Mechanical engineering PhD student Carlye Lauff has qualified to compete in the final round of the Three-Minute Thesis Competition.
She will be presenting on the topic 鈥淲hat is a Prototype? Emergent Roles of Prototypes from Empirical Work in Three Diverse Companies.鈥�
Lauff's advisors are associate professor Mark Rentschler and senior instructor Daria Kotys-Schwartz.
The Graduate School of the University of Colorado Boulder will host its inaugural competition on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., in the UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom. Competitors will describe their thesis in three minutes, using only one static slide, in front of a panel of four judges and a live audience. This event is free and open to the public.
3MT, founded by the University of Queensland in 2008, is an academic competition that cultivates students鈥� presentation and research communication skills, and challenges them to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience. Competitors听are allowed听one PowerPoint slide, but no other resources or props.
鈥淭his is a terrific opportunity for our graduate students to learn these critical communications skills,鈥� said Ann Schmiesing, dean of the Graduate School. 鈥淚n today鈥檚 world, knowing how to succinctly describe complicated research to a general audience might help lead to securing a grant or landing a job. We are thrilled that we can provide this opportunity to our grad students at CU Boulder.鈥�
From an open solicitation to participate in 3MT, the Graduate School received 24 competitors, all of whom had the opportunity to work individually with Leslie Blood from the Writing Center, participate in a workshop with Front deRanged Improv听Comedy Troupe to develop confidence and spontaneous communication skills, and attend a peer review session with Eric Klinger, the director of the Writing Center, where they received a critique of their presentations and slides. Competitors were then videotaped for a team of internal judges, using the 3MT criteria, to determine the finalists.
Judges for the Feb. 20 competition, selected from CU Boulder and the community, include Russ Moore, provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs; Marcia Yonemoto, professor of history and director of the CU Graduate Teacher Program; Jim Williams, retired dean of the CU libraries; and, Marty Coffin Evans, president of the Boulder Rotary Club. Bud Coleman, theater professor and听CU in D.C. director, will be the master of ceremonies.
The first-place winner will receive $1,500 in research funds and the opportunity to represent the university at the听Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) competition on March 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.听The Graduate School will provide the funding for this trip. The runner-up will receive $750 in research funds, and the People鈥檚 Choice winner will receive $500 in research funds. All winners will receive a video of their 3MT presentation.