IIT Guwahati overcomes Lam Research challenge in semiconductor engineering; winners will share ₹10 crore | Today’s news
IIT Guwahati emerged as the overall winner of the third edition of the Lam Research Challenge 2026, an industry competition in semiconductor systems engineering that brought together over 3,000 students from engineering institutions across India.
IIT Ropar secured the second position while NIT Calicut finished third. The winners were announced at the grand finale held at PES University in Bengaluru.
The best teams shared the financial rewards ₹10 lakh, while the selected participants will also get internship opportunities at Lam Research.
803 teams representing 189 universities from all over the country took part in the competition. Each team consisted of four students from a multidisciplinary academic background.
After a three-month selection process including qualifying rounds and hardware building rounds, 25 teams from 20 universities advanced to the finals.
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The IIT Guwahati team showcases multidisciplinary engineering skills
The winning team from IIT Guwahati consisted of Suhani Maheswari from Electronics and Communication Engineering, Aakash Kumar Meena from Mechanical Engineering and Shrut Jain and Kummari Premaja from Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
The IIT Ropar team included students from mechanical engineering and engineering physics, while the NIT Calicut team comprised students from mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, and computer engineering.
The finalists included students from 10 IITs, two NITs and two BITS campuses.
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What was the engineering challenge?
As part of the competition, teams had to build a table paint factory that could automatically mix three base colors and produce three liters of a target color that matched a reference sample on the first try.
The task required precision in the calculation and dosing of colors, as color could be added but not removed.
The next day, the teams had to automate the entire process with the push of a single button. This included the integration of pipe flushing, tank cooling and paint dispensing without human intervention.
During the final round, participants solved complex engineering problems that required a combination of hardware, software, automation, data science, process engineering and advanced controls.
Focus on semiconductor systems engineering
Unlike conventional engineering competitions that focus on individual disciplines, the Lam Research Challenge emphasized systems thinking and the ability to develop integrated solutions for complex semiconductor manufacturing operations.
Entries were judged on innovation, technical excellence, collaboration, problem solving and performance under pressure.
Rangesh Raghavan, vice president and managing director of Lam Research India, said, “The Lam Research Challenge is designed to help students build these skills while introducing them to the kinds of engineering problems that are shaping the future of our industry. It further demonstrates our continued commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators.”
