OSU Graduate College names Three Minute Thesis winner

Monday, April 20, 2015

Following the OSU Graduate College’s Three Minute Thesis finals April 16, the winners gathered on stage with Dr. Sheryl Tucker (left) dean of the Graduate College, and the competition master of ceremonies and OSU sports broadcaster Dave Hunziker (right). The 2015 3MT winners were Katie McCauley, an OSU master’s student in plant and soil science (in red), first place; Kambra Tucker, a master’s student in forensic science, second place; and Matt Judah, a Ph.D. student in psychology, who won third place and the People’s Choice Award.

Katie McCauley, a plant and soil science graduate student at Oklahoma State University, is this year’s winner of the OSU Three Minute Thesis competition sponsored by Halliburton.

“Our goal for the 3MT at OSU is to have all graduate students participate in the 3MT at least once during their graduate studies,” said Dr. Ken Clinkenbeard, associate dean of the Graduate College and organizer of the OSU 3MT competition. “The 3MT will help our graduates develop the skills to explain their work to non-specialist in non-technical terms with emphasis on its relevance to the public good and to engage their listeners to want to know more about their research.”

The top three finishers were selected by a panel of judges from 11 finalists during the Graduate College finals April 16. The winners received cash awards, $1,000 for first, $750 for second, $500 for third and $1,000 for the People’s Choice Award-winning presentation that was voted on by the audience. The winners, their departments, and the title of their presentations are:

First Place – Katie McCauley, from Waurika, Oklahoma, plant and soil science, M.S. student, “Improving the Overwintering Capability of Canola”

Second Place – Kambra Tucker, from Sapulpa, Oklahoma, forensic science, M.S. student, “Recovering Touch DNA Left Behind on Metal Evidence”

Third Place and People’s Choice Award – Matt Judah, from Stillwater, psychology, Ph.D. student, “Focus on Me: What Brain Activity Tells us about Social Anxiety”

3MT competitors are given three minutes to present their research with the aid of one slide. The competition, first developed at the University of Queensland in Australia, is meant as an exercise to develop academic, presentation and research communication skills. The competition encourages the development of students’ capacity to effectively explain their research in a way that is appropriate to a lay audience.

The other finalists were: Jayson Floyd, from Yukon, Oklahoma, workforce and adult education, Ph.D. student; Taylor Mitchell, from Stillwater, mechanical and aerospace engineering, M.S. student; Akhileshwar Guli, from Hyderabad, India, computer science, M.S. student; Shannon Norris, from Cliff, New Mexico, agricultural education, communications and leadership, M.S. student; Manita Guragain, from Kathmandu, Nepal, microbiology and molecular biology, Ph.D. student; Connor Patros, from Columbia, Connecticut, psychology, Ph.D. student; Brian Herrin, from Lindsay, Oklahoma, veterinary biomedical sciences, DVM-Ph.D. student; and Evangeline Rukundo, from Kigali, Rwanda, chemistry, Ph.D. student.

For more information on the competition, visit https://gradcollege.okstate.edu/3mt.

Story by Matt Cohlmia