OSU names finalists for three-minute thesis contest

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

OSU names finalists for three-minute thesis contest

The Oklahoma State University Graduate School has announced the 12 finalists who will compete for $2,500 in prize money by providing short but compelling explanations of their research projects in the first-ever Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) on Tuesday, June 25, from 6:30– 8 p.m. in the Student Union Theater.

“We congratulate the finalists who were chosen from more than 40 entries because they were best able to offer quick but meaningful overviews of their extensive research projects,” said Associate Provost for Graduate Education Sheryl Tucker. “We invite the public to help promote the competition next Tuesday by offering a receptive audience, and also help decide which contestant should receive the people’s choice award.”

The finalists, their departments and hometowns include:

Shanshan Cai, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, Wuhan, China

Cynthida Dobbs, Ph.D. student in biochemistry, Stillwater, Okla.

Holly Hansen, English, Ph.D. student, Las Vegas, Nev.

Wali Islam, M.S. student in chemical engineering, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Gabrielle Johnson, Ph.D. student in educational psychology, Belmont, Calif.

Youwei Lu, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, Harbin, China

Ambardar Medhavi, Ph.D. student in zoology, Dollar Bay, Mich.

Shaun McCoshum, Ph.D. student in zoology, Las Vegas, Nev.

Nabin Poudel, M.S. student in veterinary biomedical sciences, Myagi, Nepal

Siewe Siewe, Ph.D. student in geography, Kumba, Cameroon

Ali Asmari Sadabad, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, Mashad, Iran and

Matt Haffner, M.S. student in geography, Pleasant Hill, Mo.

The idea for the competition started at the University of Queensland in Australia as an exercise to develop academic, presentation, and research communication skills and support the development of students' capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes in a language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience. The school offers an overview at www.threeminutethesis.org.

A panel of judges will select a first place winner who will receive $1,000 in prize money with $750 for second place, $500 for third and $250 for a people’s choice selection, explains Tucker. The event is free and open to the public.