Presenting your 80,000-word thesis would take about 9 (probably rather dreary) hours. Can you boil it down to … 180 engrossing seconds?
Three-Minute Thesis® (3MT) is a research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland, Australia. It challenges graduate students in all research programs to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance in just three minutes, in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
Only one static slide or graphic is allowed, and no audio or moving video is permitted. A multidisciplinary faculty panel judges the contestants on comprehension, content, engagement, and communication. That is:What is your research about? Why is it important? What makes it cool?
The 11th Annual SU Three-Minute Thesis competition will be held Friday, April 4, 2-3:30 p.m. in Life Sciences Bldg. 001. Come watch the University’s top grad student research communicators square off in the finals. A multidisciplinary panel of judges determines the winner, while the audience awards the “People’s Choice.” The finalists are:
Nimisha Krishnan, Physics
Qingyang Liu, Human Development and Family Science
Abby Long, Composition and Cultural Rhetoric
Ratnakshi Mandal, Chemical Engineering
Sarah Nahar, Religion
Matthew O’Leary, Anthropology
Mary Pagan, Sociology
Paul Sagoe, Bioengineering
Nghia Thai, Bioengineering
RSVP to attend.
Previous winners (click on the titles to see their performances):
2024: Nimisha Thakur (Anthropology), “River Song: Riverine Futures Amidst Climate Change on the Brahmaputra Floodplains”
2023: Lei Wang (Instructional Design, Development & Evaluation), “Decision Making Matters: A Learning Resources Tool to Prompt Deeper Learning”
2022: Adam Cucchiara (Public Administration and International Affairs), “Essays on Military Veterans in Law Enforcement”
2021: Diana (Dee) Katovitch (Higher Education), “Bridges to the Ivory Tower: Students with General Learning Disabilities Disrupting Higher Education”
2019: Ying Zhang (Human Development and Family Science), “Father Involvement, Relationship Quality, and Maternal Postpartum Depression”
2018 (Syracuse University/SUNY ESF): Farah Nibbs (Environmental Engineering), “Ferrocement-Biosand Rainwater Tanks as a Low-Cost Method of Improving Water Security and Climate Change in Small Island Developing States”
2017: Woosang Hwang (Human Development and Family Science): “The Impact of Paid Family Leave Policy on Fertility Decisions in Employed Families”
2016: David Moss (Earth Sciences): “The Evolution of Extreme Longevity in Modern and Fossil Bivalves”
2015 (Syracuse University/SUNY ESF): Laura Bartock (Environmental Communication and Participatory Proceses), “Walking the Talk? Examining the Practical Application of Theoretical Models of Science Communication in Long-Term Ecological Research Sites”
2014: Lex Jing Lu (History), “Physiognomy, Beauty, and Political Power in Late Imperial and Modern China”