When Chemical Engineering hosted its departmental heat of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition on February 8th, the room was packed with audience members keen to learn more about our research-based masters and doctoral students’ exciting investigations. Eleven graduate students took turns presenting the high points of the research they have spent years conducting – using one static PowerPoint slide, language that could be understood by the general public…and within only three minutes.
In the process of delivering their presentations, they demonstrated their communications skills, understanding of their research and ability to engage with the audience. Not coincidentally, those were the exact talents that our panel of judges scrutinized as they watched the presentations, looking to determine the top three finalists in the competition.
Congratulations to Gregory Lui, Kiana Amini and Andrew Finkle for their first-, second- and third-place finishes, respectively. Each received a cash prize, the opportunity to feature their accomplishment on their CV and, like everyone in the competition, the long-lasting benefit of having a succinct and entertaining response to the oft-heard question “So, what is your research about?”
The three finalists of the Department of Chemical Engineering’s 2018 Three Minute Thesis Competition (L-R): Andrew Finkle (third place), Gregory Lui (first place) and Kiana Amini (second place).
For the first-place finish he earned for his presentation, Photocatalysts: Using Today’s Waste to Power the Future, Gregory will go on to complete against the other departmental and Faculty finalists in the University-wide competition that will be held on March 21, 2018 from 3:00 to 4:30pm in Theatre of the Arts in the Modern Languages building.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Chemical Engineering 3MT competition – and thank you for sharing a little bit about your research.