Grad Slam Preliminary Round 5 winner Cyrus Dreyer. Credit: Patricia Marroquin Grad Slam Preliminary Round 5 on Tuesday afternoon in the Student Resource Building took the audience to such diverse places as Southeast Asia, Capitol Hill, dance studios, and even the head of a pin.
Seven grad student contestants presented their three-minute talks in Round 5 of the Grad Slam, part of Graduate Division’s Graduate Student Showcase events that are designed to highlight and celebrate the remarkable contributions and achievements of our university’s grad students.
The talks were judged on several criteria: clear and compelling nature of the presentations; perceived impact on an academic field or on society; and how well the talks were geared for general audiences. In addition, any contestants who exceeded the three-minute limit had points deducted from their scores.
Political Science grad student Skylar Covich spoke about religion, poverty, and the state in American politics. LEDs were the focus of Materials student Cyrus Dreyer’s talk on "Lighting the World from the Head of a Pin." Bryan Goldsmith of Chemical Engineering helped us understand catalysts on amorphous materials. Next we heard from Psychological and Brain Sciences grad student Rachelle Oldmixon, who told us that “antibiotics are our nuclear weapons, not our grenades.”
Whitney O'Malley discusses dancing and other social interactions. Credit: Patricia Marroquin Accompanied by photographs of festive dance competitions, Education student Whitney O’Malley spoke about the sense of belonging that comes from college student organizations such as dance clubs and the social interactions they create. Amy Parks of the Bren School discussed her master’s class group project on creating an adaptive management tool to link natural resource academics and practitioners. And finally, Esther Taxon of Biomolecular Science and Engineering explained how Golden Rice and other genetically modified foods are helping the people in Third World as well as First World countries.
While the judges retired to another room to deliberate, the students were asked questions about their research and passions. And then the results were announced: the top three finishers named were Cyrus Dreyer, Amy Parks, and Esther Taxon, who each won $50 gift cards to the bookstore.
The winner of Round 5 is Cyrus Dreyer. He will go on to compete against Bob Lansdorp (Round 1 winner), Jasmin Llamas (Round 2), Torrey Trust (Round 3), Britney Pennington (Round 4) and the rest of the preliminary round winners on Friday, April 19, in the Grad Slam Finals.
See the full Grad Slam schedule for other events this week, which include a Performance Showcase, tours of the Experimental Visualization Lab, a Graduate Student Picnic, and a final reception.
Grad Slam Round 5 contestants answered questions while the judges deliberated. Credit: Patricia Marroquin