The top undergraduate finishers in the Kent State Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition were honored at an awards ceremony on October 25 in the Kiva auditorium.
The 3MT competition, founded at The University of Queensland in 2008, traditionally challenges Ph.D. students with presenting their research to a non-specialist audience within a three-minute timeframe. On October 21 and 22, undergraduate students who participated in the 2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) presented their research in the same format.
Students competed in 15 categories and judges selected winners from each category to display the achievements of students from a range of disciplines. The judging panel consisted of Kent State faculty and staff.
First and second place winners in the College of Arts and Sciences include:
Biochemistry
First place: Katie DeChant, sophomore, majoring in biochemistry
Second place: Kathryn Mirabell, junior majoring, in chemistry (biochemistry concentration)
Biology
First place: Ethan Lesco, sophomore, majoring in biology
Second place: Amanda Vesely, junior, majoring in biology (pre-med)
Environmental Studies, Geology and Horticulture
First place: Nora Haddon, junior, majoring in environmental conservation biology and Kendall Myers, sophomore, majoring in environmental studies
Second place: Pamela Brigger, senior, majoring in environmental studies and Ash Barrett, senior, majoring in biology
Physics
First place: Rachel Shelly, senior, majoring in physics
Second place: Steven Grabski, senior, majoring in physics
Psychology
First place: Ellie Gray, senior, majoring in psychology and Vinaya Patel, junior, majoring in psychology (pre-med)
Second place: Elena Indorf, senior, majoring in psychology and Lena Dellaria, junior, majoring in psychology
Classics and History
First place: Jordan Gallegos, senior, majoring in history
Sociology, International Relations, Economics and Cybersecurity
First place: Kate Stull, sophomore, majoring in international relations
Second place: Elizabeth Ta, junior, majoring in economics and Jasmynn Young, junior, majoring in sociology
Neuroscience
First place: Aliyah Ross, junior, majoring in neuroscience, Eleanor Brownlee, senior, majoring in anthropology and Anna Joy, sophomore, majoring in neuroscience
Second place: Elise Kouris senior, majoring in neuroscience, Kendra Dillon, senior, majoring in neuroscience and Leah Brenneman, junior, majoring in neuroscience
Applied Math/Physics and Biotechnology/Biology
First place: Haillee Ekis, junior, majoring in biology (pre-med)
Second place: Priya Shah, junior, majoring in applied mathematics
Computer Science
First place: Cornelius Pavlic, junior, majoring in computer science and Yug Patel, junior, majoring in computer science
Second place: Andrew Trautzsch, junior, majoring in computer science and Tram Le, senior, majoring in computer science
Chemistry
First place: Pranav Srinivasan, sophomore, majoring in physics
Second place: Bryce Smith, junior, majoring in chemistry
Zoology
First place: Rafaella Verlangieri de Souza, junior, majoring in zoology
Second place: Allison Remick, sophomore, majoring in zoology
Other winners, not in the College of Arts and Sciences, include:
Aeronautics and Engineering
First place: David Dreyer, senior, majoring in aerospace engineering and Stuart Klein, freshman, majoring in aerospace engineering
Second place: Reilly Ferrie, senior, majoring in aeronautics and Cass Braeutigam, junior, majoring in aerospace Engineering
Public Health, Speech Pathology and Nursing
First place: Kate Hensley, junior, majoring in speech Pathology and audiology and Jayla Hartman-Starks, senior, majoring in speech pathology and audiology
Second place: Jonathan Evanick, senior, majoring in public health and Shawnna Cripple, junior, majoring in nursing
Classics and History
Second place: Benjamin Welch, junior, majoring in performing arts
Fashion Design and Merchandising, Studio Art
First place: Rachel Stauffer, junior, majoring in fashion design
Second place: Ashlyn Merrill, senior, majoring in studio art (textiles)
Sociology, International Relations, Economics and Cybersecurity
First place: Sara House, senior, majoring in communication studies
Four students were selected to present their research at the awards ceremony:
Aliyah Ross presented: “Male Mice with Reduced Transporter Function Show More Fear in New Environments.”
Yug Patel presented: “How Does the Amount of Time Spent Studying Affect Future Earnings?”
Kendall Myers presented: “Insects with Armor: Zinc Enhanced Mandibles of Invasive Ambrosia Beetles Enables Damage to Native Trees.”
David Dreyer presented: “Material Testing of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Using Printed Part Appliances.”
Kent State President Todd Diacon, Director of Research and Economic Development Ann Gosky and other distinguished faculty were in attendance to present the awards.
“I’m always so impressed with Kent State’s ability to combine the cutting-edge research that our faculty do with the kind of instruction and research that benefits our students,” said Diacon. “I think there’s no other event that better demonstrates that magical combination than this thesis competition.”
Over 170 students participated in the SURE program this summer. In total, 822 students have participated in SURE since its inception 9 years ago.
Kent State graduate students competed in the 3MT competition on October 15. The second and third place finalists, as well as the People’s Choice Award winner, were all students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
To learn more about the 3MT competition, visit https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/.
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