When UCSB Linguistics PhD student Daniel Hieber heard his name called as second-place finisher in the inaugural UC Grad Slam in Oakland on Monday, he was ecstatic. Hieber was among 10 champions, one from each of the University of California campuses, to present in the competition for the best three-minute research talk. He had triumphed through UCSB's preliminary, semifinal, and final rounds to represent the school with his talk: “Renaissance on the Bayou: Reviving the Chitimacha Language.” The only competitor in the UC Grad Slam not in a science, technology, or engineering field, Hieber is helping to revive a language in the Louisiana bayou, Chitimacha, whose last native speakers died in the 1930s. He has reconstructed the language, even creating a Rosetta Stone audiotape that tribal members now listen to in their cars.
The judges — who included a venture capitalist, the mayor of Oakland, and a UC Board of Regents member — selected Ashley Fong of UC Irvine as the first-place winner of the inaugural “Slammy” and a $6,000 cash prize. Hieber won second place and $3,000, and Alex Phan of UC San Diego won third and $1,000. The complete UC Grad Slam can be seen here , and emcee Janet Napolitano, president of the UC, introduces Hieber's presentation at the 56:50 mark.
I spoke with Hieber about the experience of preparing and competing in the historic UC Grad Slam.