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SBU 3MT

Captivate a general audience with your research findings, and hone your research communication skills through the SBU 3MT competition! The top talks receive cash prizes, generously sponsored by the SBU Alumni Association

The 2025 SBU 3MT competition will feature a Postdoc Spotlight round, showcasing the innovative and invaluable research contributions of Stony Brook postdocs. 
We encourage and invite all faculty, staff, and students to attend this engaging and insightful 2025 SBU 3MT Competition. Join us to witness impactful research presentations and expand your knowledge. 

What is 3MT? 

SBU 3MT 2024 Participants

Three Minute Thesis, or 3MT® for short, is a spoken word thesis competition. 3MT is an opportunity for SBU graduate students to present their dissertation research findings to a general audience in THREE MINUTES with only one PowerPoint slide. The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. The goal is for students to engage all their communication skills to make their research vivid and engaging while emphasizing its key point without jargon.  

At Stony  Brook, our students also craft their talks as part of a  cohort, undergoing coaching from research communication experts grounded in techniques from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. While there will be winners at the end, our primary goal is for all students to gain professional development and improve their skills in communicating their research. 

What is 3MT?

 

In 3MT, PhD candidates compete from any discipline.

Physics English Computer Science Biomedical Engineering
Psychology Art Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies  

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2025 WINNERS FOR BEST TALKS!

 

Photos of 3MT 2025 Winners.

 

Award First Name Last Name Graduate Program Talk Title
1st  Sai Abasolo Biomedical Engineering Growing Bones: Body Not Included
2nd Maryam Azmi Genetics Shrinking Brain's Superheroes!
3rd Chenyu Zhang Civil Engineering From Scribbles to Safety: Drones and AI for Smarter Bridge Inspections
People's Choice Sai Abasolo Biomedical Engineering Growing Bones: Body Not Included

 

Speaker Sign-Up

The Speaker Sign-Up deadline is now closed.


The SBU 3MT 2025 competition has concluded, but you can still sign up for next year’s event! Stay tuned for updates and registration details.

 

Speaker Information

Eligibility


To compete in 3MT, students must:

  • Be SBU doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy (G5 or equivalent) by the speaker sign-up deadline;
  • Be enrolled full-time in Spring 2025 and be in good standing;
  • Work in any disciplinary field, with those in the Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences particularly encouraged to participate; 
  • Have advanced in their dissertation to a stage where findings, preliminary conclusions, and broader impact can be discussed. Students may only participate in 3MT once; 
  • Affirm during speaker sign-up that their dissertation advisor supports presentation of their research; and
  • Commit to participating in all 3 coaching sessions.

Presentation Guidelines

Talks will be three minutes long and may include only one PowerPoint slide. Speakers should craft a talk that distills the heart of their research for a general audience who may not be specialists, in the style of a TED-like talk (watch previous year's 3MT talks for examples). Speakers will receive individualized coaching on their presentation from research communication experts.

See the official rules

All competitors will present live and on-stage during Round 1, and the top eight will advance to Round 2, which will immediately follow with a new panel of judges.

Coaching Sessions

3MT competitors undergo research communication coaching that is grounded in techniques from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. Coaching takes place in small groups where peer feedback and support is expected and encouraged while students workshop their draft presentations.

Information about Postdoc Spotlight coaching is available on the Postdoc Spotlight page.


Questions?

Contact the Graduate School Office of Professional Development at gradprofdev@stonybrook.edu

SBU 3MT Past Winners and Competitions

 

LEARN MORE
 

Rules and Judging Criteria

 

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