IIT Guwahati tops Lam Research's semiconductor engineering challenge; winners share ₹10 lakh
IIT Guwahati emerged as the overall winner of the third edition of the Lam Research Challenge 2026, beating 802 other teams in an industry-led competition focused on semiconductor systems engineering. IIT Ropar and NIT Calicut secured the second and third positions, respectively.
IIT Guwahati emerged victorious in the third edition of the Lam Research Challenge 2026, a semiconductor systems engineering competition that attracted over 3,000 students from engineering colleges across India. IIT Ropar placed second, while NIT Calicut secured the third position. The winners were announced at a grand finale event held at PES University in Bengaluru.
The top teams shared a prize pool worth ₹10 lakh, with additional internship opportunities offered to select participants. A total of 803 teams from 189 colleges participated in the competition, with 25 teams progressing to the final round after a rigorous three-month selection process. The winning IIT Guwahati team consisted of Suhani Maheswari, Aakash Kumar Meena, Shrut Jain, and Kummari Premaja, all from diverse engineering backgrounds.
The IIT Ropar team comprised students from Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Physics, while the NIT Calicut team had members from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and Computer Science Engineering. The challenge required teams to construct a tabletop paint factory capable of automatically mixing three base colors to create three liters of a target color, matching a reference sample in the first attempt.
Teams had to automate the entire process with a single button press, integrating various aspects such as pipeline flushing, tank cooling, and color dosing without human intervention. The final round presented complex technical problems, demanding a combination of hardware, software, automation, data science, process engineering, and advanced controls.
The competition emphasized systems-level thinking and the development of integrated solutions for complex semiconductor manufacturing operations. Lam Research India's corporate vice-president and managing director, Rangesh Raghavan, highlighted the importance of the Lam Research Challenge in fostering innovation and preparing students for the future of the industry.
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