Winners of Grad Slam Round Five, who will go on to the Semifinals, are: Leah Kuritzky of Materials, left, and Audrey Harkness of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology. Credit: Patricia Marroquin
Wednesday, April 9, 11 a.m. to noon, Student Resource Building, Multipurpose Room.
Roxanna Quach of Graduate Division helped audience members sign in. Several dozen people attended. Credit: Patricia MarroquinHere is what you may have missed at the fifth round of the Grad Slam.
Overview
The Glad Slam features 3-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: Kyle Ploense
Best Preliminary Round: Round Five (eight really good short talks and visuals)
Best Visuals: Audrey Harkness
Fastest: Elizabeth Mainz (2:33)
Funniest: Leah Kuritzky
Leah Kuritzky displays a laser light prototype. Credit: Patricia MarroquinJudges’ Picks
Audrey Harkness (advances to Semifinal round)
Leah Kuritzky (advances to Semifinal round)
Hannah Kallewaard
Lisa McAllister
Presentation Summaries
Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Giant Kelp, Thomas Bell, Marine Science
Thomas explained that hyperspectral remote sensing is much more advanced than multispectral scanning, allowing researchers to measure more data. Changes in coastal ecosystems affect kelp. By measuring kelp, we can measure changes in the ecosystems and its effects.
Having “The Talk”: The Importance of Parent-Child Communication about Sexual Orientation in the Development of Youth Sexual Orientation Attitudes and Behaviors, Audrey Harkness, Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology
Audrey talked about teens’ attitudes toward lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. Parents have an effect on these teen attitudes. She plans to determine empirically if parents’ messages about sexual orientation affect teen attitudes about sexual orientation. Audrey will interview parents and children and see if there is cause and effect. She will then develop workshops to help parents talk about sexual orientation.
Kyle Ploense joined the other Grad Slam Round Five competitors in answering questions while the judges deliberated. Credit: Patricia Marroquin
I Know How You Feel: Literature and the Experience of Empathy, Shay Hopkins, English
Hannah Kallewaard, left, answers a question from the audience. Credit: Patricia MarroquinShay explained that when we read a word such as “coffee,” our brain reacts like we smell coffee. Initially, brains do not distinguish between idea and experience. Reading fiction allows emotional growth and increase our ability to empathize with others.
Electrochemical Sensors for Rapid and Inexpensive Pathogen Detection, Hannah Kallewaard, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Hannah showed that there are way too many steps to test blood – from a blood test request to reporting those test results to a patient. While annoying to people in rich countries, this is a more serious issue in areas with few resources. Hannah is developing a device to detect pathogens and do a test that takes 15 minutes, costs 10 cents, uses only a drop of blood, can perform up to six tests at once, and which you don’t need skilled technicians to process.
Focused, Efficient, and Bright: The Promise of Laser Lighting, Leah Kuritzky, Materials
Leah said lasers can be used to solve the energy crisis. Twenty-two percent of our energy use goes to lighting, she said. The current state of art is the LED lightbulb, but as we increase LED efficiency, the lighting level drops. So how can you get high brightness, high efficiency, and low cost? Lasers. Her research is focused on the atomic scale to improve efficiency, so that in the future we can reduce energy consumption and light the world.
Teachers’ Beliefs about Language: Gaining Positive Perspectives, Elizabeth Mainz, Education
Elizabeth explained we have 4.5 million students in English language programs. Unfortunately, these students are marginalized because of their language. Teachers can change this paradigm. Elizabeth will look at teachers and their language beliefs, and ways to incorporate those ideas into the classroom, so in the future we can value these students.
Lisa McAllister of Anthropology focused on family planning in the Amazon Basin. Credit: Patricia Marroquin
Family Planning in the Amazon Basin, Lisa McAllister, Anthropology
Lisa stated that populations are increasing all over the world and this will strain resources for food and water. However, smaller, indigenous groups will grow more and have even more strain on their limited resources. These groups realize the danger of overpopulation but her research showed these people won’t change because they feel unwelcome in cities and feel a need for larger families to help them in the fields. To solve this problem, family planning programs need to be more culturally aware.
Cocaine in the Brain, Kyle Ploense, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Kyle explained that addiction is the intense craving for drugs over sex and food, even chocolates. Drug 
Kyle Ploense's talk was titled "Cocaine in the Brain." Credit: Patricia Marroquinabuse cost us billions of dollars a year. Many have tried cocaine but only 1% are addicts, so researchers are studying how genes and environment interact to cause addiction. His research trains rats to do cocaine in two different environments: one addictive, and one not. They look at the molecules that push a person toward addiction, which will help in developing treatments.
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
Grad Slam Round Four Recap: Everyone's a Winner
Round Five of the Grad Slam attracted the largest crowd so far. More than 40 attended the round in the SRB's Multipurpose Room. Credit: Patricia Marroquin