UW Grad Students Compete in Three-Minute Thesis Event

The University of Wyoming School of Graduate Education recently organized the first Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) event of the year, with winners of individual college competitions advancing to the campuswide university level in September.

Competing students each give a three-minute presentation on their research and are allowed the use of one static slide to present individual research with no jargon, animations or extra props. The goal is to make their research easily understandable for a general audience.

The 3MT competition originated in 2008 at the University of Queensland in Australia.

The top-scoring students in each college will advance to the university-level 3MT competition. To be eligible to compete at the university level, a student must be an enrolled doctoral student and have placed in the college-level competition.

The winners of the university-level competition then will advance to the regional competition.

UW colleges also elected a People's Choice Award winner by voting on their favorite presentations during the first round of competition.

UW students placing in the first round are listed by hometown and area of study:

College of Business

First place: Ian Fletcher, Rock Springs, economics.

Second place: Finbar Curtin, originally from Vermont, economics.

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

First place: Gisella Mena Teran, Ecuador, chemical engineering.

Second place: Faraz Sufyan, Karachi, Pakistan, energy and petroleum.

Third place: Dev Joshi, Delhi, India, petroleum engineering.

Fourth place: Justin Mistikawy, Laramie, geology.

College of Arts and Sciences

First place: Anna Petrey, Amarillo, Texas, clinical psychology.

Second place: Charlotte Magee, New York City, clinical psychology.

College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources

First place: Ian Waldecker, Conklin, Mich., plant sciences.

Second place: Maedeh Rafiee, Rasht, Iran, animal and veterinary science.

Third place: Joel Ogwang, Otuke, Uganda, ecology and evolution.

People's Choice Award: Trevor Bloom, Jackson, ecology and evolution.

Most Wyoming Relevant Recognition: Aaron Kersh, Cheyenne, animal science.

College of Education

First place: Amanda Tracy, Powell, counselor education and supervision.

Second place: Jana Penders, Norwich, Vt., curriculum and instruction.

Third place: Thilina Wickramaarachchi, Kandy, Sri Lanka, curriculum and instruction with a literacy education concentration.

People's Choice Award: Mandy Hill, Cheyenne, learning design and technology.

Also advancing to the university-level competition is Danial Adrang, Zanjan, Iran, education.