Competitors in Grad SLAM Display the Potency of condensed Presentations within Three Minutes
At the UC San Diego Graduate Division, the third annual Grad SLAM finals took place on April 14, bringing together 10 graduate students from various academic disciplines to showcase their complex research in a manner understandable to a general audience.
The event, hosted in the Student Services Complex Multipurpose Room, challenged participants to distil their research into short, accessible presentations that could be grasped by people without technical backgrounds. This year, Tiffany Taylor of Biomedical Sciences emerged as the winner with her presentation "Using 'Central Intelligence' to Fight and Conquer Brain Tumors," earning her a cash prize of $2,500.
Mary Glen Fredrick of Theatre and Dance took second place and a prize of $1,000 with her presentation "Making a Monster: Turning Statistics into a Story." Lorenzo Rossini of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering earned third place and $750 with his presentation "A Peek inside the Heart: How the Blood Flows."
Among the other participants, Scripps graduate student Lynn Waterhouse discussed her research on the endangered Nassau grouper, a project with REEF and the Cayman Islands Department of Environment. Catherine Nickels, a fifth-year PhD candidate in biological oceanography, spoke about her research on zooplankton ecology and whale movement in the Nine Mile Bank.
The Center for Student Involvement and Qualcomm Institute provided workshops and one-on-one coaching to help the Grad SLAM finalists prepare for the competition. Nickels mentioned that Grad SLAM helped her to step back and consider the big picture of her research, while Waterhouse expressed that participating in Grad SLAM is enjoyable and important for communicating science to a general audience, especially for her future goal of teaching statistics to wildlife biologists and marine scientists.
Both Waterhouse and Nickels expressed excitement about participating in the event and its career-expanding opportunities. Waterhouse, who participated in Grad SLAM for the second time, mentioned that the skills gained through related workshops would likely help her in the future when she begins teaching.
The lively event featured topics that ranged from wearable biofuel cells to stimulation of blind eyes to restore vision. A small panel of academically diverse faculty and staff judged the Grad SLAM competitors and offered cash prizes of up to $2,500 to winners.
Nickels also highlighted the importance of thinking about the ocean as a dynamic system and emphasized her interest in science communications. By participating in Grad SLAM, students improve their ability to explain complex topics succinctly and relate their significance to everyday life, enhancing public engagement with research.
In summary, Grad SLAM at UC San Diego supports graduate students by providing a platform and coaching to transform intricate research into compelling stories that general audiences can grasp, fostering broader communication skills essential for academic and professional success. The event is a valuable opportunity for early career scientists to showcase their research and communicate it to a general audience.
- The workshops and one-on-one coaching provided by the Center for Student Involvement and Qualcomm Institute at the Grad SLAM helped participants like Lynn Waterhouse and Catherine Nickels in their personal growth and education-and-self-development, as they improved their ability to simplify complex topics for a general audience.
- By participating in events like Grad SLAM, students like Waterhouse and Nickels not only learn about self-development and personal growth, but also engage in learning opportunities that are essential for their future careers, as they gain skills in communicating science to the public, contributing to their overall academic and professional success.
