2026 Perpall SURF Speaking Competition | Semi-Final Round Session C

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 become an incredible force in improving the oral presentation skills of Caltech undergraduates.

The Student-Faculty Programs Office is proud to announce the Semi-Final Round of the 2026 Perpalls, featuring 29 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 C is dedicated to projects within the Lynn Booth & Kent Kresa Department of Aerospace, the Department of Electrical Engineering, and the Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science. The schedule of presentations is below, organized by time of presentation, name of the semi-finalist, and their mentors:

Schedule of Presentations

• 2:00 PM to 2:20 PM: Riley Foard with Guillaume Blanquart (Professor of Mechanical Engineering)
• 2:20 PM to 2:40 PM: Mahak Mathur with Sergio Pellegrino (Joyce and Kent Kresa Professor of Aerospace and Civil Engineering; Senior Research Scientist, JPL) and Flavia Palmeri (Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Aerospace)
• 2:40 PM to 3:00 PM: Delta Blendea with Nathaniel Wei (Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania) and Gil Refael (Taylor W. Lawrence Professor of Theoretical Physics)
• 3:00 PM to 3:20 PM: Annie Zhao with Paul Bellan (Professor of Applied Physics) and Jessica Gonzalez (Graduate Student in Applied Physics)
• 3:20 PM to 3:40 PM: Minseung (Ritta) Choi with Tim Colonius (Frank and Ora Lee Marble Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Medical Engineering) and Caroline Cardinale (Graduate Student in Mechanical Engineering)
• 3:40 PM to 4:00 PM: Blake Morris with Sergio Pellegrino (Joyce and Kent Kresa Professor of Aerospace and Civil Engineering; Senior Research Scientist, JPL) and Tara Venkatadri (Graduate Student in Aerospace)
• 4:00 PM to 4:20 PM: Alexander Plekhanov with Kiyoul Yang (Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Harvard University) and Kerry Vahala (Ted and Ginger Jenkins Professor of Information Science and Technology and Applied Physics)
• 4:20 PM to 4:40 PM: Priyanka Supraja Balaji with Zachary Manchester (Boeing Career Development Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Soon-Jo Chung (Bren Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems; Jet Propulsion Laboratory Senior Research Scientist)