calendar-with-clock-icon-uc-santa-barbara Friday, February 20th, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm
location-icon-uc-santa-barbara Student Resource Building, Multipurpose Room

Presenters:

Amanda Anderson (Social Sciences & Education)
"The Creative Experience of Meditators"

Sonal Barve (Social Sciences & Education)
"Knowing the Price vs Hitting the Mark: The Cognitive Tax of Complex Prices "

Nevan Bell (Social Sciences & Education)
"Soft Hands, Hard Sciences: Navigating Masculinity in STEM "

Kanika Bhalla (Social Sciences & Education)
"Colonial Interventions in the ‘Orient’: Retelling and Appropriation of Folktales in Construction of Colonial Modernity in Punjab"

Alan Crawley (Social Sciences & Education)
"Visual Fireworks: The Nonverbal Communication of Passion"

Damaris Garcia Valerio (Social Sciences & Education)
"Returning to Birthland: An Exploration of DACA Recipients’ Journeys to Their Ancestral Lands"

Kaylee Laub (Social Sciences & Education)
"Reimagining Climate Solutions Through Speculative Designs"

Taylor Martin del Campo (Social Sciences & Education)
"Exploring Sense of Belongingness Among Formerly Incarcerated Students in Higher Education Institutions"

Bedlam Oak (Social Sciences & Education)
"Understanding Activists through Planetary Mapping"

Amber Reinke (Social Sciences & Education)
"When Coaches Cross the Line: Abuse and Student-Athlete Mental Health"

Jean Pauline Serrano (Social Sciences & Education)
"Youth Navigating Adversity"

Judges:

Our esteemed judges for this round are:

  • Linda Burrows (Graduate Dean’s Cabinet Member in the Graduate Division)

  • Sameer Pandya, Ph.D. (Associate Professor & Chair of the Department of Asian American Studies)

  • Emma Parker, Ph.D. (Manager of Strategic Initiatives & Student Parent Liaison in Student Life)

  • Conor Pugsley (Undergraduate Researcher with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry)

  • Daniela Rivera Mirabal (Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical Engineering)