OSU Graduate College names 3MT contest winners

Amanda Curtis, an animal science graduate student at Oklahoma State University, is this year’s winner of the OSU Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) sponsored by Halliburton. 

“We are very proud of these students and the effort they put forward in researching and presenting their topics,” said Sheryl Tucker, dean of the OSU Graduate College. “I know their skills will serve them well in any area of research they pursue in the future.”

The four winners were selected from 11 finalists who won their college’s competition and advanced to the Graduate College finals. A panel of judges selected the winners, who received cash awards from $1,000 for first, $750 for second, $500 for third and $250 for a people’s choice award. The winners, their departments, and the title of their presentations are: 

First Place – Amanda Curtis, animal science, MS candidate, “Using innate immunity to Fight Off Infections Without the Use of Antibiotics” 

Second Place – Brittany Bolt, biomedical sciences, PhD candidate, “The Battle Against Chronic Pain”

Third Place – Christian Tormos, chemical engineering, PhD candidate, “Regenerating Your Heart”

People’s Choice award – Courtney Cowley, agricultural economics, PhD candidate, “Green Milk and Ham: The Economics of Converting a ‘Waste’ into a Resource”

The competition, first developed at the University of Queensland in Australia, is meant as an exercise to develop academic, presentation and research communication skills. It also supports the development of students’ capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, using language that is appropriate to an intelligent but non–specialist audience. 

For more information on the competition, visit www.threeminutethesis.org. The event was streamed live on OStateTV and videos of all presentations will be posted as soon as possible.