Fourth Annual ME3MT Winners

We held our fourth annual Mechanical Engineering Three Minute Thesis (ME3MT) competition on 10/13/22, where graduate students have three minutes to explain their research in easy to understand language. The event was held in Keller Hall on the UMN Twin Cities campus and featured three judges from local industry and nine presenters.

JUDGES

Ghazaleh Haghiashtiani
Senior Mechanical R&D Engineer, Seagate Technology

Marie Johnson
CEO, LoonMD

Mark Sanders
Gemini Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship,
Technological Leadership Institute

WINNERS

ME3MT winner

First Place
BERIK KALLEVIG — HOW TO DRIVE FASTER AND FURTHER ON MARS
Advisor: Julianna Abel
Thesis: Design of Auxetic Superelastic Textiles for Martian Rover Wheels 

 

 

ME3MT second place winner

Second Place
NITISH PONKSHE — MORPHING HEAD OF AN UNDERGROUND
BURROWING ROBOT
Advisor: Jim Van de Ven
Thesis: Design of morphing head of a high force burrowing robot

 

ME3MT People's Choice

People's Choice
SRIVASUPRADHA RAMESH — USING CRYOPRESERVATION TO BEAT
THE VALLEY OF DEATH
Advisor: John Bischof
Thesis: Cryopreservation of rat liver slices for pharmacological
applications

ABOUT 3MT

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an internationally recognized competition that challenges graduate students to present a compelling version of their thesis and its significance in just three minutes, in easy-to-understand language. 3MT is not an exercise in trivializing or “dumbing-down” research but rather requires students to consolidate their ideals, crystallize their research discoveries, and capture the imagination of their audience. Presenting in a 3MT competition increases their capacity to effectively explain their research in a short amount of time to a non-specialist audience.

The idea for 3MT came about in 2008 at a time when the state of Queensland was suffering severe drought. To conserve water, residents were encouraged to time their showers, and many people had a three minute egg timer fixed to the wall in their bathroom. The then Dean of the University of Queensland Graduate School, Emeritus Professor Alan Lawson, put the two concepts together and the idea for 3MT was born.

 

Photos by Rich Ryan

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