Arts and Sciences Doctoral Student Wins at This Year鈥檚 Three-Minute Thesis Competition
Ten graduate students competed in this year鈥檚 (3MT) competition on April 4. The annual event, sponsored by the , provides participants with the opportunity to share highlights of their research and scholarship in pithy, engaging presentations lasting no longer than three minutes.

, a doctoral student in social psychology at the ,聽won the competition with her presentation, 鈥.鈥 She received 16-inch MacBook Pro M4 and a one-year membership in the , the professional organization of her choice.
鈥淭he clich茅 is that academic research is both impenetrable and pointless,鈥 says Glenn Wright, executive director of professional and career development at the Graduate School. 鈥淭he 3MT really challenges graduate students to tackle that perception head-on, explaining quickly and clearly what their research is and why it makes a difference. That鈥檚 a great skill when engaging the public, and highly useful in academia, too.鈥
The other 3MT contestants were:
- Nimisha Krishnan (Ph.D., physics, ): 鈥淗ow Cells Move Cargo: Learning from Nature鈥檚 Tiny Transport System鈥
- Bramsh Khan (Ph.D., social science, Maxwell School): 鈥淧olitics of Gendered Infrastructure Violence in Balochistan, Pakistan鈥
- Mary Theresa Pagan (Ph.D., sociology, Maxwell School): 鈥淥lder Recent Widows and Physical Activity: A Qualitative Investigation of the Roles of Care Work and Social Support鈥
- Sarah Nahar (Ph.D., religion, Arts and Sciences): 鈥淐losing the Poop Loop: An Everyday Way to Heal the Planet鈥
- Ratnakshi Mandal (Ph.D., chemical engineering, ): 鈥淒ecoding Alzheimer鈥檚: Putting Together the Puzzle of Memory Loss鈥
- Abigail Helen Long (Ph.D., composition and cultural rhetoric, Arts and Sciences) 鈥溾楽tuck鈥 Together: Identifying Writing Teachers鈥 Access Needs鈥
- Nghia Le Ba Thai (Ph.D., bioengineering, Engineering and Computer Science): 鈥淧orousX: A Novel Artificial Matrix for Treating Chronic Wounds鈥
- Paul Sagoe (Ph.D., biomedical engineering, Engineering and Computer Science): 鈥淪mall but Mighty: Therapeutic Nanoparticles, the Tiny Heroes Fighting Arthritis鈥
- Qingyang Liu (Ph.D., human development and family science, ): 鈥淲hen and Where to Invest: Early Material Hardship and Children鈥檚 Self-Regulation.鈥

Wright moderated the event. Judges were Matthew Carr, chief financial officer at Manlius Pebble Hill School; Davoud Mozhdehi, associate professor of chemistry at the College of Arts and Sciences; and Sylvia Sierra, associate professor of communication and rhetorical studies in the .
was first developed at the University of Queensland in Australia and is now held at colleges and universities around the world.