Winners of Grad Slam Preliminary Round Four, who will go on to the Semifinals, are, left, Matt Cieslak of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Damien Kudela of Chemistry. Credit: Patricia Marroquin
Tuesday, April 8, 3 to 4 p.m., Library Pacific View Room.
Here is what you may have missed at the fourth round of the Grad Slam.
The Basics
Graduate Division Dean Carol Genetti hosted Grad Slam Round Four. Credit: Patricia Marroquin
The Glad Slam features three-minute presentations of student research.
The top two presenters from the preliminary round advance to the Semifinal round (and the top four receive $50 gift cards for the UCSB bookstore).
Kyle’s Picks
Best Dressed: Scott Banghart
Best Venue with a View: Library Pacific View Room
Best Visuals: Damien Kudela
Fastest: Damien Kudela (2:51)
Funniest: Shari Sanders
Judges’ Picks
Scott Banghart of Communication spoke about unprofessionalism in organizational life. Credit: Patricia MarroquinMatt Cieslak (advances to Semifinal round)
Damien Kudela (advances to Semifinal round)
Scott Banghart
Shari Sanders
(Editor’s note: This round initially had seven competitors. When three students withdrew, that left four competitors, all of whom received the bookstore gift cards. So "everyone’s a winner.")
Presentation Summaries
"Putting on Your Work Hat”: The Role of [Un]Professionalism in Organizational Life, Scott Banghart, Communication
Scott stated most of us will be working for most of our lives and it’s important for us to be professional. But what does it mean to be professional? 48% of Human Resource professionals say new workers are not professional. To figure out what professionalism is, Scott used a communication-oriented approach. He discovered there were components of professionalism: general skills (relevant to job description), behavior (appearance, emotions), and social component (romance, gossip, etc.).
Matt Cieslak discussed his research on concussions and other brain injuries. Credit: Patricia Marroquin
Searching the Brain for Missing Parts, Matt Cieslak, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Matt stated brains are important, but can be affected by injury and disease, but so
Shari Sanders, holding Tuxedo Stan, responds to a question. Credit: Patricia Marroquinme injuries such as concussions cannot be seen with current MRI technology. This is due to neuroanatomy reasons too complex for this writer to explain here or anywhere, but it all makes it difficult to see the concussion. However, there is a way to help. Matt is helping to create a database of brain images to make comparisons for injuries.
A Safe and Effective Nanotherapeutic to Control the Coagulation Cascade During Trauma, Damien Kudela, Chemistry
Damien stated that accidents happen and stopping blood loss has been a problem forever. Brute force and clotting drugs are insufficient and have potential harmful side effects. A recent trend is to use nanoparticle-based therapeutics (smart drugs) to target injured areas and accelerate the clotting process to stop bleeding faster.
Because Neglect Isn’t Cute: Tuxedo Stan’s Campaign for a Humane World, Shari Sanders, Comparative Literature
Shari talked about how the cat Tuxedo Stan fights for animal welfare by putting a cute face on appeals for humane treatment of animals. Stan ran for mayor and merchandise purchases go toward charities. Stan’s cuteness appeals to humane treatment more so than harsher images of inhumane treatment of animals and helps raise money.
Disclaimer: Apologies to any presenters if I misrepresented your research. I only had three minutes to summarize.
For information on other events, visit the Graduate Student Showcase 2014 page.
Previous Grad Slam 2014 coverage
Grad Slam Round One Recap: Topics Range From Hears to Handprints, Liberia to Light
Grad Slam Round Two Recap: Music and Poetry and Yoga, Oh My :-)
Grad Slam Round Three Recap: Clapping, Compost, Kids' Music, and More
Damien Kudela answers an audience member's question. Credit: Patricia Marroquin