Lightning Talk Competition

Around 20 Participants of SEAS Lightning Talk competition standing in Davis Hall with winners positioned in the front holding their certificates.

The annual SEAS Lightning Talk Competition challenges graduate students to present highly technical content in an accessible way in two-minute time slots.

Every spring, two to three graduate students from each department are selected to participate in the Lightning Talk Competition, representing the best work of students across the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Each competitor is given two minutes to deliver an oral presentation that effectively communicates their research to a broad audience using only a single presentation slide.

The talks are judged by SEAS faculty members, including the directors of graduate studies from all the departments, and awards are given to the top three students.

Winners

The first place winner Ghazal Vasseghi standing in front of the UB Photo wall holding a School of Engineering & Applied Sciences Banner and smiling.

First Place Winner Ghazal Vasseghi

2026 Winners

First Place: Ghazal Vasseghi, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering PhD
Second Place: Sarthak Sharma, Computational and Data Enabled Sciences PhD
Third Place: Ayesha Riaz, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering PhD
People's Choice: Mohammad Khan, Electrical Engineering PhD

Past Winners