Finalists in UC Santa Barbara’s 10th annual Grad Slam at Campbell Hall, where they presented years of research in compelling three-minute talks showcasing innovation across disciplines.
Finalists in UC Santa Barbara’s 10th annual Grad Slam at Campbell Hall, where they presented years of research in compelling three-minute talks showcasing innovation across disciplines. Credit: Kirk Greene photo

I recently had the opportunity to watch UC Santa Barbara’s 10th annual Grad Slam competition at Campbell Hall.

The event spotlighted the amazing research being done by UCSB graduate students, as seven finalists presented their research in three-minute talks.

As emcee Janine Jones, associate vice chancellor for graduate affairs, noted, “imagine putting four to seven years of hard work into a three-minute TED Talk!”

The seven finalists had been selected from previous competitions, with the winner going on to a statewide competition with winners from other University of California campuses.

After a warm welcome from Chancellor Dennis Assanis, speakers began giving their talks about the following:

  • “A Squid Waste Problem (and Our Solution)” by Ashley Diedenhofen
  • “Do I Stand with You Because We’re Alike — or Because It’s Right?” by Celine Tsoi
  • “The Social Responsibilities of Singer-Songwriters in Spain and Latin America” by Jakob Romine
  • “From 1960s Relics to Solid-State Reliability: The NASICON Energy Grid” by Jordan Bream
  • “Reimagining Climate Through Speculative Designs” by Kaylee Laub
  • “Click It to Fix It” by Komal Na
  • “Carbon Collab: Where Should We Grow Seaweed to Mitigate Climate Change” by Michaela Sten

The audience voted online for the People’s Choice Award, with Bream taking that honor as she talked about innovative electric battery storage processes.

Sten was runner-up, talking about where and how to use farmed kelp to store carbon in the ocean.

And Laub, a Ph.D. candidate in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education won with her talk about collaborating with local middle-school teachers to involve their students in creating innovative ways to deal with climate change.

(UCSBGradDiv video)

All finalists were polished presenters talking about remarkably interesting research.

All seven speakers did a great job of putting complicated research into a clear, captivating, and compelling three-minute talk to a diverse audience.

I came away from the event impressed and hopeful about our future with these kinds of great minds.

YouTube video
(UC Santa Barbara video)

Retired financial adviser Kirk Greene served hundreds of individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations over his 40-year career. In 2020, he sold the Seattle-based registered investment advisory firm he founded to his partners and returned to Santa Barbara, where he grew up. He is an alumnus of Seattle University and earned ChFC and CLU designations from the American College of Financial Services. Kirk is past
president of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle and has been an active Rotarian for more than 25 years. The opinions expressed are his own, and you should consult your own financial, tax and legal advisers in thinking about your own planning.