3MT: Three Minute Thesis

The Graduate College is pleased to sponsor the Seventh Annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition for graduate-student researchers. This annual event is an opportunity for students to build their communication skills by creatively describing their research in ways that make it relatable and relevant to a non-specialist audience. One static slide may be used while speaking for up to three minutes. Timelines and guidelines are listed below. Enjoy the videos of past award winners’ presentations, or an entire final round of competition.

2022 Awardees

Winner: Abigail Schulte

Major: Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Presentation: Optimizing Solid-state Anaerobic Digestion of Prairie Grass and Dairy Manure

Runner Up: Abesh Bera

Major: Microbiology

Presentation: Biased Interaction of Different Tubulin Isotypes with Tumor Overexpressed Genes (TOG) Determines Cell Division Rate

People’s Choice Award: Abigail Koep

Major: Chemical Engineering

Presentation: Developing a Nanoscale Force-Mediated Drug Delivery System for Lung Fibrosis

Entire Event Video

2022 Final Round Participants

Name	Major	Presentation Title
Abigail Koep	Chemical Engineering	Developing a Nanoscale Force-Mediated Drug Delivery System for Lung Fibrosis
Holly Loper	Microbiology	Large Predictions and Small Changes in Fertilizer Use
Rachel Sorensen	Toxicology	Break Me Off a Piece of That Plas-tic Bar
Daria Dilparic	Civil Engineering (Environmental)	PFAS: The Forever Chemical in Your Water
Abesh Bera	Microbiology	Biased Interaction of Different Tubulin Isotypes with Tumor Overexpressed Genes (TOG) Determines Cell Division Rate
Abigail Schulte	Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering	Optimizing Solid-state Anaerobic Digestion of Prairie Grass and Dairy Manure
Parvin Mohammadiarvejeh	Industrial Engineering	Developing Machine Learning and Optimization Models to Recognize Super-Agers
Clayton Carley	Genetics & Genomics (Predictive Plant Phenomics) and Plant Breeding	Counting the Nodules that Count

Participation Timeline

September 21, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.: Application deadline to be considered for the 3MT competition
September 23, 2022: Applicants will be notified regarding their selection for the 3MT competition
September 26, 2022 from 4-5 p.m.: Information Session
September 27, 2022 from 3-4 p.m.: Information Session
October 24, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.: 3MT slide submission deadline
October 27, 2022 from 2-5 p.m.: Preliminary Competition
October 28, 2022: Preliminary Competition winners announced
November 10, 2022, 2 p.m. in Room 3560 of the Memorial Union: Final Competition
November 11, 2022: 3MT Final Competition winner, runner up, and People's Choice Award winner announced

What is 3MT?

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) celebrates the exciting research conducted by master’s or Ph.D. students around the world. Developed by The University of Queensland, the competition cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. Presenting in a 3MT competition increases students' capacity to explain their research in three minutes in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. Competitors are allowed one PowerPoint slide, but no other resources or props.

Eligibility

Participants must be currently enrolled in a master's or doctoral degree program that requires students to conduct their own research (dissertation or thesis).

Prizes

Three participants will be recognized with awards. The winner of the final competition receives a $500 Ubill scholarship and may be asked to represent the university in other 3MT events. A scholarship of $250 will be awarded to the final competition's Runner Up and People’s Choice Award winner. The Graduate College will also raffle off two travel grants worth $200 each, as well as one U-Bill scholarship worth $200 for participants in their final year of graduate school. Every participant will have the opportunity to cultivate their presentation, research, and academic skills.

Judging Criteria

Winners will be determined by a panel of judges using the official 3MT competition rubrics. Judges for the initial heats will be invited from the Iowa State University faculty and staff and the local community. Judges for the final competition will be well-known Iowa constituents.

At every level of the competition, each competitor will be assessed on the judging criteria listed below. Each criterion is equally weighted and has an emphasis on audience.

Comprehension and Content

Presentation provided clear background and significance to the research question
Presentation clearly described the research strategy/design and the results/findings of the research
Presentation clearly described the conclusions, outcomes and impact of the research

Engagement and Communication

The oration was delivered clearly, and the language was appropriate for a non-specialist audience
The PowerPoint slide was well-defined and enhanced the presentation
The presenter conveyed enthusiasm for their research and captured and maintained the audience's attention

Successful competitors will spend adequate time on each element of the presentation without rushing while emphasizing the significance and application of his/her research and leaving the audience wanting to learn more.

Presentation Feedback

For feedback on your 3MT slide or the speech you are planning to incorporate into your 3MT presentation, please make an appointment with a writing consultant at the Center for Communication Excellence.

Contact

3MT Committee (3mtcompetition@iastate.edu):

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