13 Scientists Compete in Brookhaven Lab's First Research SLAM
November 3, 2023
Thirteen early career scientists and postdocs presented in the first Research SLAM competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory on Sept. 28.
Participants gave three-minute talks on their research, prepared for a general audience. A panel of judges selected the three top presenters, based on assessments of their scientific content, presentation materials, and overall presentation.
“Being able to communicate results is a special skill for scientists to strengthen support for the important work we do,” said Brookhaven Lab Director JoAnne Hewett, who kicked off the competition and was one of the judges. “I congratulate all 13 of our scientists who stepped up to participate. And I thank them for honing this skill and putting their hearts and souls into it.”
Daniel Marx of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) was chosen as top presenter. Marx also received a people’s choice award, based on votes from the audience. By taking top prize at this local Research SLAM, Marx will also represent Brookhaven Lab at the National Lab Research Slam competition on Nov. 15 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in front of congressional representatives and their staff.
“The future Electron-Ion Collider will allow us to understand the inner workings of the atomic nucleus—in particular, how the quarks and gluons inside behave," Marx explained. "I work on the design of the accelerators, arranging many hundreds of magnets to steer and focus the electrons and ions so that they collide with the specific properties we need for the EIC experimental program.
“I’m grateful for being recognized at this event and the opportunity to tell people about the EIC," he said.
The judges awarded second prize to Zhongjing Jiang of the Environmental and Climate Sciences Department and third to Tiffany Victor-Lovelace of the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven Lab.
“Participating in the SLAM competition helped me and my colleagues strategically simplify highly specialized research work into three-minute talks for a general audience. The event, itself, and feedback from the audience has been wonderful," said participant Reena Sharma of Brookhaven's Biology Department.
The names of all who presented in the SLAM were:
- Justin Goodrich, NSLS-II
- Jack Griffiths, Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science Department
- Jasmine Hatcher-Lamarre, Collider-Accelerator Department
- Amanda Horn, Office of Educational Programs
- Zhongjing Jiang, Environmental & Climate Sciences Department
- Juan Jimenez, Chemistry Division
- Dasmeet Kaur, Biology Department
- Daniel Marx, EIC
- Reena Sharma, Biology Department
- Tamanna Subba, Environmental & Climate Sciences Department
- Ganesh Tiwari, NSLS-II
- Tiffany Victor-Lovelace, NSLS-II
- David Yang, Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science Department
The panel of judges comprised:
- JoAnne Hewett, Laboratory Director
- John Hill, Deputy Director for Science and Technology
- Karen McNulty Walsh, Principal Media and Communications Specialist
- Lisa Miller, NSLS-II Manager for User Services, Communications, Education and Outreach
- Mary Rogers, Small Business Liaison Administrator
This event was hosted by Brookhaven Lab’s Office of Educational Programs with support from the Stakeholder Relations Office.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.
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