Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition Winners

This year's grand final of the Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT*) was held at the Sir Charles Wilson Building on Friday 18th March. Three PhD researchers from each of the University of Glasgow's four main colleges condensed and presented their fascinating research topics into three compact minutes. This was no mean feat, and all 12 participants did brilliantly in front of a large audience that included, friends, family, supervisors and college Deans. This year's overall winner was Ruth Turner from the School of Humanities who is researching the impact of the loss of the Singer Sewing Machine Factory building on the town of Clydebank. Ruth has received the fantastic prize of a £1000 travel and research grant, which she hopes to use in order to travel to of the Singer company's former factory sites in Europe. Ruth is carrying out her research in collaboration with West Dunbartonshire Council and her PhD is supported by the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award.

Paula Sweeten also did the School of Life Sciences very proud as runner up with her excellent talk entitled "Learning to culture blood stem cells to improve chemotherapy". Paula clearly outlined how her research could impact positively on people who have undergone chemotherapy treatment by helping them to quickly rebuild their immune system.

While the judges were deliberating their choices, the 3MT People's Choice Award allowed the audience the opportunity to vote on their favourite presentation. This year, Eloise Larson of the School of Biomedical Engineering came out on top with her talk, "Sound Diagnosis", in which she outlined her research into developing a portable testing system for the early diagnosis of MAP in cows, helping to prevent them from getting TB.

This year, we introduced a new award, called the Spirit of Engagement Award for the school that with the highest rate of participation in the competition, celebrating the diversity of talent and projects being carried out across the University. The School of Humanities came out on top with 7 entrants. We're hoping that other schools will take note and try to beat this number next year!

As ever, almost all of the presentations delivered by our participants are available to view online. So, if you missed the Heats and Final, watching these films is a great way to get acquainted with some of the inspiring research that is happening across the university, and to appreciate the time and effort put in by the contestants in communicating the importance of their research for a public audience.

And finally, well done to all of our remaining 2016 finalists, who all deserve a special mention:

Xi King (SCI&ENG) – ‘Surface Acoustic Waves: Smart Drug Delivery’

Adrienne Macartney (SCI&ENG) – ‘Petrifying climates: lessons from early Mars’

Colin Reilly (ARTS) - ‘English is a Problem’

Carolina Reolon Jardim (ARTS) - ‘English Dictionaries in Brazil: An Open Goal’

Lauren Wills (MVLS) - ‘How Do We Mend A Broken Heart?’

Antonina Mutoro (MVLS) - ‘Improving child care in urban slums in Kenya’

Sheela Tripathee (SOCSCI) - 'Men managing their weight: influences from and on their partners'

Yan Zheng (SOCSCI) - 'The Story, the Touchscreen and the Child: How Story Apps Tell Stories'

Chizoba Obi (SOCSCI) - 'Government debt crisis - A solution'

*3MT is an international competition developed by the University of Queensland.