About the Competition

Drexel's Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition follows the guidelines of the global phenomenon, Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition, founded by the University of Queensland. The international competition, in which over 600 universities and institutions across more than 59 countries participate, emphasizes presenting research within a three-minute time limit, using only a static PowerPoint slide, and in a jargon-free language understood by an audience of non-specialists. Through this, students are able to enhance their academic presentation and research communication skills, while their work is able to reach a broader audience. All Drexel professional doctorate and PhD candidates are eligible to enter.

Check out the competition rules and some award-winning Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) presentations.

Guests who attend the in-person competition will have the opportunity to vote for People's Choice. In addition, winners are eligible to go on to regional, national and international competitions.

Thursday, May 8
11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT (Part A)
1 to 2 p.m. EDT (Part B)
Mitchell Auditorium

Watch the Recording [YouTube]

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition Presenters

Part A

Pooja Doshi
DrPH Program in Health Management and Policy
Dornsife School of Public Health
2020 Vision, But Make It Fair

Nicole Barbera
PhD Program in Ecology, Evolution and Earth Systems
College of Arts and Sciences
Antennas for Every Job: Antenna Length in Army Ants

Sammie Dolloff
PhD Program in Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
Heavy and Sticky: the dynamic adhesive system of foraging leaf cutter ant workers (Atta cephalotes)

Essien Oku Essien
PhD Program in Communication, Culture and Media
College of Arts and Sciences
Climate Models: The Politics of Their Consumptions

Laura Elizabeth Miller
PhD Program in Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
Still Scary, but Important: Paper wasps as non-conventional models for female sterility

Julia Pines
PhD Program in Clinical Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
Exploring the eye of the hurricane in bulimia nervosa.

Riya Shah
PhD Program in Physics
College of Arts and Sciences
Using Ghost Particles to Find the Most Energetic Objects in our Universe

Jasmine Huiya Sun - Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) People's Choice Award Part A
PhD Program in Clinical Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
Increasing the Physical Activity of Inactive Adults Using Pokémon GO

Katherine Zellner - President's Award for Best Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Part A
PhD Program in Information Science
College of Computing and Informatics
Lighting the Way: Helping Trauma Teams Mitigate Delays Before It's Too Late

Dr. Obadiah Baker
EdD '25 in in Educational Leadership and Management
School of Education
Navigating Empathy, Compassion, and Conflict Resolution: A Fulbright Scholar’s Autoethnographic Journey in Israeli-Palestinian Relations Through an Integrated Development Framework

Priya Sharma
EdD Program in Educational Leadership and Management, Creativity and Innovation
School of Education
Neuroplasticity in the South Asian community

Judges

Janine N. Guerra, LLM '24, JD, MBA, MSEd
Director of Recruitment and Enrollment
College of Arts and Sciences

Micahel Nonnemacher, PhD
Director, Division of Biomedical Sciences
Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies
College of Medicine

Eleonora Paolizzi, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
A.J. Drexel Autism Institute

Katie Zamulinsky, EdD
Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life

Part B

Kayode Oluwasegun
PhD Program in Mathematics
College of Arts and Sciences
Waves, Equations, and the Coast: Modeling Ocean Waves with Math

Xinge Li
PhD Program in Business Administration, Marketing
LeBow College of Business
When Less is More: How Brand Strength and Logo Simplicity Shape Consumer Attitudes

Triumf H. Qosej
Doctor of Business Administration Program, Applied AI
LeBow College of Business
Building Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) Utilization Expertise and Trust in GAI Output: A Parsimony Quantitative Model Approach to Predictors in the Software Development Industry Dynamics

Timofey Averianov
PhD Program in Materials Science and Engineering
College of Engineering
Understanding the Role of MXenes as Synthetic Precursors for Advanced Energy Storage Materials

Naghmeh Ghalamsiah
PhD Program in Architectural Engineering
College of Engineering
Healthier buildings with less data

Kateryna Shevchuk - Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) People's Choice Award Part B
PhD Program in Materials Science and Engineering
College of Engineering
Using Laser Light to Uncover the Secrets of Advanced Nanomaterials

Jason T. DaCunza
PhD Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies, College of Medicine
Tiny but Mighty: Small Extracellular Vesicles as a Pain Therapeutic

Mert Deniz Polat
PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
The Effects of Adverse Conditions on Depth of Anesthesia Monitoring Assessed by Cerebral Hemodynamic Measures

Nicolina Ranieri - President's Award for Best Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Part B
PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Advanced Optical Neuromonitoring during Neonatal Cardiac Surgery

Danielle Shoshany
PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Shedding Light on Hemorrhage: Noninvasive Monitoring of the Brain & Body

Randolph Seno Sinahon
PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Protecting The Newborn Brain: Using Light to Detect Early Signs of Shock

Natalie Smolin
PhD Program in Biomedical Science
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Neuronal identity control at the resolution of a single transcription factor isoform

Judges

Candida Barreto, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellows
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems

Deirdre McMahon, PhD
Teaching Professor of English, Department of English and Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences
Assistant Dean of Online Program Assessment
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences & Professional Studies
College of Medicine

Michael Nonnemacher, PhD
Director, Division of Biomedical Sciences
Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies
College of Medicine

José Tapia, PhD
Professor of Politics
College of Arts and Sciences