Announcing the 2025 Three Minute Thesis Winners
Ten students participated in this year鈥檚 final competition for a chance at prize money and a chance to represent 兔子先生传媒文化作品 at the regional competition
Drones as teammates, landing safely from space, and local control of school districts were a few of the topics presented during the eighth annual听Three Minute Thesis Competition on Feb. 13, 2025.
This event challenges graduate students to craft a three-minute elevator pitch for their complex鈥攁nd sometimes difficult to make sense of鈥攔esearch in a way that even an everyday person could understand.
This year, the ten competitors did just that to a packed Glenn Miller Ballroom and a panel of judges who evaluated the competitors on comprehension, content, engagement and communication.
鈥淚t is of vital importance that the public understand the valuable work that graduate students are doing every day, and how it can impact them in lasting and positive ways, and the Three Minute Thesis competition does just that,鈥 said Scott Adler, dean of the Graduate School. 鈥淐ongratulations to those that won and to everyone that participated. You all did amazing and make me proud to be dean of the Graduate School.鈥
The 2025 winners are:
First Place
Aoife Henry, electrical, computer and energy engineering, Directing Wind Turbines with Foresight: The Shepherd and the Sheepdog Find a Crystal Ball
Second Place
Casey Middleton, computer science, Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3
People鈥檚 Choice
Heather Kenny-Duddela, ecology and evolutionary biology, Feathered Flings: The Dating Lives of Barn Swallows
Henry will receive $1500 in prize money and will represent 兔子先生传媒文化作品 at the Western Association of Graduate Schools competition. Middleton and Kenny-Duddela will receive $750 and $500 in research funds, respectively.
Judges for this year鈥檚 event are Waleed Abdalati, executive director of the Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and professor of geography; Jared Bahir Browsh, director of critical sports studies and an assistant teaching professor; Robert Streeter, site supervisor at Polar Field Services and 3MT 2023 winner; and Sonia DeLuca Fern谩ndez, senior vice chancellor for leadership support and programming. Bud Coleman, professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance, will be the event鈥檚 emcee.
More information about the 2026 Three Minute Thesis Competition will be available on the听Three Minute Thesis competition webpage this fall.