By Jack Bowman

Graduate students from across disciplines presented their research Wednesday at Adele H. Stamp Student Union in the final round of the Three Minute Thesis competition. 

The event, hosted by the University of Maryland’s Graduate School, challenges graduate students to present their complex research to a non-expert audience within three minutes. 

Stephen Roth, dean of the Graduate School, expressed that the competition is an example of UMD’s responsibility to the public.

“We are a premier land-grant university,” Roth said. “A land-grant institution has a requirement to contribute to society.” 

According to Roth, presenting research in an accessible way is a part of that requirement. 

“We need to learn how to share our findings … in ways the general public can understand,”  Roth said. 

Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, director of Adele H. Stamp Student Union, ran the event, calling it a “well-oiled machine.” 

The first portion of the event, starting at 1 p.m., consisted of nine masters and pre-candidacy finalists. The research presentations covered topics ranging from the patent process to meteoritic dating.

Diego Silva, an applied economics student, started the event on a strong note with a presentation on the patent process and its effect on immigration. 

“Have you ever wondered what made America successful for so long?” Silva said to begin his presentation. 

After a brief break for refreshments, the event resumed with presentations from 11 post-candidacy finalists. 

Post-Candidacy finalists are “just a little further down the road” than pre-candidacy finalists, said Guenzler-Stevens. 

The post-candidacy finalists covered a wide range of topics from mind-mapping to heart health and its relationship with brain aging.

The winners of the competition, announced Friday, were Anirudh Nakra for “Seeing Invisible Microplastics by Quantum guided Data Science,” Anmol Kajla for “Future-Ready Wheat: Defying Climate Challenges,” Robert Morris for “Preventing adhesions: the medical complication you’ve never heard of,” Nick Schwartz for “Fusion Revolution: The Centrifugal Mirror,” Sydney Jaw for “The Effects of Neighborhoods and Summer Jobs on Youth Crime” and Erin Hill for “Grief and Growth after an Opioid-Related Death.”

Tytrice Faison and Emily Cygrymus were named honorable mentions for their presentations on meteoritic dating and weight stigma, respectively. 

Featured Image: Marsha Guenzler-Stevens speaks to the audience at the 3MT, or Three Minute Thesis, Competition on April 17, 2024. Screenshot by Jack Bowman.