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National Lab Research Slam names winners as national-security, AI and materials talks stand out
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Summary
At the Department of Energy’s third National Lab Research Slam in Washington, D.C., a jury and audience selected winners across four categories; talks ranged from AI-driven metal separations to microbes that improve battery recycling and new materials for quantum resilience.
The Department of Energy’s third National Lab Research Slam on Capitol Hill gathered 17 early-career researchers from DOE national laboratories to give three-minute talks and compete for jury and audience awards. A jury named category winners and the audience selected People’s Choice honorees.
Kalen Rasmussen of the National Laboratory of the Rockies won the energy-security category with a presentation on battery recycling and microbe-driven bioleaching. Rasmussen described evolving ferrooxidant microbes to improve metal recovery "by 40%," arguing the approach can recover cobalt, lithium and nickel already in the U.S. supply chain and reduce reliance on landfills.
Los Alamos researcher Marina Mancuso took the national-security jury prize for work using artificial intelligence to classify unknown pathogens from innate-immune signaling. Mancuso told the audience her model achieved "93% correct classification accuracy" 24 hours post infection and suggested such rapid classification could reduce misdiagnosis and slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Yashwan Balaji won for scientific discovery after describing nitride-based qubit materials that raise the energy barrier against cosmic-ray-induced errors — a materials-focused approach he said could make quantum hardware more resilient as federal investment in quantum grows.
Sandia’s Samantha Cruz received the advanced-materials jury award for a laser sampling and mass-spectrometry method that produces 3-D chemical images of microplastics, improving identification of embedded pollutants.
The People’s Choice (audience) awards went to five different finalists; among them, Jenny Smith’s data-acquisition and real-time filtering work at SLAC was singled out by the crowd.
Moderator remarks and multiple congressional messages underscored the event’s dual purpose: showcase high-impact lab science and strengthen connections between researchers and policymakers. The program closed with a reception and photo sessions for finalists and lab delegations.
The Slam highlighted recurring themes across talks — greater use of artificial intelligence to design experiments and parse complex data, materials advances for quantum and hypersonic contexts, and applied tools to secure domestic supplies of critical metals. Organizers said the presentations and awards aim to spotlight early-career talent and the national-lab pipeline for innovation.
Next steps: winners posed for photos on stage and organizers invited attendees to a reception where lab directors and congressional staff could follow up on research and workforce concerns.
