This year’s Interdisciplinary Graduate and Professional Student Symposium (IGPS) was a grand slam--or should we say, Grad Slam?

For the past five years the Graduate Student Association (GSA) at UC Davis has put together IGPS, a symposium of posters, panels, and performances, but this year included a new segment, the introduction of the Grad Slam competition. Our first-ever Grad Slam champion, food scientist Forrest “Ryan” Dowdy, will go forth to represent UC Davis at the UC-wide tournament event this upcoming Monday, May 4, 2015.

Grad Slam is based off Three Minute Thesis (3MT®), a research and communication competition from The University of Queensland, Australia. Both competitions have similar goals that ask graduate students to demonstrate both compelling research and excellent communication skills. Grad Slam gives students a stage in front of a distinguished panel of judges representing industry, government officials, and higher education leaders.

UC Davis is just one among seven UC schools that adopted Grad Slam to its campus this year, making it a UC-wide event. UC Santa Barbara was the first adopter three years ago, and both UC San Diego and Riverside began holding Grad Slams two years ago. GSA decided to incorporate Grad Slam in IGPS instead of holding it as a separate event, because the symposium is founded upon interdisciplinary and experimental methods of informing and connecting broad audiences. Grad Slam was a perfect segment to introduce this year.

Dowdy, whose presentation “Powering California with Food Waste” gave him a slot to compete against the nine other UC finalists this coming Monday, says he tried to capture the passion of his team (from the Simmons Lab) during the campus competition. “Our lab asks questions about how to use all the food waste we have in California for renewable energy. My project uses ‘microbial fuel cells’ – essentially living batteries – to generate electricity from food waste. This is exciting...because it involves food, water, and energy, which are crucial issues right now for California,” Dowdy explains.

Upon entering the campus competition, Dowdy says he didn’t know what to expect, but knew that it would a valuable chance to practice presenting his research. “Regardless of the outcome,” he says. “One of the mottos we have in our lab is ‘get up and swing.’ Sometimes you miss – but that’s okay because eventually you’ll get a hit….[I’m just] honored to represent the Simmons Lab and to participate in the first...Grad Slam,” he says.

With just a few days left until the statewide tournament, Dowdy has taken steps to prepare for the big event. “I’ve met with people from Graduate Studies to critique my talk, and [I have] also practiced in front of my speaking club, Davis Town and Gown Toastmasters,” he says.

UC President Janet Napolitano will lead the statewide event along with a group of distinguished judges representing industry, government officials, and higher education leaders. The panel will judge presentations on how well speakers engage the audience, how clearly they communicate key concepts, and how effectively they focus and present their ideas.

Support Ryan by tuning into the live stream of the event, to be featured here: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/grad-slam and live tweet or tag your posts #gradslam #UCDavis