The Graduate School announces the winners of the 3rd Annual Three-Minute Thesis Competition
Kweku Konadu Amponsah-Efah, a doctoral student in the College of Pharmacy's Pharmaceutics program took home both the People's Choice and the First Place Awards at the event on Friday, November 9. Amponsah-Efah will represent the University of Minnesota at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) 3-Minute Thesis competition in Spring 2019.
Master's student Austin Yantes from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences - Natural Resources Science and Management program received the Second Place Award.
The Three-Minute Thesis Competition challenges graduate students to present their research in just 180 seconds, in a way that can be understood by an intelligent audience with no background in the subject. This competition helps our graduate students develop presentation and communication skills; the benefits of preparing for a three-minute thesis competition are valuable regardless of career path, degree objective, or discipline. Participants are allowed to refer to one, static slide during their presentations, but may not use any other props or media.
Special thanks goes to this year's judges:
- David Gillette, Special Correspondent and Creator of Illustrated Essays, Twin Cities PBS
- Nasibu Sareva, Executive Director, African Development Center of Minnesota
- Kablia Thao, Director of National Engagement, U of MN Alumni Association
- Chuck Tombarge, Chief Public Relations Officer, U of MN University Relations
- Sandra Vargas, Senior Executive Leadership Fellow, U of MN Humphrey School of Public Affairs
Watch all of the participants' presentations:
Beth Adamowicz, Doctoral Student
- Sharing the Load, Sharing the Dangers: How Cooperation among Bacteria Impacts Antibiotic Resistance
- Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, Medical School
Kweku Konadu Amponsah-Efah, Doctoral Student
- The Influence of the Strength of Drug-Polymer Interactions on the Stability of Amorphous Pharmaceuticals
- Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy
George Furey, Doctoral Student
- Can a Diversity of Prairie Plants Build a Fertile Soil?
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences
Jackie Liu, Doctoral Student
- Eve's Dilemma and Eve's Choice
- Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, College of Education and Human Development
Davin Rautiola, Doctoral Student
- Is It a Nose, or a Beak(er)?
- Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy
Branden Smeester, Doctoral Student
- Novel Targeted Therapy for the Treatment of Metastatic Pediatric Osteosarcoma
- Comparative and Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
Austin Yantes, Master's Student
- The Need for Long-Term Vegetation Monitoring in Restored Wetlands
- Natural Resources Science and Management, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences