The campus’s 2026 Grad Slam finalists are (listed alphabetically by last name):
Zahra Alitaneh
Quantitative and Systems Biology
Advisor: Professor Patricia LiWang
Research: Zahra is developing targeted approaches to treat serious fungal infections. She engineers a protein called Griffithsin, which is a lectin, as a delivery system to help antifungal peptides reach fungal cells more effectively. Her research focuses on improving treatments for infections caused by Candida albicans, which can be life-threatening for immunocompromised patients.
Alberto Alves
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Professor Ashlie Martini
Research:
Alex Hartzler
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Professor Ashlie Martini
Research: Alex studies how greases designed for combustion engines perform under electrified conditions similar to those in EVs. By understanding their behavior, we can develop better lubricants to extend EV longevity and contribute to cleaner air in the Central Valley and beyond.
Harleen Kaur
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Advisor: Professor Rebeca Arevalo
Research: Harleen designs and synthesizes sustainable catalysts using Earth-Abundant metals. Her research transforms small molecules, including captured carbon dioxide, into valuable products, relevant to pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and materials.
Zoe Loh
Management of Complex Systems
Advisor: Professor Spencer Castro
Research: Zoe Loh's research investigates how visual attention and cognitive workload (mental effort) impact human performance. She studies how increased workload can impact response accuracy and self-assessments of performance for tasks that require sustained monitoring. Her research informs designing systems and trainings that can help prevent human errors where sustained attention is critical, such as driving or air traffic control.
Sarah Malone
Applied Mathematics
Advisor: Professors Shilpa Khatri and Roummel Marcia
Research: Sarah studies the fluid dynamics of pulsing soft corals to understand how their motion drives transport in the surrounding water. By combining computational modeling with data-driven methods, she builds surrogate models that reveal which biological and physical parameters enhance fluid flow.
Zachary Malone
Environmental Systems
Advisor: Professor Rebecca Ryals
Research: Zachary studies how organic materials, once turned into compost, can be used to improve soil health. His focus is on compost applied to city soils, and how this compost can impact soil carbon cycling and climate change mitigation in urban areas.
Emmanuel Rabago Moreno
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Professor Anna Nierenberg
Research: Emmanuel’s research focuses on improving the durability of solar panels used in agricultural environments. He studies how dust abrasion and cleaning processes affect solar panel glass performance, with the goal of helping these systems remain efficient and reliable over time.
Andrew Silverstein
Environmental Systems
Advisor: Professor Sarah Kurtz
Research: Andrew studies the impact of agrivoltaics on water use efficiency, plant phenology and soil properties in the Central Valley.
Tahirah Williams
Quantitative & Systems Biology
Advisor: Professor Clarissa Nobile
Research: Tahirah is interested in understanding the molecular and genetic regulation of Coccidioides, the fungal pathogen responsible for Valley fever, and its interaction with the mucosal immune system. Her work will contribute to a better understanding of host-pathogen interactions.
