Graduate School Announces Three Minute Thesis Winners

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Adam Netzer Zimmer, Ph.D. candidate in anthropology, has been named the winner of the 2021 Three Minute Thesis competition. Organized by the Graduate School, the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) challenges graduate students to describe their research in an engaging manner, using non-technical language, all in three minutes or less. Zimmer's presentation, “Prime Harvest: Cadavers & Our Source of Anatomical Knowledge,” was selected by the judges as the top presentation during the virtual campus final on March 18.

 

Lina Heaster-Ekholm from the International Education program was named the runner-up for her presentation “Virtually Ignored: Culture, International Students, and Online Learning” and Emma Dauster received the People’s Choice award, determined by audience vote, for her presentation “Giving Women Attention: Sex Comparisons in ADHD Treatment.”

 

A total of ten finalists representing ten graduate programs in nine schools or colleges competed in the campus final. As UMass's 3MT winner, Zimmer will go on to compete in the regional 3MT event in April, along with 3MT winners from over 20 graduate schools in the northeastern United States and Canada. Videos of all UMass’s 2021 finalists are available on the Graduate School’s YouTube channel.

The virtual 3MT final also included the second annual Images of Research contest comprised of images submitted by graduate students and postdocs. Sarah Betti (astronomy) was voted Graduate School Favorite by staff of the Graduate School; José González (Afro-American studies) was deemed “Instagram Favorite;” and Joshua Moyer (organismic and evolutionary biology) was voted People’s Choice by the audience at the 3MT Final. All images submitted to the competition are posted to Instagram (@UMass_OPD).