Any graduate student enrolled in master's, PhD, or doctoral programs may compete.  A student's program of study must contain an original research project.  The degree program need not normally require a thesis or dissertation, however the presentation topic must cover an original research project.  You must be enrolled during the fall semester to participate in the competition!  Fall graduates are eligible to participate, but please note that the WSU winner is expected to present at a conference the following Spring.

• A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted.  No slide transitions, animations or movement of any description are allowed.  The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration.
• No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.  No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
• Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum.  Competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations are to be spoke word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
• Presentations are to commence from the stage.
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech.
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

• Academics (both students and professors) typically present at professional conferences to people who are familiar with their discipline’s jargon and topics. 3MT® is different. In a 3MT® competition, you’re communicating with a general audience. They need to understand the problem and why finding a solution is important.
• Engage your audience: speak to their minds and their feelings.
• A three-minute speech is more difficult than longer speeches; you must be concise. Think hard to determine what your research is about: try to see where it fits in the larger context and as part of the bigger (sometimes global) problem.
• Both your speech and your slide should be carefully crafted. Think of it as a piece of art!
• Each second of your three-minute speech should be planned, revised, revised again, improved upon, and rehearsed. Practice, practice, practice!
• Your speech needs clear structure:
  • An introduction—Something catchy that gets your audience’s attention
  • The middle part with the details—What are you investigating and what have you found?
  • A conclusion—a statement, summary, or story for your audience to remember you by.
• Your slide should be an organic part of your speech. There are endless possibilities! Once again, look at your slice as a piece of conceptual art: an image, symbol, or graphic—that illustrates your point. 

Look for winning examples. There are plenty on YouTube and Vimeo:

• Helpful advice from students-competitors
• Engineering
• Engineering
• Social Sciences
• Chemistry
• Health professions
• Health Professions

 

SCORING CALIBRATION:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Does not meet expectations	Demonstrates competency but some major weaknesses	Demonstrates competency but some significant weaknesses	Good, but some flaws	Very good, only very minor flaws	Excellent, almost flawless	Outstanding, no flaws

Please include a score between 1 and 7 in the 2 sections below.

The competitor will then be provided with an overall score out of 14

COMPREHENSION AND CONTENT
Presentation provided clear background and significance to the research question
Presentation provided clear positionality of the presenter to the research and research approach
Presentation clearly described the research strategy/design and the results/findings of the research
Presentation clearly described the conclusions, outcomes and impact of the research
Score out of 7

ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION
The oration was delivered clearly, and the language was appropriate for a non-specialist audience
The PowerPoint slide was well-defined and enhanced the presentation
The presenter conveyed enthusiasm for their research and captured and maintained the audience’s attention
Score out of 7

 

OVERALL SCORE

/14

 

3MT 2025

First Place: Setareh Darvishi

                Department:  Doctoral Program in Industrial Engineering

                Advisor: Dr. Laila Cure

                Title: Dynamic Crew Configuration Recommendations for Emergency Medical Services

Second Place: Anusha Krishna Murthy 

                Department: Doctoral program in Electrical and Computer Engineering

                Advisor:  Dr. John Watkins & Dr. Elizabeth Behrman

                Title: When Cells Remember: The Quantum Twists Inside Your Brain

Third Place: Laura Santander Diaz 

                Department: Master’s program in Biological Sciences 

                Advisor:  Dr. Mark Schneegurt 

                Title:  Abundance of Microbial Genes Relevant to N₂O Metabolism in Agricultural Soils Under Different Nitrogen Fertilization Regimes

3MT 2024

First Place: Mary Peterson 

                Department: Master's in Electrical Engineering 

                Advisor: Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan 

                Title: Equity for Solar Energy Investments 

Second Place: Reilly Jensen 

                Department: Master's in Biomedical Engineering 

                Advisor: Dr. Kim Cluff 

                Title: Beyond CT and MRI: Towards Real-Time Brain Hemorrhage Detection with Radio Frequency Resonators 

Third Place: Jenna Ercolani 

                Department: Master's in Industrial Engineering 

                Advisor: Dr. Laila Cure 

                Title: Analysis and Modeling of Workload within Emergency Medical Services 

3MT 2023

First Place: Jade Driggs 

                Department: Psychology - Human Factors PhD program 

                Advisor: Dr. Carryl Baldwin 

                Title: Judgments of Difficulty While Observing an Automated System Support the Media Equation Hypothesis 

Second Place: Sarangan Rajendran 

                Department: PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD program 

                Advisor: Visvakumar Aravinthan 

                Title: Battery Charging Considering Solar-Load Synchrony 

Third Place: Anusha Krishna Murthy 

                Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD program 

                Advisor: John Watkins 

                Title: From Chaos to Control: Taming Large-Scale Discrete Systems 

3MT 2022

First Place: Sangar Shanthanam

                Department: PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering 

                Advisor: Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan

                Title: Low Cost Wave Energy Converter 

Runner up: Sarangan Rajendran 

                Department: PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering 

                Advisor: Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan 

                Title: Valuing Distributed Energy Resources

3MT 2021

First Place: Fariha Tanveer

                Department: Master's in Biological Sciences 

                Advisor: William Hendry

                Title: Developing a Human Patient ‘Avatar’ System Particularly Relevant to Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC).

Runner up: Michael Okwori

                Department: PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering 

                Advisor: Ali Eslami

                Title: Application of Machine Learning Models and Feature Engineering to Predict Genomic Phenomena.

3MT 2020

First Place: Morgan Trible

                Department: Master's in Biological Sciences 

                Advisor: Dr. Mary Liz Jameson

                Title: Dung Beetles: from Poop to Profits

Runner up: Jonathan Folkerts

                Department: PhD in Physics

                Advisor: Nickolas Solomey

                Title: nuSol: Designing A Solar Neutrino Detector

Runner up :Sai Tarun Prabhu Bandemegala 

                Department: Master's in Biomedical Engineering

                Advisor: Dr. Jaydip Desai

                Title: Comprehending Human Cognitive Performance under Varying Simulated Space Conditions.

November 13th, 2026

November 12th, 2027