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2022 Lab Olympics

ND Energy faculty affiliates, research associates, and Slatt scholars gathered for an afternoon of food, fun, and fellowship on Friday, June 17. After enjoying a picnic-style lunch, the competition heated up on DeBartolo Quad as research teams gathered for the inaugural ND Energy Lab Olympics.

Representing their respective research groups, 18 teams* competed for divisional medals and the overall Olympic championship. Teams warmed up with exhibition matches where contenders aimed for any of the “black holes” in Cornhole Science Toss and competed to be the last tower standing in Jumbo Jenga Lab-style before contending for gold, silver, and bronze medals. After a fierce competition, we are excited to announce the following overall Olympic champions:

• Gold Medalists ($60 each) – Extended Warranty: Ashley Hastings, Kyson Smith (Hixon lab)
• Silver Medalists ($40 each) – Low Expectation Value: Damian Agi, Montana Carlozo (Dowling lab)
• Bronze Medalists ($25 each) – Kuno Lab 3: Irina Gushchina, Kirill Kniazev (Kuno lab)

All participants competed with dignity and honor and demonstrated excellence in teamwork, laboratory skills, and the grit, spirit, and determination of a true winner. Highlighted below are brief descriptions of each event and the winning teams.

Newton’s Tug-of-War featured a bracket-style battle between the teams, each team vying for the middle ground by using force and acceleration to move the other team across the line. Winning four consecutive matches, Daniel Martin and Jinyu Yang, aptly-named the Go Getters (Go group) won gold, while silver went to Ashley Hastings and Kyson Smith of Extended Warranty (Hixon lab), and bronze went to Daniel Felton and Justin Daniels of Twinned Crystals (Burns lab).

Outside of the official competition, the entire Kamat lab delegation competed with the Kuno lab delegates in a fierce back-and-forth clash of tug-of-war with each team vying for overall bragging rights. Holding the anchor position, Prof. Prashant Kamat and his team eventually outmaneuvered the Kuno team for a victorious win.

Next up, teams competed in the H₂O Balloon Toss by using momentum and impulse to earn the last dry spot on the quad. As balloons were tossed and distance between teammates expanded, hopes for earning a medal burst one-by-one, until only one team was left standing dry. Earning the gold was Jishnudas Chakkamalayath and Bo-An Chen of Lab Rads (Kamat lab). Tom Monroe and Ian Lightcap of the MCF (Lightcap lab) finished with silver, and Garam Lee and Jeffrey Secrist of the Golympians (Go lab) earned bronze.

Action then moved to the Lab-on-a-Disc Throw, as one teammate from each team used their own unique force and arm strength to vie for the longest distance Frisbee throw while aiming for a specific target. Ben Speybroeck of the Polymer Pals (Guo lab) won gold, while Irina Gushchina of Kuno Lab 3 (Kuno lab) won silver, and James Carpenter of Colón Lab 2 (Colón group) earned bronze.

Next was the Tri-Cycle Lab Race with teams competing against time to complete three different cycles involving PPE, pipetting, and teamwork. The first cycle required both teammates to dress in PPE attire including lab coats, safety glasses, and gloves before racing to the pipetting table to fill a cup of H₂O using pipettes. The next stretch required teammates to share a potato sack and run three-legged to remove their PPE before racing a short distance to the finish line. Winning gold was Damian Agi and Montana Carlozo of Low Expectation Value (Dowling lab) with a time of 46.58 seconds. Grace Arntz and Brodie Barth of The Radio-nice-otopes (Burns lab) finished second with a time of 47.73, and Irina Gushchina and Kirill Kniazev of Kuno Lab 3 (Kuno lab) finished third at 48.00.

Staunch competitors scurried (and sometimes clambered) for seats to compete in the final two events. The Watermelon Consumption Test required contenders to consume a slice of (seeded) watermelon in the fastest time. Kyson Smith of Extended Warranty (Hixon lab) finished first, earning the gold medal, Irina Gushchina of Kuno Lab 3 (Kuno lab) finished a close second for silver, and Brodie Barth of The Radio-nice-otopes (Burns lab) earned bronze.

The final game of Musical Lab Stools resulted in a stunning upset by Juan Onyango, the younger son of Prof. John Onyango, who claimed the last chair and the gold. Kyson Smith of Extended Warranty (Hixon lab) and Montana Carlozo of Low Expectation Value (Dowling lab) were the top two finishers among the official contenders.

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*Below is the full medal table with results for each team.