[Image above] An energetic presenter of a creative slide during PowerPoint Karaoke on Day 2 of IMS 22. Credit: ACerS Germany Chapter
By Rishabh Kundu and Manuel Best
The International Materials Slam 2022 (IMS 2022) was a three-day, virtual, student-led outreach event designed to encourage, motivate, and facilitate networking among young materials science enthusiasts from across the globe. Conceived by the Special Projects Committee of ACerS Manufacturing Division, it was coorganized by ACerS Germany Chapter and the German Materials Society and welcomed more than 100 participants from four continents.
Day 1, held on May 28, featured a talk by Sanjay Mathur, department chair and director of the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Cologne, Germany. His talk, “Between borders: Practicing science at cultural and disciplinary interfaces,” drew insights from his journey as a Ph.D. student in India to a professor in Germany and how embracing change and keeping an open mind helped him learn from both experiences. An engaging discussion, facilitated by an active audience, followed the talk.
Day 2, held on June 4, featured two events: Science Slam, which highlighted work from young materials science students and researchers; and PowerPoint Karaoke, which provided an opportunity for students to improve their impromptu speaking skills. For Science Slam, participants sent in a prerecorded video of up to five minutes about their work or interests relevant to materials science. PowerPoint Karaoke asked participants to impromptu present a single slide prepared by someone else in 1–2 minutes.
There were cash prizes for each event, including for both those who submitted slides and those who presented them during PowerPoint Karaoke. ACerS student members Carina Rindtorff Pérez and Ruth Adam assisted the organizers with executing the Day 2 events.
Day 3, held on June 11, featured a talk by Gerhard Schneider, director of the Materials Research Institute at Aalen University, Germany. His talk, “High-throughput search for green alternative materials,” emphasized the need for young researchers to explore novel methodologies and shorten the time of technology readiness level advancement. He also stressed the need to firmly couple sustainability aspects with new materials development, giving a few examples from his own research. His talk was followed by interesting questions by the audience.
The successful event concluded with the organizers thanking everyone who participated.
Science Slam and PowerPoint Karaoke winners
PowerPoint Karaoke slide designers
– 1st place: Siddhartha Nanda
– 2nd place: Lisa Nguyen
– 3rd place: Seulgi Ji, Vidushi Galwadu Arachchige, Marie Neumann, Nabojit Kar (shared)
PowerPoint Karaoke presenter
–1st place: Deepsikha Brahma
–2nd place: Pentakota Uday Kumar
–3rd place: Marie Neumann
Science Slam
–1st place: Nils Winkelmann
–2nd place: Siddhartha Nanda
–3rd place: Nabojit Kar, Linus Erhard, and Bohnni Shikha Biswas (shared)