Graduate student finalists show their work during research elevator pitch competition
Thirty-six Penn State graduate students involved in materials or engineering research presented a concise rundown of their research in two minutes or less for judges from companies including PPG, Corning, Morgan Advanced Materials, Murata, Editekk, and Amphenol Sensors at the finals of the Millennium Café PPG Elevator Pitch Competition on May 23, 2023.
The finalists include:
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| First place with a prize of $750 Elisabeth Lloyd, PhD candidate, materials science and engineering |
Second place with a prize of $500: |
Third place with a prize of $250: Aditya Sapre, graduate student, chemical engineering |
The fourth and fifth place competitors received a $50 gift card and a personalized evaluation of their pitch by professionals from industry and Penn State. They are:
- Fourth place, Yutong Liu, graduate student, chemistry
- Fifth place, Monalisa Yadav, graduate student, physics
Being mentally prepared to deliver an elevator pitch about their research is an important skill for graduate students. This can help them make valuable networking contacts for future employment and research collaborations.
In addition to the competition, two free training sessions were conducted by business and communications experts to help graduate students hone their skills. These were open to anyone at Penn State.
“I was impressed with the way that the pitches developed," Fecko said. “The improvements in the pitches was dramatic. These were very high quality, polished products by the competition time.”
The event was sponsored by PPG, global manufacturer of paints, coatings and specialty materials, and coordinated by MRI.