learned in the competition have benefited him throughout his career at LLNL. As a staff scientist, he presented his first funding pitch for a Lab Directed Research and Development project and realized how essential it is for scientists to explain the importance of their research to people outside of his field.

“What gets you in the door is not your incredibly detailed research plan, it’s: are you interested in what I’m buying enough to even get down to that research plan?” said Zimmerman.

For Christine Zachow, operations manager in LLNL’s Academic Engagement Office, that is the reason why she advocated for founding the local competition at the Lab.

Zachow attended the University of California’s Grad SLAM competition amongst graduate students and recognized the value a similar competition would bring for LLNL’s postdoctoral researchers. The local competition spurred the development of the Bay Area Research SLAM and then the National Lab Research SLAM.

“It very quickly progressed to all 17 labs,” said Zachow. “We had commitment from every single DOE laboratory across the nation that they would train a finalist, prepare them, select one and send them to Washington, D.C., for this event.”

The episode explores how the Research SLAM grew from this broader need across the research community to support scientists in becoming not only experts in their fields, but clear communicators of why their work matters.

At the DOE national laboratories, the competition has become a proving ground for scientists learning to carry their work outward and translate complex ideas into stories that build understanding and help the impact of national laboratory research reach policymakers and the community.

Listen to the latest episode of Big Ideas Lab on Apple or Spotify.