Patrick Hall, second from left, answers a question while the other Round 4 Grad Slam presenters look on. Credit: Patricia Marroquin
Here’s what you missed at Round 4 (aka "The Funny Round") of UCSB's 2015 Grad Slam on Tuesday afternoon in the Davidson Library's Pacific View Room. Nine presenters with nothing to lose and everything to gain traded timed talks on tantalizing topics, which included Big Data, Microscopic Plants, and Grit. In the end, only three graduate students prevailed to snag a gift card and an invite to a Semifinal showdown.
Clockwise from top: Patrick Hall, Taylor Damiani, Melissa Alcorn, Caleb Miller, Cameron Sublett, and Tanika Ladd. Credit: Patricia MarroquinThe presenters and their topics:
- Melissa Alcorn, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology: “Big Data, Tiny Worm: Building a Practical Model for Personalized Medicine”
- Taylor Damiani, Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology: “Grit: The Hidden Quality That Makes Winners Succeed”
- Patrick Hall, Linguistics: “A California Language You Should Know About”
- Tanika Ladd, Marine Science: “The Ocean's Chalk Factory - How Microscopic Plants Control the Earth's Carbon Cycle”
- Caleb Miller, Political Science: “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Post-Democracy”
- Jessica Perkins, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management: “Life Cycle Assessment & Decision Making - Finding a Solution, Not Just Changing the Problem”
- Celeste Pilegard, Psychological and Brain Sciences: “What Can We Learn From Video Games?”
- Ken Sterling, Education: “Imagine a Reality TV Show with a Boss Handing a Scan-Tron Form to an Employee”
- Cameron Sublett, Education: “Does Community College Online Course Enrollment Impair Student Success?”
And the Round 4 winners are ...
Jessica Perkins and the pen. Credit: Patricia MarroquinJudges' Selections: Celeste Pilegard and Jessica Perkins.
People's Choice: Ken Sterling.
Kyle's Selections:
- Best Joke (Tie): Patrick Hall (Uber) and Celeste Pilegard (Tetris)
- Best Prop: Jessica Perkins (pen)
- Best Quote: Ken Sterling
- Funniest Visual: Caleb Miller
- Most Dynamic: Cameron Sublett
Celeste, Jessica, and Ken will all move on to the Semifinals. Keep the faith, my friends!
The Round 4 Grad Slam winners are, from left, Ken Sterling, Jessica Perkins, and Celeste Pilegard. Credit: Patricia Marroquin