Three Minute Thesis crowns 2018 winner

Naomi Wallace in a laboratory
Naomi Wallace

By C. Brandon Chapman, College of Educataion

Naomi Wallace has won this year’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) event, which was held on Wed., March 28.

Wallace is a College of Veterinary Medicine doctoral student and her presentation was titled “Developing brains and biological clocks.”

This is the fourth year 3MT has taken place at the university level. Each competitor must present their research in no more than three minutes. Judges rate their performance on ability to connect with the audience, as well as present the technical details of their research in a way non-specialized audiences can understand.

Colleges and campuses held their own events, and the eight finalists squared off in the university-wide competition.

In the end, with a presentation one judge deemed “engaging with no jargon,” it was Wallace whom judges concluded stood out the most.

However, President Kirk Schulz, who was one of the judges, pointed out that he was amazed at the quality of all the 3MT presentations.

“All of the participants did an outstanding job describing cutting-edge research concisely, and clearly, and I look forward to participating again next year,” he said.

Provost Dan Bernardo, who has judged several 3MT competitions in recent years, including this one, said this event was by far the most difficult.

“All the students did an outstanding job presenting their research, which made it extremely challenging to select a winner,” he said.

Winners receive travel grants, sponsored by the Office of the Provost. Wallace’s award is $3,000. Second place, won by Jeremiah Sataraka from the College of Education, is $1,500. Third place, won by Mahamudul Haque from the College of Pharmacy, is $500.

The College of Education administered this year’s 3MT competition.

More information can found at http://3mt.wsu.edu/.

Next Story

Recent News

ChatGPT fails at heart risk assessment

Despite ChatGPT’s reported ability to pass medical exams, new research indicates it would be unwise to rely on it for some health assessments, such as whether a patient with chest pain needs to be hospitalized.

Improved AI process could better predict water supplies

A new computer model developed by WSU researchers uses a better artificial intelligence process to measure snow and water availability more accurately across vast distances in the West.