51ĀŅĀ×

Simple, right?

Itā€™s actually harder than it seems. But 51ĀŅĀ× students accepted the challenge at OHIOā€™s inaugural Three Minute Thesis (3MT^Ā®) competition on Feb. 3 at Stocker Centerā€™s Robe Auditorium.

The contest tasked graduate and doctoral students with relaying innovative insights about their research to a general audience and a panel of judges in three minutes using easily understandable language. The event was sponsored by OHIOā€™s Graduate College.

Entrant Kingsley Antwi-Boasiako, MA ā€™13, a doctoral student in the School of Media Arts & Studies at the Scripps College of Communication, signed up to ā€œget outside of my comfort zone,ā€ he said. ā€œI ran my ideas by scholars, then decided to put myself out there.ā€

Antwi-Boasiako said explaining his research to a general audience inside of three minutes paradoxically required extensive practice on his presentation, ā€œReporting from the Frontlines of Ebola: African Bravery or Suicidal Professionalism?ā€

ā€œI timed myself and broke it down so there was no jargon,ā€ he said. ā€œI tried to make it a conversation.ā€

How important is it for a lay person to understand concepts like combatting Ebola, detecting skin cancer, and finding the longest path of a directed acyclic graph? Very, says OHIO 3MT^Ā® judge Theda Gibbs, assistant professor of teacher education in the Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education.

ā€œIt is a necessity and valuable skill for researchers to be able to share their important scholarship not only with other scholars but also with the entire community,ā€ Gibbs said. The process ā€œencourages researchers to value connecting with the community and encourages members of the community to learn more about important research,ā€ she added.

The wining 3MT^Ā® presentation, ā€œ,ā€ by doctoral physics student Sean McGraw, illuminated how wind generated from black holes can change a galaxyā€™s shape, size, and color. Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ College of Engineering and Technology student Nikhil Dhinagar, MS ā€™13, pursuing a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science, came in second for his ā€œNon-invasive Skin Cancer Detection.ā€ Reetobrata Basu, MS ā€™15, a doctoral student in the interdisciplinary program in molecular and cellular biology in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, earned third place and the 3 Minute Thesis^Ā® Peopleā€™s Choice award for his presentation, ā€œTo Grow or Not to Grow: A Melanoma Powerplay.ā€

Each of these top three finishers received a cash prize. McGraw advanced to the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools national meetingā€™s 3MT^Ā® competition in April.

The 3MT^Ā® competition started in 2008 at Australiaā€™s University of Queensland and has spread worldwide to more than 170 universities in nearly 20 countries.

ā€“Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ ā€™91, assistant director, Advancement Communication & Marketing; managing editor ohiowomen and ohiotoday.org