Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Arts and Sciences Doctoral Student Wins at This Year’s Three-Minute Thesis Competition

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin
Share
College of Arts and SciencesCollege of Engineering and Computer ScienceFalk College of Sport and Human Dynamicsgraduate researchGraduate SchoolMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public AffairsSchool of Education

Ten graduate students competed in this year’s Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition on April 4. The annual event, sponsored by the Graduate School, provides participants with the opportunity to share highlights of their research and scholarship in pithy, engaging presentations lasting no longer than three minutes.

A man and a woman are shaking hands in what appears to be a classroom or lecture hall. The man is wearing glasses, a beige shirt, and a black vest. The woman is wearing a yellow sweater and red skirt. There is a projection screen in the background.

Glenn Wright congratulates Three Minute Thesis competition winner Jayda Felder.

Jayda Felder, a doctoral student in social psychology at the College of Arts and Sciences, won the competition with her presentation, “The Predictive Value of Casual Dating Advice for Romantic Relationship Outcomes.” She received 16-inch MacBook Pro M4 and a one-year membership in the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, the professional organization of her choice.

“The cliché is that academic research is both impenetrable and pointless,” says Glenn Wright, executive director of professional and career development at the Graduate School. “The 3MT really challenges graduate students to tackle that perception head-on, explaining quickly and clearly what their research is and why it makes a difference. That’s a great skill when engaging the public, and highly useful in academia, too.”

The other 3MT contestants were:

  • Nimisha Krishnan (Ph.D., physics, College of Arts and Sciences): “How Cells Move Cargo: Learning from Nature’s Tiny Transport System”
  • Bramsh Khan (Ph.D., social science, Maxwell School): “Politics of Gendered Infrastructure Violence in Balochistan, Pakistan”
  • Mary Theresa Pagan (Ph.D., sociology, Maxwell School): “Older Recent Widows and Physical Activity: A Qualitative Investigation of the Roles of Care Work and Social Support”
  • Sarah Nahar (Ph.D., religion, Arts and Sciences): “Closing the Poop Loop: An Everyday Way to Heal the Planet”
  • Ratnakshi Mandal (Ph.D., chemical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science): “Decoding Alzheimer’s: Putting Together the Puzzle of Memory Loss”
  • Abigail Helen Long (Ph.D., composition and cultural rhetoric, Arts and Sciences) “‘Stuck’ Together: Identifying Writing Teachers’ Access Needs”
  • Nghia Le Ba Thai (Ph.D., bioengineering, Engineering and Computer Science): “PorousX: A Novel Artificial Matrix for Treating Chronic Wounds”
  • Paul Sagoe (Ph.D., biomedical engineering, Engineering and Computer Science): “Small but Mighty: Therapeutic Nanoparticles, the Tiny Heroes Fighting Arthritis”
  • Qingyang Liu (Ph.D., human development and family science, Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics): “When and Where to Invest: Early Material Hardship and Children’s Self-Regulation.”
A group of ten people standing in a row in front of a classroom or lecture hall. The individuals are dressed in various styles, including traditional and formal attire. The background features a large projection screen and whiteboard.

Three-Minute Thesis participants share details about their research and creative work in a compelling way—within a three-minute time limit.

Wright moderated the event. Judges were Matthew Carr, chief financial officer at Manlius Pebble Hill School; Davoud Mozhdehi, associate professor of chemistry at the College of Arts and Sciences; and Sylvia Sierra, associate professor of communication and rhetorical studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Three Minute Thesis was first developed at the University of Queensland in Australia and is now held at colleges and universities around the world.

  • Author

Wendy S. Loughlin

  • Recent
  • SCOTUS Win for Combat Veterans Backed by Syracuse Law Clinic
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By News Staff
  • Tiffany Xu Named Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025-26
    Friday, June 20, 2025, By Julie Sharkey
  • Registration Open for Esports Campus Takeover Hosted by University and Gen.G
    Thursday, June 19, 2025, By Matt Michael
  • 2 Whitman Students Earn Prestigious AWESOME Scholarship
    Tuesday, June 17, 2025, By News Staff

More In Campus & Community

Jorge Morales ’26 Named a 2025 Beinecke Scholar

Jorge Morales ’26, a double major in history and anthropology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs with a minor in English and textual studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the highly competitive…

Registration Open for Esports Campus Takeover Hosted by University and Gen.G

Syracuse University and global esports and gaming organization Gen.G have opened general registration at campustakeover.gg for its first Campus Takeover Sept. 20-21. The two-day conference will bring students and administrators to Syracuse to highlight career opportunities within the esports industry…

2 Whitman Students Earn Prestigious AWESOME Scholarship

For the first time in the 12-year history of the program, both nominees from the Whitman School of Management have been selected as recipients of the 2025 AWESOME Excellence in Education Scholarship, a prestigious honor awarded to top-performing undergraduate women…

Whitman’s Johan Wiklund Named a Top Scholar Globally for Business Research Publications

The Whitman School of Management’s Distinguished Professor Johan Wiklund was recently listed as one of the most prolific business and economic research scholars globally, according to “What We Know About the Science of Science in Business and Economics? Insights From…

Katsitsatekanoniahkwa Destiny Lazore ’26 Receives Prestigious Udall Scholarship

Katsitsatekanoniahkwa Destiny Lazore, a rising senior communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and political science major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences (with a…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.