The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an academic competition that challenges graduate students to effectively communicate their research to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes. Originating from the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2008, the competition has since gained popularity worldwide and is now held in universities and institutions across numerous countries.

In the 3MT competition, participants must condense their complex research projects into a concise, engaging, and understandable presentation that captivates the audience's attention. The challenge lies in effectively conveying the significance of their research, its methods, and its potential impact within the strict time limit.

3MT competitions are held each year at the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University.  This year UND’s competition was held on January 31 with 22 graduate students participating and NDSU’s competition was held on February 15 with 38 graduate students participating.

The winners of the UND 3MT competition were:

• 1st place: Temitayo Ikuerowo, PhD Student, Energy Engineering, for “The Future of EVs is LESS COBALT!;”
• 2nd place: Kaden Bollinger, Master’s Student, Forensic Psychology, for “Effects of Feedback on Eyewitness Accuracy.”
• 3rd place: Sarah Daman, Master’s Student, Biology, for “Predicting Disease Spread in Deer.”

The champion of the NDSU 3MT competition was:

• Marcel Roy Domalanta, a doctoral student in coatings and polymeric materials at NDSU

NDSU also awarded four Center for Entrepreneurship and Family Business Innovation Commendations to:

• Mahek Sadiq, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering,

• Preetham Ravi, a doctoral student in materials and nanotechnology,

• Kyle Boutin, a doctoral student in environmental and conservation sciences, and

• Amirreza Daghighi, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering.

Sadiq and Ravi are both supported, in part, by the NSF ESPCoR RII Track-1: ND-ACES project (OIA #1946202).

Congratulations to all the students that participated and their advisors!