Grad Slam Round Six Recap: Writing, Repatriation, the Rural Midwest, and More

Grad Slam Round Six winners, who will advance to the Semifinals, are Logan Fiorella of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Carly Thomsen of Feminist Studies. Credit: Patricia Marroquin

Wednesday, April 9, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., HSSB 6020.

Here is what you may have missed at the sixth round of the Grad Slam.

OvervieThe judges for Grad Slam Round Six were, from left, Paul Amar, Drew Carter, and Cindy Doherty. Credit: Patricia Marroquinw

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).

Ryan’s Picks

Nicest socks: Ryan Dippre

Best timing: Logan Fiorella

Best use of a meme: Amirali Ghofrani

Best images of arrows pointing at mud and sand: Laura Reynolds

Largest amount of information in three minutes: Marla Andrea Ramirez

Longest title: Carly Thomsen (see below)

Best answer to “What would you do with the award money?”: Amirali Ghofrani (He'd go to Hawaii ... for research purposes)

The Round Six competitors share a laugh while answering questions from the audience. Credit: Patricia Marroquin

Judges' Picks

Ryan Dippre pointed out that writing is not equally valued at all times in all places. Credit: Patricia MarroquinLogan Fiorella (Advances to Semifinal round)

Carly Thomsen (Advances to Semifinal round)

Laura Reynolds

Marla Andrea Ramirez

Brutal Silence: Words that Don’t Matter, Writing that Doesn’t Exist, Ryan Dippre, Education Department

This ruggedly handsome (Editor’s note: and modest) fellow really wore the hell out of that suit jacket. This presentation pointed out that writing is not equally valued at all times and in all places, and this leads some people to fail to realize the considerable rhetorical knowledge that they possess. By studying writers in moments of intense concentration, we can see what people are doing and how those actions can be used in other writing circumstances to give writers greater control over their writing world.

Logan Fiorella explored the claim that teaching is the best way to learn something. Credit: Patricia Marroquin

Is Teaching Really the Best Way to Learn?  Logan Fiorella, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

This presentation explored the claim that teaching is the best way to learn something. Pointing to peer tutoring programs and their like-minded brethren, Logan argues that these programs only produce modest gains in learning. In order to explain this, and to harness the power of using teaching-as-learning as a tool, Logan recommends a six-stage model of learning-by-teaching.  Teaching is a dynamic process, Logan claims, and taking advantage of the complex dynamics of this process can really make teaching the best way to learn.

Amirali Ghofrani addressed the need for longer-lasting power. Credit: Patricia Marroquin

Low Power and Reliable Resistive Memories for Future Memory Applications, Amirali Ghofrani, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Amirali recalls for us the painful misery of having a dead battery on our cell phone. He outlines the basic problem: that we need long-lasting power and we need high-capacity memories in our phones. Amirali suggests the power of resistive memories as an answer to some of these problems. 

Marla Ramirez listens to a question. Credit: Patricia MarroquinAlien Citizens: The Mexican Repatriation Program, 1920s-1940s, Marla Andrea Ramirez, Chicana/o Studies

This presentation explored the complicated relationship between the United States and Mexico, and in particular the expelling of 650,000 U.S. citizen children of Mexican ancestry in the era of the Great Depression. The presentation gives a brief overview of the Robles family in an attempt to understand what happened to two generations of people affected by this event.

Tsunami Hazard Along the Santa Barbara Coast: Lessons from Japan, Laura Reynolds, Earth Sciences

Laura Reynolds explored the possibilities for a tsunami along the Santa Barbara coast. Credit: Patricia MarroquinReynolds argues that we need the geological record to fill in the gaps and get an understanding of the realities of tsunamis and their cycles. Understanding tsunamis over the span of a human lifetime is not enough. She explores the possibilities for a tsunami along the Santa Barbara coast.  She does this by taking samples of inland deposits and looking for marine sands that have been deposited inland. 

Rethinking Gay Rights Strategies: Perspectives from LGBTQ Women in the Rural Midwest, Carly Thomsen, Feminist Studies

Beginning with the case of Jene Newsome – a member of the U.S. military who was expelled under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule after local police gave evidence of her sexuality to the military – this presentation explored something called “metronormativity,” which is the ideology that rural situations are naturally homophobic. Thomsen suggests, based on 50 interviews with people in the Midwest, that this leads to an estrangement between LGBTQ women in rural areas and the greater gay rights movement, which challenges certain aspects of queer study scholarship, such as the definition of what it means to be “out.” 

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

Grad Slam Round Five Recap: Sex, Drugs, and Lasers

Carly Thomsen's talk started off with a discussion of a member of the U.S. military who was expelled under the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" rule. Credit: Patricia Marroquin