Biology PhD student George Todd presents his research on hover fly cognitive and behavioral ecology during a Three Minute Thesis competition held last week in the Century Rooms of the Millennium Student Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. A total of 14 master’s and doctoral students took part in the event, which required them to present their research in a 3-minute presentation using only one static slide.
From left, Timothy Kauer, Jeremy Howard, Ketra Oketcho and Palak Sondhi were among 14 graduate students to participate in the Three Minute Thesis competition held last week in the Millennium Student Center. Howard won the competition, Sondhi was second and Kauer third. Oketcho won the People’s Choice Award. (Photo courtesy of Theresa Thiel)
Three Minute Thesis presentations are competitive, and the expectation is that they be easy to understand for a general university audience – not just for specialists in the student’s area of research. The official Three Minute Thesis organization is housed at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and the UMSL competition follows the organization’s guidelines with a few local modifications.
Biology PhD student Jeremy Howard placed first in the UMSL competition with a presentation on spatial navigation in bumblebees. Chemistry PhD student Palak Sondhi was second with a presentation on binding interactions of biologically relevant molecules studied using surface-modified and nanostructured surfaces. Criminology and Criminal Justice PhD student Timothy Kauer finished third for his presentation on a legal analysis of protecting juveniles exploited through prostitution. Biology PhD student Ketra Oketcho won the people’s choice award for her presentation examining plant disease resistance to the East African Cassava Mosaic virus.
This photograph was taken by UMSL photographer August Jennewein and is the latest to be featured in Eye on UMSL.
