2025 Perpall SURF Speaking Competition | Semi-Final Round Session D

The Doris S. Perpall SURF Speaking Competition was endowed by Robert (Bob) C. Perpall (BS ‘52 Mechanical Engineering; MS '56 Mechanical Engineering) in memory of his late wife as an incentive for Caltech students to give excellent oral presentations. Mr. Perpall strongly believed that effective communication skills were critical to one's future success.

For over thirty years, the Perpall SURF Speaking Competition has developed into an incredible force for improving the oral presentation skills of Caltech undergraduates.

The Student-Faculty Programs Office is proud to announce the Semi-Final Round of the 2025 Perpalls, featuring 27 Caltech undergraduates who were selected for their outstanding presentations during Fall Seminar Day. These semi-finalists, representing a wide range of research disciplines, were chosen by judges and session chairs for their clarity in communicating complex scientific ideas.

Session D is dedicated to projects within the Divisions of Biology & Biological Engineering and Chemistry & Chemical Engineering. The schedule of presentations is below, organized by time of presentation, name of the semi-finalist, and their mentors:

• 9:30 AM to 9:50 AM: Shrila Esturi with Jeffrey Reimer (Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley), Sophia Fricke (Postdoctoral Fellow in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley), and Paul Wennberg (R. Stanton Avery Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Science and Engineering)
• 9:50 AM to 10:10 AM: Jamie Kwon with Stephen Quake (Lee Otterson Professor of Bioengineering and Professor of Applied Physics, Stanford University) and Mikhail Shapiro (Max Delbrück Professor of Chemical Engineering and Medical Engineering; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Director, Center for Molecular and Cellular Medicine)
• 10:10 AM to 10:30 AM: Andrew Oldag with Trevor Nolan (Assistant Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering) and Irene Liao (Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship Trainee in Biology and Biological Engineering)
• 10:50 AM to 11:10 AM: Grace Otos with Bil Clemons (Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Biochemistry) and Jacob Kirsh (Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Chemistry)
• 11:10 AM to 11:30 AM: Alex Xu with Jonas Peters (Bren Professor of Chemistry; Director, Resnick Sustainability Institute) and John Ovian (Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship Trainee in Chemistry)
• 11:30 AM to 11:50 AM: Evan Zhang with Michael Elowitz (Roscoe Gilkey Dickinson Professor of Biology and Bioengineering; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute), Andew Lu (Scientific Researcher, Division of Biology & Biological Engineering), and Lukas Moeller (Graduate Student in Bioengineering)