Ten graduate students will compete in Texas A&M University’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition finals on Nov. 3. The winner will go on to represent Texas A&M at the southeast regional 3MT competition, held at the Council of Southern Graduate School’s (CSGS) annual meeting in March in Greenville, South Carolina.
Developed in 2008 by Australia’s University of Queensland, 3MT gives competitors three minutes to present a compelling oration on their research and its significance to a non-specialist audience, using just one slide. The event was an instant hit in Australia and quickly spread beyond its borders where it has been adopted by universities worldwide. Texas A&M was among the first U.S. institutions to hold a 3MT competition in 2013. This year marks the 11th annual installment of the event on A&M’s campus.
The competition is an opportunity for graduate students to sharpen their research focus, improve their presentation skills and perfect their elevator pitch for prospective employers and anyone else interested in learning about their research.
Graduate and Professional School Interim Associate Provost and Dean Fuhui Tong said 3MT showcases outstanding research by graduate students and presents a great opportunity to communicate that research to the campus and greater community.
“3MT serves as a remarkable platform to highlight the outstanding research conducted by Texas A&M's graduate students. The competition's focus on participants' ability to explain the importance of their research to an audience outside their discipline makes it an effective means to bridge the gap between research and real-world impact,” Tong said.
Five colleges and 10 departments are represented by presenters in this year's finals. Last year's top honors went to Chih-Shen Cheng, from the College of Engineering. As a result of Cheng's win, his Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has held the Texas A&M University 3MT cup for the past year.
This year, Vivek Bheeroo, a doctoral student from civil engineering, will try to retain the department’s hold on the cup.
Other competitors are:
- Hannah Bowling (Arts & Sciences - English)
- Gemini Creason-Parker (Arts & Sciences - Sociology)
- Sarah Hargett (Engineering - Biomedical Engineering)
- Mahtab Heydari (Engineering - Mechanical Engineering)
- Justinn Jones (Agriculture & Life Sciences - Ecology and Conservation Biology)
- Srihari Menon (Engineering - Industrial Engineering)
- Oluyomi Oloruntoba (Public Health - Public Health Sciences)
- Andrea Porter (Engineering Interdisciplinary Engineering)
- Rohit Kumar (Architecture - Architecture)
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The 3MT finals, hosted by the Graduate and Professional School, is Friday, Nov. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Rudder Forum. The event is free and open to the public and also available via livestream. Registration to attend in person or watch the livestream is required. Visit tx.ag/3MTFinals2023 for info.
Courtesy of Cori Eckert, Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School
