AbSciCon Poster Competition Winners
Each conference year, the AbSciCon Poster Competition recognizes outstanding research by early-career scientists working to understand life's place in the universe. This year's competition drew 63 participants from universities and research institutions across the country. Congratulations to our 2026 winners!
AbSciCon 2026 Poster Competition Winners
1st Place - Morgan Polk, Georgia Institute of Technology
Morgan’s work shows that amylose, a common component of starch, has been discovered to act as a catalyst for chemical reactions — a finding that fundamentally rethinks the role sugars may have played in the chemistry of early life.
2nd Place - Isuru P. Silva Ethige, The University of Alabama
By finding green algae performing photosynthesis in the near-dark, red-shifted twilight zones of Carlsbad Caverns, Isuru's research explores how oxygen-producing photosynthesis may be possible on planets orbiting the dim, cool stars that are the most common in our galaxy.
3rd Place - Samantha Pryor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Samantha's experiments show that tiny airborne droplets at the ocean surface turn out to be surprisingly efficient chemistry labs, pointing to these droplets as a possible birthplace for the genetic molecules that gave rise to life.
