Rutgers-Newark Graduate Students Compete In Three Minute Thesis Event
In a competition held around the globe, Rutgers-Newark doctoral students had just three minutes to present their 175,000 word dissertations.
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition takes place annually at 900 universities, including Rutgers-Newark, across more than 85 countries. Founded at Australia’s Queensland University in 2008, it requires competitors to package their research into a presentation lasting no more than three minutes, aided by only one static Power Point slide.
In addition to developing presentation and engagement skills among doctoral students, each competition also brings research knowledge to broader audiences.
The Rutgers Graduate School-Newark and the P3 Collaboratory for Pedagogy, Professional Development, and Publicly-Engaged Scholarship organized Rutgers University-Newark’s seventh annual 3MT competition.This year’s contest featured Rutgers-Newark doctoral students from Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Management, Global Affairs, and Urban Systems, who competed for cash prizes of up to $1,000.
Among an initial field of ten competitors, Chemistry student Henry Wisniewski garnered the $1,000 grand prize with his presentation, "Honey, I shrunk a Hoberman Structure!”
Fatma Zisan Tokac, who is earning her degree in Urban Systems, earned the first runner-up prize of $750 with her presentation “Climate change effects in Istanbul,” while Dina Nehme and Tiffany Olivera both tied for the People’s Choice Award with their presentations entitled “Unspoken Mental Health Crisis” and “From Genes to Gadgets: DNA-Based Nanocircuits.’ Management doctoral student Tianhao Liu, together with Environmental Sciences doctoral candidate Felipe Alves Coelho, also competed with presentations on growth strategies for digital firms based in China and the evolutionary process through which new species arise.
Rutgers-Newark held the final round of this year's competition in the Dana Library, with competitors giving their presentations before a live audience. This year’s team of judges included Kinna Perry, Associate Dean in the Graduate School-Newark, Laura Troiano, Dean of the Honors College at Rutgers-Newark, Jason Cortes, Associate Professor and Chair, Spanish and Portuguese Department, SASN, and Jenny Lockard, Associate Professor, Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences-Newark. The judges assessed the presenters on the content of their presentations and also rated them on the explication of their research, as well as their oratory skills.
"The Graduate School has re-energized its efforts around preparing our students for diverse, rewarding careers, both within and outside of the academy. By putting professional development at the center of our programmatic offerings, we are signaling to students that career readiness is among the key objectives of their graduate education," said Taja-Nia Henderson, dean of Rutgers Graduate School-Newark and director of the P3 Collaboratory.
“Opportunities like the 3MT help our students speak within and outside of their fields (and to multiple ‘publics’) in engaging and powerful ways,'' she said.
The Rutgers Graduate School-Newark and the P3 Collaboratory for Pedagogy, Professional Development, and Publicly-Engaged Scholarship plan to host the eighth annual 3MT competition in 2026. More information about 3MT is available here.
