Thirteen MIT graduate and undergraduate students competed in the slam with presentations on different topic areas in the energy storage space. Pictured (left to right): Joy Zeng, Thomas Lee, Melissa Stok, Jim Owens, Anakha Ganesh, Kyle Buznitsky, Pamela Duke, Chuwei Zhang, Carlos Díaz-Marín, Amanda Farnsworth, Ignacio Arzuaga Garcia, Mrigi Munjal, Aniket Patankar.
MIT energy storage research highlighted in student slam competition
Kelley Travers
Research areas
On March 21, 2023, ten graduate students and three undergraduates gathered at the MIT Welcome Center to compete in the MIT Energy Initiative's (MITEI) Energy Storage Student Slam. The students gave quick, dynamic presentations—each limited to three minutes—on energy storage research that they had recently completed or were currently working on at the Institute.
The slam followed the completion of MITEI's The Future of Energy Storage report and study, which explored the role energy storage can play in combatting climate change and the adoption of clean energy systems worldwide. Building on that theme, the event highlighted additional research taking place at MIT in the energy storage space. Topics ranged from the use of flame-assisted spray pyrolysis to create better battery materials to the role of pumped hydro storage in power sector decarbonization to a thermochemical approach to producing low-cost green hydrogen.
The competition was divided into two parts: The graduate students presented first, followed by the undergraduates, with separate judging for each group. The graduate student winners were Jim Owens (first), Aniket Patankar (second), and Mrigi Munjal (third). The undergraduate student winners were Pamela Duke (first), Melissa Stok (second), and Anakha Ganesh (third).
