It’s a Battle of the Brains! UCSB professors face off live as they compete to explain their cutting-edge research in just three minutes.
Inspired by the Graduate Division’s Grad Slam, Prof Slam brings together faculty from across disciplines for a fast-paced evening of fascinating research, engaging storytelling and a little friendly competition. Each professor will take the stage to make complex ideas accessible, entertaining and compelling, all while competing for the 2026 Prof Slam crown.
Meet the Competitors:
Denise Montell, Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology
A National Academy of Sciences member whose groundbreaking cell biology research earned her the 2024 E.B. Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jarett Henderson, History
A scholar of settler colonialism and queer history whose research explores empire, sexuality and identity across the nineteenth-century British world.
Joe Walther, Communication
A Distinguished Professor whose influential research and theories on online human relationships have helped shape the field of communication.
Marley Dewey, Bioengineering
An NSF CAREER Award winner whose research uses biomaterials and extracellular vesicles to address challenges ranging from bone cancer and repair to coral restoration.
Ralph Armbruster Sandoval, Chicana/o Studies
A professor and community activist whose work focuses on social movements and labor justice on California’s Central Coast.
Siddharth Dey, Chemical Engineering & Bioengineering
An NSF CAREER Award recipient developing innovative technologies in the biosciences.
Prof Slam is part of UCSB’s All Gaucho Reunion 2026. Learn More.