Texas Tech University’s Graduate School recently hosted its annual research competition.
Four students in Texas Tech University's Graduate School were recognized as winners of the school's annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which took place virtually on Oct. 14. Each student was allowed to use one static PowerPoint slide while effectively explaining their research in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. Students were evaluated by a panel of judges from Texas Tech and the Lubbock community.
After individual heats, competitors advanced to the final round. The winners are:
- First place: Ian Stark, a doctoral student in the Department of English. His topic was “Neuro-Positionality in User-Centered Design: The Case of Student Disability Service.”
- Second place: Taufiq Quadria, a doctoral student in the School of Financial Planning. His topic was “Personality, Well-being and Risk-aversion of Older Adults.”
- Third place: Nicholas Clark, who is pursuing a master's degree through the Department of Geosciences. His topic was “Over the Mountains and Through the Atmosphere.”
- People's choice: Rohan Ingrole, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemical Engineering. His topic was “Dental Floss as a Novel Device for Pain-free Oral Vaccination.”
“The Three Minute Thesis Competition is aimed at giving students an opportunity to practice telling people what they do and why it's important,” said Mark Sheridan, dean of the Graduate School. “The type of work research universities do is often questioned about why it's important and what impact it has on society. Providing our students an opportunity to practice those kinds of skills, as the people who will be working in universities and other parts of the economic sector, means they'll be able to communicate what we do and why it's important in a much better fashion.”
