The pressure was on for seven doctoral students at the final round of the second annual West Virginia University Three-Minute Thesis competition on Thursday, April 7. Each of the student competitors had to condense the results of years of research into a three-minute presentation aided only by a single slide. The distinguished panel of judges included Provost Joyce McConnell and State Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer.

This year’s winners are:

First Place ($2,000): Laura S. Farwell, Wildlife and Fisheries
Second Place ($1,000): Danielle Shepherd, Exercise Physiology
Third Place ($500): Chitrak Gupta, Chemistry
People’s Choice Award ($250): Ashley Cranney, Sport and Exercise Psychology

“This year’s competition showcased the amazing research spectrum of WVU’s doctoral students,” said Dr. Constinia Charbonnette of the Office of Graduate Education and Life, who organized the competition. “The students did not make the judges’ job easy!”

The 3MT Competition originated at the University of Queensland in Australia. The goal of the tightly compressed format is to force young scholars and researchers to learn to communicate their research quickly and clearly to a lay audience. More than 60 doctoral students entered the 3MT preliminary competitions at WVU. The specific topics on which the winners presented, as well as the entire list of 2016 3MT finalists, can be viewed here.

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cc/ac/4/13/16

CONTACT: Constinia Charbonnette, Program Director, Recruitment and Fellowships & Life�
304.293.7173, Constinia.Charbonnette@mail.wvu.edu

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