Graduate students to present research, compete for prize money in annual Three Minute Thesis competition
Nine University of Notre Dame graduate students will compete for $4,500 in prize money during the annual Shaheen Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. The competition will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 28) inside Jordan Auditorium at the Mendoza College of Business on campus. It is open to the public.
Sponsored by the Graduate School, Graduate Student Government and the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development, 3MT is an academic competition that challenges graduate students to explain their research to a broad audience in three minutes or less, offering alumni, industry partners, various campus departments/institutes and the broader community the chance to learn about cutting-edge research at Notre Dame.
“3MT is a fantastic opportunity for graduate students across the University to convey their enthusiasm for their research and its impact on the world,” said Michael Hildreth, associate provost and vice president for graduate studies, professor of physics and astronomy and dean of the Graduate School. “I am always so impressed by the breadth of their studies and the excellence of their work. And, they are all so articulate. Everyone should come out to see this event.”
This year’s finalists are Cynthia Chen (chemical and biomolecular engineering), Liliya Chernysheva (civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences), Henry Downes (economics), Nicholas Herrud (history), Kurt Kohler (biological sciences), Josephine Lechartre (peace studies and political science), Hoon Lee (aerospace and mechanical engineering), Gowthami Mahendran (chemistry and biochemistry), and Amandhi Mathews (biological sciences).
The judges are Monica Arul Jayachandran, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech; Jeff Rea, president and CEO of the South Bend Regional Chamber; Essaka Joshua, professor of English and former associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Notre Dame; Michael Hildreth, vice president and associate provost, dean of the Graduate School and professor of physics at Notre Dame; and K. Matthew Dames, the Edward H. Arnold Dean of Hesburgh Libraries at Notre Dame.
Latest Colleges & Schools
- Disadvantaged entrepreneurs often fear success, but new research can helpWhen low-income entrepreneurs start their own businesses, they frequently fear failure — a well-documented phenomenon. But over time, they may also fear success, given the costs and unknowns it can bring, and this barrier to growth is under-studied and underappreciated. A new study from a Keough School of Global Affairs expert breaks new ground by explaining this fear and offers five recommendations to help entrepreneurs overcome it and move out of poverty.
- Opioid epidemic reaches beyond health impacts to influence politicsVicky Barone, assistant professor of economics at Notre Dame, researched the origins and development of the opioid epidemic and found that the unregulated marketing of potent painkillers led to increased access to prescription opioids and subsequent overdose mortalities. Tracing the long-term consequences of opioid overdose deaths on the political landscape in America, she found an increased support for conservative beliefs and Republican candidates.
- Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz addresses inequality with a people-centered economyInequality is a policy choice — not an inevitable outcome — and can be addressed through economic approaches that prioritize human dignity, economist and Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz said during a recent visit to the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs.
- European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness to deliver 2024 Barrett Family LectureNotre Dame’s Nanovic Institute for European Studies will welcome European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness to deliver the fourth Barrett Family Lecture on Friday (April 26) at Iveagh House in Dublin. Her lecture, titled “Ireland, the EU and the USA: Navigating the Future Together,” will begin at noon local time.
- Notre Dame researcher explores how technology can defend democracyGrowing public disenchantment with social media often highlights how it has poisoned political discourse. Critics say its business model leverages negative emotions to maximize user engagement, fueling mistrust and polarization. Keough School of Global Affairs scholar Lisa Schirch sees opportunity in a new class of deliberative technologies and their implications for democracy.
- Keough School establishes two new doctoral programsNotre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs has established two new doctoral programs in sustainable development and peace studies. The peace studies and sustainable development programs will enable doctoral students in the Keough School to examine from different perspectives the intersection of poverty, the environment, violent conflict and peace. Both programs will enroll students beginning in fall 2025.