Mason doctoral students compete in annual Three-Minute Thesis competition

Colleen Rich — Thu, 11 May 2023 19:29:15 +0000

Mason doctoral students compete in annual Three-Minute Thesis competition Colleen Rich Thu, 05/11/2023 - 15:29

On March 31, 2023, George Mason 麻豆国产 was home to the seventh annual Mason Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference and Three-Minute Thesis (3MT庐) Competition, hosted by the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA), Graduate Student Life, and the Graduate Division.

From left, Three-Minute Thesis winners Patricia Sinclair, Steven Zhou, Amy Rose, and Doreen Peters. Photo provided

The conference showcased scholarly, research, and creative works from Mason graduate students across disciplines through posters, oral presentations, and creative, visual, and performing arts.

The opening panel 鈥淕lobalized Society, Complex Issues: The Role of Interdisciplinary Research鈥� set the theme for the daylong conference by discussing the critical role of interdisciplinary research in a globalized society and how to better engage interdisciplinary research due to the need for collaboration in an ever-shrinking world. Eight oral presentation sessions and one poster session followed, with a total of 65 Mason鈥檚 graduate students presenting their research.

鈥淏ecoming aware and understanding how your research might impact other disciplines is a unique opportunity,鈥� said Emily Crawford, MPP candidate and vice president of Mason Square for GAPSA. 鈥淢ason Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference provides students with the chance to share outside their discipline and cultivate networks far beyond the classroom.鈥�

The day culminated in the 3MT庐 Competition finals, where 10 PhD candidates from the Carter School of Peace and Conflict Resolution, College of Engineering and Computing, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the College of Science competed. This year鈥檚 winners are:

First Place: Steven Zhou (CHSS): 鈥淢easuring Profiles and Patterns of Leadership Behavior鈥�
Second Place: Amy Rose (COS): 鈥淗yperspectral Signature Development for Aircraft-Induced Clouds from Aerial and Ground-Based Sensors鈥�
Third Place: Doreen Peters (COS): 鈥淯sing Dragonfly Exuviae as a No-Kill Approach to Monitor Mercury along the Freshwater Potomac River鈥�
People鈥檚 Choice: Patricia Sinclair (COS), 鈥淓nergy and Aging: The Estrogen Connection鈥�

鈥淭he 3MT competition is an amazing opportunity to hone a unique and valuable skill: translating your research to a general audience in an engaging and informative format,鈥� Zhou said. 鈥淚've found that the challenge of condensing a thesis into three minutes tested my understanding of the topic in a unique way that prepares me for bringing research into the public sphere.鈥�

Continuing into its eighth year of competition, Mason鈥檚 3MT joins nearly 1,000 other universities from more than 80 countries; the competition originated at Australia鈥檚麻豆国产 of Queensland in 2008.

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Mason doctoral students compete in annual Three-Minute Thesis competition

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