IIT Guwahati achieves grand victory in Lam Research Semiconductor Challenge

IIT Guwahati has clinched the title of supreme winner in the third session of the Lam Research Challenge 2026, held in the field of semiconductor systems engineering. The winners were announced at a grand final event organised at PES University, Bengaluru. More than 3,000 students from engineering institutions across India participated in this competition.

The winning teams in this competition shared a total prize pool of ₹10 lakh. Additionally, selected participants will receive opportunities to intern with Lam Research. The winning team from IIT Guwahati included Suhani Maheshwari (Electronics and Communication Engineering), Akash Kumar Meena (Mechanical Engineering), Shruti Jain, and Kumari Premja (Electrical and Electronics Engineering).

According to the competition results, IIT Ropar secured the runner-up position, while NIT Calicut stood third. The IIT Ropar team comprised students of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Physics. The NIT Calicut team included students from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and Computer Science Engineering. In the final round, students from 10 IITs, two NITs, and two BITS campuses showcased their skills.

A total of 803 teams representing 189 colleges from across the country participated in this competition. Each team consisted of four students from various academic backgrounds. Following a rigorous three-month selection process, which included qualification and hardware-building rounds, 25 teams from 20 colleges were selected for the final.

As a challenge in the competition, teams had to build a tabletop paint factory. This factory was required to automatically mix three primary colours to prepare 3 litres of a target colour, which had to match the reference sample on the first attempt. Precision in colour calculation and distribution was mandatory, as once the colour was added, it could not be removed.

On the second day of the competition, teams had to make this entire process automatic with the press of a single button. This required coordinating processes such as pipeline flushing, tank cooling, and colour dosing without human intervention. During the final round, participants faced complex technical problems requiring the integration of hardware, software, automation, data science, process engineering, and advanced controls.

Unlike traditional engineering competitions that focus only on individual subjects, the Lam Research Challenge emphasised system-level thinking and the ability to develop integrated solutions for semiconductor manufacturing operations.

According to Ragesh Raghavan, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director of Lam Research India, the Lam Research Challenge is designed to help students cultivate these capabilities so they can gain experience with engineering problems that shape the future of the industry. He further added that this competition demonstrates the company's commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators.

In India, IIT Guwahati is a leading technical and research institution known for providing high-level education and research in various engineering and science fields.