image of megaphone with bubble that says attention! PPG Millennium Cafe Pitch Competition Winners 2026

This series playlist features the winning presentations from the 12th Annual PPG Millennium Café Elevator Pitch Competition, including the top three finalists and consolation prize winners.

Hosted by the Penn State Materials Research Institute (MRI) at the Millennium Science Complex and sponsored by PPG Industries, this educational event helps graduate students develop the skills to communicate their research to broad audiences.

After participating in free professional communication workshops presented by the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, students compete by delivering compelling two-minute presentations using no more than four slides. Their goal is to make complex research accessible, engaging, and memorable while competing for cash prizes.

Videos in Series

1st Place Winner Shakshi Sekar Pitches The Missing Link: Plastic Waste to Graphite

Watch Shakshi Sekar give a two-minute pitch for the 12th Annual 2026 PPG Millennium Café Pitch Competition titled, "The Missing Link: Plastic Waste to Graphite."

Second-Place Winner Thomas Willis Pitches a Sustainable Future for Aviation Fuel

Watch Thomas Willis give a two-minute pitch for the 12th Annual 2026 PPG Millennium Café Pitch Competition titled, "Rosetta Stones for Bioprocessing: Decrypting Microbe Metabolism Using Genome-Scale Models for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production." This pitch proposes using genome-scale models to optimize bacteria that convert plants into sustainable aviation fuel. These models could make production more efficient and affordable, reducing oil dependence and transportation emissions.

Congratulations to Thomas and all the winners!

3rd Place Winner / Jyotirmay Dwivedi / 2026 PPG Pitch Competition

Watch Jyotirmay Dwivedi (JD) give a two-minute pitch for the 12th Annual 2026 PPG Millennium Café Pitch Competition titled, "Blinking Qubits in a Nanomagnetic Storm: A Quest for True Randomness."

Congratulations to JD and all the winners of the 2026 PPG Pitch Competition!

Consolation Prize Winner / MD Mashfiqur Rahman / 2026 PPG Pitch Competition

Watch MD Mashfiqur Rahman give a two-minute pitch for the 12th Annual 2026 PPG Millennium Café Pitch Competition titled, "How Materials Science Reveals the Hidden Side of Climate Change."

Congratulations to MD and all the winners of the 2026 PPG Pitch Competition!