CSUB to host statewide Grad Slam

CSU virtual research competition to be held on Friday, May 6

By California State University, Bakersfield

May 2^nd, 2022

California State University, Bakersfield will host the CSU Grad Slam for the first time this Friday.

The competition, during which graduate students will have three minutes to provide a presentation explaining their research, will be held virtually from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Two students from each participating university, including CSUB, will compete for a chance to win cash prizes and bragging rights. Students must earn first or second place at a university-level Grad Slam to participate in the statewide contest. CSUB’s last competition was held on Dec. 3.

“We are thrilled to be hosting the second annual CSU Grad Slam competition, with 20 of the 23 campuses participating this year,” said Dr. Debra Jackson, associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of academic programs. “The event showcases some of the outstanding research conducted by graduate students throughout the CSU system.”

The Grad Slam challenges students with presenting their research findings in a way that the general public can easily understand and engage with.

“The competition prepares our students to succinctly and concisely communicate important research findings in non-jargon language — a difficult feat,” said Dr. Luis Vega, interim associate dean of graduate and undergraduate studies. “This is a reason this competition is so important.”

Isabella Ozuna is one of the CSUB students who will be participating in Friday’s competition. She is pursuing her master’s degree in biology and will be presenting her research on the biofluorescence of the rough-skinned newt and the impact it has on the West Coast ecosystem.

“I’m so excited and grateful that I’m going to be able to represent CSUB at the Grad Slam,” Ozuna said. “This is such a great opportunity to inform the general public about our research.”

Working to condense over a year of research into a presentation that must be no longer than three minutes has been both challenging and enjoyable process, Ozuna said.

“You have to be able to convey the enormity of your research in a such a short time frame,” she said. “I really do enjoy being able to work on this and try to communicate my research to non-biology majors.”

As part of her research, Ozuna has been examining rough-skinned newts under certain light conditions to see how they glow and use that ability as a defense mechanism or to communicate with other members of their species.

“It helps us understand a little more about their behavior, so that way we can think about conservation efforts. If we can understand them more, then we can help them more,” she said.

Autumn Corrow, a fellow biology major who will also be representing CSUB at the Grad Slam, will be showcasing her research on the effects of fire on bat activity in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.

“I think bats are awesome. They’re so cute and really misunderstood,” she said. “Bats are an incredible species and super vital in the services they provide to the ecosystem. They’re so diverse and on every continent except Antarctica.”

Corrow said she has been practicing her speech and timing herself frequently to make sure she can meet the time limit and avoid being disqualified for going over. She believes her previous experiences with Grad Slams have helped prepare her for the statewide contest.

“As researchers, we’re expected to go to conferences and things like that, and it’s so important to be able to network and talk about research, to get it all out there quickly,” she said.

While students are excited to be able to show off their research as part of the CSU Grad Slam, Ozuna said it is also a great opportunity to raise more awareness of CSUB.

“It gives us that exposure to show other people that CSUB is not the small campus people assume,” she said. “It’s in a little less known part of California, but we have wonderful students who can compete at this level. We can show we care capable of big things in the Valley.”