About Grad Slam
Grad Slam is a UC-sponsored competition designed to showcase graduate student research for a general audience in three-minute talks. Students compete in preliminary rounds on their UC campus, with prizes awarded at each stage of the selection process.
The campus-wide competition will take place on Wednesday, April 9, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Register to Watch the 2025 Grad Slam (opens in a new tab)UC-Wide Grad Slam Championship
In late April, Berkeley’s champion will compete against graduate student peers at the UC-wide championship competition live in Sacramento. Competitors will be judged by notable leaders in industry, government, and media.
The top three presentations will receive cash prizes with first place recognized as the winner of the prestigious UCOP Grad Slam “Slammy” award.
2025 Berkeley Semi-Finalists
Jaquesta Adams
Jaquesta Adams is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry, originally from Miami, Florida. Currently in the Landry lab, Jaquesta works on the development of near-infrared fluorescent nanosensors for the high spatiotemporal detection of neuropeptides. She hopes that her research can lead to improved understanding of and therapeutic outcomes for neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
Cecil Egbele
Cecil Egbele is a second-year Master’s student in Journalism at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. She has a background in television broadcasting with Nigeria’s national TV, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). As a documentary filmmaker, her interests focus on social justice and impactful storytelling. Her thesis exposes the decades-long deportation of U.S. military veterans and sheds light on their struggles in exile while questioning the moral and legal frameworks that allow the deportation of veterans in the first place.
Zhe Fu
Zhe Fu is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Transportation Engineering, developing sustainable solutions for mixed-autonomy traffic (where autonomous and human-driven vehicles coexist). Her work blends physics models, control theory, and machine learning across theoretical, algorithmic, and real-world applications to reduce congestion, cut emissions, and improve traffic energy efficiency. Outside academia, she enjoys singing, attending live performances, and playing sports.
Sekou Jabateh
Sekou Jabateh is a Ph.D. student specializing in Comparative Politics. His research focuses on the micro-dynamics of political violence and conflict resolution. He has co-authored papers and conducted field experiments in Liberia and Senegal, investigating intergroup cooperation in post-conflict settings and the role of political connections in entrepreneurship in developing countries. Before joining UC Berkeley, Sekou was a Research Fellow at New York University, examining the intersection of conflict, ethnicity, and political economy.
Hoyun Kim
Hoyun Kim is a Ph.D. Candidate in Education at the Berkeley School of Education. Her research interests are in public higher education policy and systems, and their implications for equity, access, and agency for students. Her recent work focuses on the development and implementation of policies and initiatives at community colleges to increase postsecondary attainment. Outside of research, she enjoys trying new art forms, cooking, and caring for college students.
Daniel Raban
Daniel Raban is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Statistics. His research centers around theoretical statistics and probability theory, in topics such as the analysis of ratings, game-theoretic notions of cooperation, and long-term behavior of random processes. In his free time, Daniel enjoys cooking, writing fiction, and designing games. As part of a commitment to accessibility in math education, Daniel maintains Pillowmath, a website of over 2500 personally typed pages of freely available math notes, frequented by users from over 80 countries around the world.
Jaewon Saw
Jaewon is a Ph.D. candidate in Systems Engineering, specializing in Distributed Acoustic Sensing, a cutting-edge technology with diverse applications. Growing up, she was fascinated by the engineering behind historic structures and their ability to withstand the test of time. This curiosity led her to pursue structural engineering during her undergraduate and Master’s studies. Now, she applies advanced sensing technologies and data-driven methods to study the built and natural environment, working to enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure.
Sydney Tomlinson
Sydney Tomlinson is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Metabolic Biology. Conducting research in Dr. James Olzmann’s lab, her work focuses on harnessing cellular degradation mechanisms to target disease-driving proteins embedded in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for removal. This approach holds promise as an innovative therapeutic strategy for treating various diseases. Outside of lab, she is an avid outdoor enthusiast who is always up for an adventure.
Jonathan Wang
Jonathan Wang is a first-year M.S. student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, specializing in computer architecture. He is a researcher in the Specialized Computing Ecosystems Lab, where his work is at the intersection between artificial intelligence and hardware design. Jonathan’s passion is driven by his desire to democratize access to powerful machine learning tools so everyone can utilize AI with their own devices.
Wayne Zhao
Wayne Zhao is a third-year Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering. His research focuses on developing novel infrared light detecting materials using high throughput computation to enhance aviation and firefighter safety. Fascinated by chemistry and Pennsylvania geology, Wayne pursued materials science stemming from his interests in rocks and minerals. Also an avid foodie, Wayne hopes his research will aid cost-effect food spoilage detection too. Outside academia, he enjoys biking, badminton, and drumming.