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University of Rhode Island honors winners at this year’s 3 Minute Thesis Competition

At the third annual URI Graduate School 3 Minute Thesis Competition 4 Ph.D. students took home prizes. First place went to Victoria Reilly (left), second place went to Lindsay Culpepper (far left), and Arvie Grace B. Masibag (right) and Homa Mojtabai (far right) shared the Audience Favorite Award. Also pictured (left to right) College of Engineering Dean Anthony Marchese, Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Initiatives Sue Adams, Associate Vice Provost Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning Christopher Lavan, College of the Environment and Life Sciences Dean Jean VanderGheynst. (URI Photo)

KINGSTON, R.I. – April 29, 2026 – Cowbells clanged and audience members whooped and cheered as 10 University of Rhode Island graduate students took the stage late last month hoping to share their research while beating the clock. Before a packed auditorium of 150 graduate students, faculty, and a panel of judges, student researchers competed for prizes and bragging rights during the 3rd annual URI Graduate School Three Minute Thesis Competition, inside Avedisian Hall.

The 3MT competition challenges graduate students to distill their research into a compelling, three-minute presentation that can be easily understood by a general audience. Originated in 2008 at the University of Queensland, in Australia, 900 graduate schools across the globe have adopted the competition. 

At URI, to make it to the finals, graduate students must submit a three-minute video to a panel of judges. Ultimately 10 finalists are selected to compete before a live audience and panel of judges. During the competition, students have three minutes to present their thesis “elevator pitch” style—in an easily comprehensible format, free of scientific language and jargon-to an expectant audience of non-experts.

“The Three Minute Thesis Competition is a great reminder of just how impressive our Ph.D. students are,” said Beth Meyerand, vice provost and dean of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School. “They are doing high-level, impactful research, and this competition challenges them to explain that work clearly and in a way that anyone can understand. It really highlights the talent, dedication, and range of students we have across the Graduate School.”

In the end, 4 Ph.D. students took home prizes. First place and $1,000 went to Victoria Reilly, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. candidate, for her presentation “Our Need to Go Deeper . . . Safely.” Her research, and the patent her research group produced, support the development of submersible vessels capable of safely reaching the depths of the ocean, with a reduced risk of implosion under extreme pressure.  

Second place and $500 went to Ph.D. student Lindsay Culpepper for her presentation, “Understanding New England Cottontail Personality through Fecal Cortisol Analysis.”  Culpepper described herself as a “bunny matchmaker” who paired bunnies she deemed compatible after testing their fecal excretions.

In addition to Reilly and Culpepper, two individuals enrolled in Ph.D. programs shared the Audience Favorite Award, with each receiving $500. Arvie Grace B. Masibag, a Ph.D. candidate in pharmaceutical sciences, won for her presentation, “Disarming Vibrio: Protecting Oysters, Aquaculture, and Coastal Economies,” and Homa Mojtabai, a Ph.D. student in English and creative writing, won for “Who’s a Terrorist?”

The 3MT competition doesn’t end there. Winner Victoria Reilly went on to compete in the Northeast Regional 3MT competition. In previous years, URI has seen great success in regionals. In 2024, first place 3MT winner Sara Davis, a post-doctoral fellow at URI out-presented competitors from 31 other Northeastern and Canadian schools to win 3MT Northeast Regionals and go on to represent URI in the 3MT North American finals.

To learn more about URI’s 3MT competition, or to watch the winning presentations, visit the URI Graduate School’s 3MT page.