About the competition
Download the program for Grad Slam 2026! (PDF)
Grad Slam is an annual contest to communicate research. It aims to make research accessible by providing emerging scientists and scholars with the skills to engage the public in their work.
Participants are judged on how well they engage the audience, how clearly they communicate key concepts and how effectively they focus and present their ideas — all in three minutes or less.
Each of UC’s 10 campuses holds local Grad Slam contests; the first-place winners of each of those will square off April 22, 2026 for the systemwide title and cash prize.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges representing industry, media, government and higher education. Viewers will also get a chance to vote for their favorite; the winner will receive the audience choice award.
The 2026 contest will be at the UC Student and Policy Center in Sacramento, California.
Judges
Partho Ghosh
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, UC San Diego
Partho Ghosh is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at UC San Diego and chair of the UC Academic Senate Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs. A structural biologist, his research explores how microbial pathogens interact with human cells to cause infectious disease. Ghosh has led his laboratory at UC San Diego since 1997 and is a fellow of the American Society for Microbiology. He earned a B.S. from Yale University and a Ph.D. from UC San Francisco.
Hayes Raffle
Principal Designer, Google
Hayes Raffle is an award-winning product innovator and principal designer at Google, developing applied consumer AI learning experiences across Gemini, Search and YouTube. At the forefront of emerging technologies, he previously helped launch Google Glass and Daydream VR, inventing industry-standard frameworks and securing over 75 U.S. patents. Raffle holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in media arts and sciences from the MIT Media Lab and a B.A. in fine arts from Yale. He has over 40 peer-reviewed publications in tangible media, educational technology and human-computer interaction.
Janet Reilly
Chair, UC Board of Regents
Janet Reilly chairs the UC Board of Regents She is the co-founder and board president of Clinic by the Bay, a free, volunteer-powered health clinic for the working uninsured in San Francisco and San Mateo counties. A former executive producer and on-air television host for NBC Bay Area – KNTV, Reilly and her husband own the San Francisco Examiner and the Nob Hill Gazette. Reilly earned a B.A. from ULCA and an M.S. in journalism from the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism.
Livia Shmavonian
Senior Advisor for Economic and Workforce Development, Office of Governor Gavin Newsom
Livia Shmavonian serves as deputy cabinet secretary and senior advisor for economic and workforce development in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. She also serves as commissioner on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. A leading voice in shaping international trade, economic and national security policy, she most recently served in the White House as the director of the Made in America Office. A proud UC alumna, Shmavonian earned her B.A. from UC Davis and an MPP from Georgetown University.
Kya Young
Student, Sacramento Community College
A student at Sacramento Community College, Kya Young is part of a neuroscience lab studying the chemotaxis of C. elegans worms. Passionate about cognitive research, Young plans to earn an M.D./Ph.D. in neuroanesthesiology. She hopes to contribute innovative research to the neuroscience community, with a focus on consciousness. In her free time, she participates in community engagement and extracurricular activities, including the UC Davis medical program, Avenue M.