Students Wow in UCF’S First-Ever 3 Minute Thesis Competition
A presentation about the future of medicine and the possibility of diagnosing diseases from human breath took the top prize at UCF’s Inaugural Three-Minute Thesis competition on April 27.
The College of Graduate Studies and Blackstone Launchpad hosted the competition, which pitted 10 doctoral students in a final round of competition. Before a packed house at the Live Oak Room, participants used one slide to launch into their three-minute pitch.
They were challenged by the time constraint and their audiences. They had to make their talks engaging and easy to understand for judges and the public who were unfamiliar with their fields of study.
Qitian Ru, from the College of Optics and
Second Place went to Katrina Phillips who is pursuing a doctorate in Conservation Biology and spoke about her research on the early days in the life of a sea turtle.
Third place went to John Konvalina also pursuing a doctorate in Conservation Biology. His presentation focused on research on freshwater and coastal alligators, and their adaptions to salinity.
Albert Manero, President of Limbitless Solutions, Eric Burris, WESH 2 Meteorologist and Danya Shea, CEO of FervorWorks judged the presentations which shared $2,500 in prize money.
In addition to the judges’ picks, the audience members voted for the People’s Choice, which was awarded to Katrina Phillips for her presentation.
“The 3 Minute Thesis Competition was an excellent opportunity to inform the UCF community about the research taking place across multiple disciplines,” said Rachel Stern, assistant director of Blackstone Launchpad. “In working one-on-one with each of the finalists, the Blackstone Launchpad helped them refine their pitch to convey technical concepts to a non-specialist audience and improve their presentation skills, which was thoroughly on display throughout Wednesday’s finals.”
3MT started at the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008 and has since spread to 600 universities in 65 countries around the world.
UCF representatives from the first-ever 3MT competition may advance to the state competition on April 18, at the 2019 Conference of Florida Graduate Schools in Miami at Florida International University.
Share This Article

Preparing for Your First Week of Graduate School at UCF
As you embark on graduate study at UCF, the College of Graduate Studies is committed to providing comprehensive assistance throughout your academic journey. Reaching your full potential requires hard work,...
Latest News

Explore UCF’s Top Graduate Programs at the Annual Grad Fair
Pursuing graduate study is one of the most significant decisions a person will make in shaping their life. Whether you want to become an expert in your field, advance further...

New DOD-funded Project Will Develop Morphing Hypersonic Engine
A new Naval Research Laboratory-funded project led by a UCF researcher will work to create a morphing hypersonic engine for ultra-fast travel, building on UCF’s already leading-edge developing hypersonic propulsion....

UCF’s 3 NSF CAREER Awardees Lead Advancements in Heart Health, Solar Energy and Wireless Communication
UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science assistant professors Kenle Chen, Zhaomiao (Walter) Guo, and Luigi Perotti have been named 2023 National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award winners. The combined award total...

UCF Sea Turtle Research Highlighted for 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act
UCF sea turtle research was recently highlighted for the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with a visit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National...