February 24, 2021
Three Minute Thesis final competition today
Eight graduate students will compete in the Three Minute Thesis final competition at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, via Zoom. The event is open to the public.
The Three Minute Thesis Competition, known as 3MT, began in 2008 at the University of Queensland, Australia. The 3MT challenges graduate students to hone their science communication skills by presenting a compelling oration on their thesis topic and its significance.
Theses and dissertations can be more than 80,000 words, which can take hours to present, but graduate students participating in the Three Minute Thesis competition have just three minutes and one slide to convey their often highly-technical research to a lay audience.
Judges in K-State's final competition select a first-place winner to receive a $500 scholarship and to represent K-State in the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools' 3MT Competition in March. The second-place presenter is awarded a $250 scholarship. The audience will participate by voting for the people's choice winner, who receives a $125 scholarship.
The eight finalists:
- Lara Dsouza, doctoral student in biology, "Little Warrior vaccinia: Using vaccinia virus to treat breast cancer."
- Manoj Chhetri, doctoral student in horticulture and natural resources, "Soil moisture sensors: Smart irrigation technology."
- Hannah Stowe, master's student in entomology, "Giving Lady Bugs a Seat at the Table: Pest Control Through Predator Diet Improvements."
- Priyasha Fernando, master's student in civil engineering, "Power of Pig Poop."
- Travis Wiederstein, master's student in biological and agricultural engineering, "Eye in the Sky: Improving Irrigation Management With Aerial Imagery."
- Manjot Kaur Rekhi, master's student in agronomy, "Sensing nutrient dynamics using soil-based microbial fuel cells."
- Liz Renner, doctoral student in biology, "A silver bullet or a Band-Aid: Can whole-lake rotenone applications mitigate the ecosystem effects of an invasive fish?"
- Sabita Ranabhat, doctoral student in entomology, "Small Bugs, Big Problems: Smart Solutions."
Join the final competition via Zoom and visit the 3MT website to learn more about the competition.
Questions about K-State's Three Minute Thesis Competition can be directed to Megan Miller, the Graduate School's student success coordinator, at mmmiller@k-state.edu.