Postdoctoral fellow at U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center wins 2024 ORISE Ignite Off! competition

Jonathan Blutinger, Ph.D., an ORISE postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Soldier Center, has been named the winner of the 2024 ORISE Ignite Off! competition.

The annual ORISE Ignite Off! showcases the talents of interns and fellows from federal agencies and offices as they share their research through Ignite Talks. Each competitor has five minutes to present their project, using 20 picture-centric slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds.

Blutinger, part of the Soldier Center’s Combat Feeding Division, was recognized for his presentation “Are Robots Going to Be the Future Chefs in Our Kitchens?” He was mentored by Michael Okamoto.

Erik Head, a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), placed second in the competition for his talk “Purifying Biofuels Using Adsorption.” Head, an undergraduate, was mentored by Syed Islam, Ph.D.

In third place was Christie Kim, an ORISE post-master’s fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Science, with the presentation “Breastfeeding: Strengthening the Bond between Mom and Baby.” She was mentored by Bao-Ping Zhu, Ph.D., Mary Reynolds, Ph.D., and Ruowei (Rosie) Li, Ph.D.

The winners were announced during a national viewing event on Aug. 28, 2024, during which the 10 finalists’ presentations were showcased.

As part of the viewing event, audience members voted in a live poll for their favorite presentation. “Fan Favorite” honors went to Ashley Daniszewski, Ph.D., an ORISE postdoctoral fellow at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), for the presentation “Decarbonizing Industrial Processes with Microwaves.” She was mentored by Dushyant Shekhawat, Ph.D.

Michele Branton, deputy manager at the DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Site Office, served as a special guest speaker at the viewing event. Branton congratulated the winners and praised the efforts of all who participated in the competition.

“What I love about the Ignite Off competition is that it gives the participants the opportunity to showcase their talents and achievements, and those of their sponsor organizations,” Branton said. “At the same time, you learn the importance of communication of research results to a broad audience. I commend all the contestants for the many hours of research and preparation in preparing these Ignite Talks.”

To promote and facilitate the competition, the ORISE STEM Workforce Development team hosted two live information sessions (May and June 2024) and provided a recorded session for additional remote access. The team also conducted an awareness campaign that included targeted email and social media efforts designed not only to bring awareness to the contest but also to the professional development ORISE Learn training modules, available for all ORISE participants, which include a course on presenting an Ignite Talk.

Combined, these efforts resulted in more than 161 started applications, with 122 completed by the deadline, and 50 total semifinalists selected from nine federal sponsors and dozens of individual programs.

ORISE hosted live practice sessions for the selected contestants, during which ORISE staff provided the presenters with feedback. From there, contestants gave their talks during a semifinal round, and 10 were picked to advance to the finals.

A panel of five judges representing DOE, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ORNL, Brookhaven National Laboratory and ORISE selected the top three winners from the 10 finalists.

The other finalists in the event were:

• Nathan Denning (Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program): “Sustainable Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Domestic Unconventional Resources”
• Fathima Doole (U.S. Food and Drug Administration): “Impact of Food-Induced Viscosity on Drug Disintegration and Dissolution”
• Ella Evensen (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service): “A Post-Crosslinked Hydrogel Substrate for Cultivating Microgreens in Space”
• Gaurav Phuyal (U.S. Department of Defense): “How Loud is Too Loud?”
• Jessee Svoboda (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development): “Can Genetically Engineered Microbes (GEMs) be used safely in open-release?”
• Julius Yoh (Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program): “Predicting CO2 Plumes: A Pipeline to Future Safety”

Visit the ORISE Ignite Off! webpage to learn more about the competition and past winners.

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