Lightning Talk Guidelines

Abstract Submission Deadline: Monday, September 8th, 2025

Students will give a 2-minute lightning talk to present their research. After the lightning talk session, judges will take a closer look at posters and ask any follow-up questions.

Your lightning talk should provide a brief yet compelling overview of your research, designed to spark interest and highlight the key points of your poster. You will have 2 minutes to speak, so focus on delivering the big picture and most impactful highlights of your work. Here’s what to include on your two (2) slides: 

• Slide 1: Student Name, Lab, Research Question - State the main question or problem your research addresses.
• Slide 2: How did you do it? (key methods, models, or experiments, keep it simple!), Share 1–2 main findings (no data dumps!).
• Slide details: No animation, should not be text or data heavy. Slides should be submitted as a PDF.