Announcing the 3MT Competition Finalists!

Written by Erin Michel, Graduate Assistant for the Graduate College

For the first eight days of February, graduate students and staff were caught up in a whirlwind of Three Minute Thesis preliminary competitions. Fifty-six students pitched their scholarly endeavors in bite sized three-minute morsels, and each and every performer managed to wow our prestigious panel of judges (comprised of Graduate College staff, GAs, and other faculty and staff volunteers). But as is unfortunately the very nature of competitions, not everyone can be a winner, at least not in the traditional sense. Presenters were fastidiously evaluated on a number of criteria including delivery, clarity of content regarding both research processes and broader impact, slide design, and presenter enthusiasm. After careful deliberation, eleven individuals have been chosen to advance to the 3MT final competition on Wednesday, February 22, from 2:30-3:30PM in Probasco Auditorium 210.  

“I was very impressed by all the students’ ability to present their complex research in just three minutes,” says Amy Wheeler, program manager at the Graduate College and preliminary judge. "It gave each of us a glimpse of what they are accomplishing in their UC research.” And what a diverse array of glimpses it was; students from almost every college were represented in the competition. The selection committee was thrilled to have such a broad range of disciplines represented, as it reflects the spirit of 3MT which emphasizes making all research accessible for a lay audience. As for the final competition, judges hope to see more of the enthusiasm and engagement that they found in the preliminaries. Finalists have received feedback from their initial presentation and will have a few weeks to polish their pitches before the final competition. All students are encouraged to attend the final event on February 22 to support and learn from their peers. Audience members will have a say in who gets awarded the brand-new People’s Choice Award, which comes with a $1,000 prize. May the best communicator win!