Graduate students conduct numerous hours of research throughout the course of their academic careers, culminating in a dissertation or thesis. Asking these individuals to simply explain their work in understandable terms in a matter of a few minutes may prove difficult to them as they try to come up with a correct yet simple way to describe their research. However, chemical engineering students from around the world have decided to pick up the challenge and do just that at AIChE’s first-ever Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.
What is 3MT?
3MT is a competition initially founded by the Univ. of Queensland in Australia in 2008. The idea and main purpose of the competition is to challenge graduate students across different disciplines to present their theses in an allotted time of three minutes. While doing so, they are to use terms that would be appropriate for an audience that may not have a technical background in their area of research. Along with the time constraint, competitors are only allowed to use one slide to aid their presentation and are not allowed to use any sort of props. The presentations are evaluated by a panel of judges based on content and ease of comprehension; presenters are also scored based on how engaging they are and how well they communicate.
The 3MT competition has continued to serve as a way to encourage students to develop advanced communication and presentation skills so that they can appropriately explain their work to their respective audience. After its inception, it has continued to be held annually and has been adopted by countless universities and institutions across at least 85 countries outside of Australia.
How does AIChE’s 3MT differ?
2022 is the first year that AIChE is hosting a 3MT competition. Participants are AIChE members who are either master’s or doctoral students and have completed a thesis or dissertation proposal. There are two stages for the competition: a virtual preliminary round requiring a video submission of their thesis presentation in three minutes, and a final live competition to take place at the AIChE Annual Meeting. Submissions to the virtual preliminary round will be evaluated and finalists will be chosen to advance to the final live competition.
Who is organizing the competition?
The 3MT competition was brought to AIChE after years of planning by the Young Professionals Committee (YPC). Hosting such a competition will help bridge the gap between the many diverse sectors of chemical engineering, while allowing young engineers to share their research. It will also challenge the engineers to avoid using technical jargon. “This is an excellent opportunity for graduate students to develop their ‘elevator pitch,’” says Shelby Mills, staff scientist at Glycosyn LLC and past YPC Chair. “Presenting your research in a concise, meaningful manner is an invaluable skill for interviewing, networking, funding opportunities, and general conversations.”
Preparing for the competition
Around 20 competitors have submitted their virtual presentations for review. The submissions cover a wide range of topics from the evolution of modern medicine, to decarbonization of the fossil fuel industry, to establishing a sustainable ammonia economy. Judges will review the video submissions while adhering to the official 3MT guidelines and select the top performing individuals as finalists. These finalists will then be invited to move on and participate in the live competition that will take place on November 15th during the 2022 AIChE Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ (Nov. 13–18). The live portion is expected to last approximately 2–3 hours and is open to all meeting attendees.
Selecting the winners
After the live in-person competition, judges will select first-, second-, and third-place winners. The winners will receive a monetary award of $500, $300, and $100, respectively. Not only will the judges evaluate the presentations, the competitors themselves will also have the opportunity to select their favorite three-minute thesis. The winner with the most votes by the competitors will receive a monetary award of $100. Regardless of the prize money, all participants will leave the competition with the ability to communicate their research efficiently and effectively, preparing them for the future when they may need to explain their work to broad audiences.
Get involved with AIChE 3MT
Active AIChE professional members who are not enrolled in school are invited to volunteer as judges for both the virtual and live stages of the competition. They are also encouraged to attend the competition to watch the presentations and learn about the exciting research that the graduate students are working on. “This project has been a labor of love for YPC volunteers, and I’m elated to see it come to fruition,” says Mills. To learn more about the competition or volunteer, visit www.aiche.org/3MT or contact the YPC by emailing ypc@aiche.org.
This article originally appeared in the Emerging Voices column of the September 2022 issue of CEP. Members have access online to complete issues, including a vast, searchable archive of back-issues found at aiche.org/cep.