Brilliant ideas quickly presented at Three Minute Thesis event
First place, people’s choice award went to psychology student Jenna Bolzen
Trent graduate students competed in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition at Market Hall on Thursday night.
The public and the media were invited to attend the annual competition where 19 Trent University students from a range of disciplines had three minutes and one slide to present their highly specialized research.
“This is a great opportunity for members of the public to come out, learn something new, and experience first-hand the incredible research that is happening at Trent University,” said Dr. Michael Eamon, principal of Traill College and host of the event, in a prepared release.
“What’s fun about 3MT is how much fascinating information you can get in one sitting. Our graduate students work so hard to not only compress years of research into a three-minute presentation, but also explain complicated concepts in a way that’s meaningful for people outside their field.”
Past winners have covered subjects like obsessive compulsive disorder, ultrasonic communication, mental health, and the language of squirrels.
This year’s researchers presented topics as far-ranging as the robot apocalypse, what we can learn about sexual consent from the BDSM community, navigating Canada’s housing crisis, and how plant hormones can cure disease, to name a few.
Judges for this year’s Trent showcase included:
■ Dr. Stephen Stohn ’66 — Trent University Chancellor, entertainment lawyer and television producer;
■ Dr. Bob Ezrin ’22 — Trent University Honorary Degree
Recipient, Canadian music producer and musician, member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame;
■ Sarah Budd — CEO and president of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.
Audience members at Market Hall also voted for the People’s Choice Award.
First place went to Jenna Bolzen (psychology), while second and third place honours went to Stephanie Aultman (anthropology) and Christian Bihun (environmental and life sciences) respectively.
The People’s Choice Award went to Jenna Bolzen.
The first-place recipient will represent Trent at the Ontario regionals in May.
The Three Minute Thesis competition was developed by the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008 and has bloomed into an internationally recognized competition. 3MT competitions are now held in more than 350 universities across 59 countries.