12 Finalists from The University of Texas at Austin will compete for prizes during the Empower Your Research Pitch Finale and Impact Reception on April 15, 2026.
Judges will choose three winners to receive $1,000 prizes (most creative, highest impact, overall excellence in communication). Audience members will vote on the audience choice award. Appetizers, beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks will be served.
RSVP for the Grand Finale & Celebration
Meet the Finalists
 | Kiersten Bell Pharmaceutical Sciences “Timing as a Nutrient: How Feeding Schedules Shape Health and Mood” | |
 | Md Enayet Chowdhury Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering “Who is Your Flood Criminal?" | |
 | Alex Dunmyre Microbiology “Treating the "Untreatable" | |
 | Wasiq Javed School of Law “Why the FAIR Act is Necessary to Protect Consumers” | |
 | Kat Motovilov Interdisciplinary Neuroscience “Should You Trust Your Gut?: The Decision to Drink” | |
 | Ahmed Sihorwala Chemical Engineering “Building Synthetic Tissue from Scratch” | |
 | Subhashini Sugumar Materials Science and Engineering “Reading a Battery's Mind” | |
 | Tharan Suresh Movement and Cognitive Rehabilitation Science “Learning Reshapes Brain Rhythms” | |
 | Sreeram Venkat Computational Science, Engineering and Mathematics “Outrunning The Wave: Digital Twins for Tsunami Early Warning” | |
 | Kirill Veselkin Comparative Literature “We Imagine the Bomb So It Can Explode” | |
 | Kylie Jaeyun Yim Sociology “Envisioning Parenthood: The Social Shaping of Fertility Decisions in the U.S. and South Korea” | |
 | Alice Zhang Electrical and Computer Engineering “The Next Vital Sign: Quantifying Social Connection with Wearables" |
The event will take place at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center and will include a poster session highlighting the work graduate students do through the Graduate Archer Fellowship Program, The CONNECT Program, PhD Pathways and Reimagining Professional Development. For more information, visit our website.
This event is co-sponsored by the Graduate Coordinator Network and the Graduate School Office of Career and Life Design.