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Chapter 1: What is the National Lab Research SLAM and why is it important?
It's 2am and you're opening the freezer door. You know it's probably not the best idea, but you find yourself grabbing that tub of ice cream, calling your name. Knowing it's rock hard, you're gentle with it as you place it on the counter, careful not to alert anyone of the personal choice you just made. You reach into the drawer and grab a spoon. but not the plastic one.
You don't even think about it.
You just know. You don't put a plastic spoon in there because intuitively, you know, that would just snap off.
You've never taken a material science class in your life, and you just made a material science decision. That example is how Brandon Zimmerman, a scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, explained millions of dollars worth of national security material science to a room full of congressional staffers on Capitol Hill. in three minutes.
It's not the right material for the role it has to play. And so we're just doing the same thing at the lab.
A scientist can spend years on a discovery that could change the world and still lose the room in 30 seconds if no one understands why it matters. So Lawrence Livermore built something to fix that. A program designed to take the hardest science in the country and make it land for someone who's never set foot in a lab.
from local competitions to a showdown between 17 national labs in Washington, D.C. This is the Research Slam. Welcome to the Big Ideas Lab, your exploration inside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Hear untold stories, meet boundary-pushing pioneers, and get unparalleled access inside the gates.
From national security challenges to computing revolutions, discover the innovations that are shaping tomorrow, today. Looking for a career that challenges and inspires?
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is hiring for a senior labor relations advocate, a unified communications engineer, and a laser modeling physicist, along with many other roles in science, technology, engineering, and beyond.
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Chapter 2: How did Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory create the Research Slam program?
Department of Energy have each sent one champion.
The crowd cheers in the Congressional Auditorium, tucked beneath the east front plaza of the Capitol building itself.
Large auditorium, red velvet seats sweeping up, and then there's box seats up top. It's almost like you're going to see a mid-tier play.
But Brandon is not in the theater yet. All 17 scientists are getting wireless microphones clipped to their lapels by the production crew. On one wall, a six-inch monitor plays a silent feed of the stage. Brandon can see the person on screen, but he can't hear them talk or tell if the audience is locked in. So mostly, he waits.
And what almost no one in that room knows is that the talk Brandon is waiting to give is not the one he spent months practicing. He had thrown it out.
One week before the National Slam, I threw out my entire script and I rewrote it from scratch. So the presentation I gave at the National Slam was completely new.
And that change would define his early career. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is hiring. If you're passionate about tackling real-world challenges in science, engineering, business, or skilled trades, there's a place for you at the lab. Right now, positions are open for a senior research scientist, a power grid engineer, and a space hardware postdoctoral researcher.
These are just a few of the more than 100 exciting roles available. At Lawrence Livermore, you'll work on projects that matter, from national security to cutting-edge scientific advancements. Join a team that values innovation, collaboration, and professional growth. Explore opportunities at llnl.gov forward slash careers, where your next career move could make history.
Ladies and gentlemen, from Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Dr. Brandon Zimmerman.
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Chapter 3: What skills do scientists need to effectively communicate their research?
I was so proud that he didn't give up.
It's the part of the slam that doesn't fit on a trophy. The finalists arrive as strangers from 17 different labs, but they leave as a confident cohort. Brandon's cohort from the first National Lab Research Slam in 2023 never stopped talking.
So it gives you a better understanding of what all of these labs are, how all of their missions differ, what the working environments are like at those labs. Coming directly out of grad school and knowing nothing about this environment, it just really helps you fit in better, I think.
They still keep in contact. They wish each other happy holidays. They invite and attend each other's conference talks. They report on life events. Ooh, I just bought a house. Ooh, I just got another job. Wow, we're having a baby. It's so validating to see that they have such a close connection all these years later. It makes me incredibly proud to have been part of making this event happen.
Science doesn't end at discovery. It's why a national lab built for fusion, supercomputers, and national security science will spend valuable time teaching researchers how to use something ordinary, like a late night trip to the freezer, to explain something extraordinary.
I often hear these finalists talk about going to their families and saying, my mom doesn't understand what I do. And we put them through this training and they'll come back and they'll say, my mom understands what I do. It's about that.
At Lawrence Livermore, the slam is a reflection of what a scientist should be. Not just someone who can do the work, but someone who can carry it outward to colleagues in other divisions, to policymakers, to the public.
It's about getting that message across. It's about talking to sponsors and policymakers and writing grants for funding. It helps them put their research out there in a way that they can get back. It's meaningful. because it shows that at Livermore, at the other national labs, it's not just about doing great science by itself.
These researchers are expected to communicate clearly, support each other, and then grow into leaders where their work has broader impact across the nation.
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