
On February 14, nine graduate students will take the stage to explain their research and win the hearts of the judges and the audience at UW–Madison’s annual Three Minute Thesis competition.
Three Minute Thesis is an international research communication competition in which graduate students explain their research to a general, non-specialist audience. The nine UW–Madison finalists advanced from a semi-final round of competition in October. Now, at the campus finals, they’ll compete for up to $1,000 in cash prizes and a chance to represent UW–Madison at the regional level of competition.
“I am excited to share my research that my lab colleagues and I have been working on,” said Ella Aldridge, a master’s student in Communication Sciences and Disorders. “I did a mock presentation in front of my entire lab and feel like my presentation has become stronger since the initial semifinals, so I’m ready to give my speech again at the finals and see how much my skills have grown!”
Aldridge said she decided to participate in 3MT this year since she is in the second year of her master’s study, but new to UW–Madison. She wanted to push herself out of her comfort zone while also connecting with other students from different areas of study.
The Graduate School encourages all master’s and PhD students in research-based programs to participate in 3MT to deepen their research communication skills. It hosts an annual event that helps students prepare an accessible, intriguing three-minute research talk geared toward 3MT preparation but useful in other contexts, such as explaining research to family, friends, or hiring committees.
The competitors in UW–Madison’s 3MT finals are:
- Ella Aldridge, MS student in Communication Sciences and Disorders, “Get your Tucks in a Row!”
- Raphaëlle David, PhD student in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, “For a brighter world”
- Trinidad Fernandez Wallace, MS student in Dairy Science, “Understanding and Supporting Immune Function in Dairy Cows During the Transition Period”
- Shimeng Huang, PhD student in Business: Insurance Economics and Actuarial Analytics, “Bridging the Disaster Protection Gap with Index Insurance”
- Peter Kaladius, PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, “Treating Uneven Bone Growth in Legs”
- Jessamine Kuehn, PhD student in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, “Mind your Gut: Gifts from your Gut Microbes to fight Alzheimer’s Disease”
- Monica Ridlon, PhD student in Molecular & Environmental Toxicology, “Putting the Pee in PCBs”
- Elsa Salido, PhD student in Genetics, “How Does Genetic Risk of Complex Disease Actually Work?”
- David Skrovanek, PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, “There is no transition without transmission”

The Graduate School hosts 3MT in partnership with the student organization Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) and a campus-wide committee of graduate program staff. This year Provost Charles Lee Isbell, Jr., Graduate School Dean William J. Karpus, and GWIS representative and PhD student Brynn LeMasters will give welcome remarks and emcee the 3MT finals.
How to attend 3MT
The 3MT finals take place Friday, February 14 from 10 am to noon at the DeLuca Forum in the Discovery Building. Audience members from campus and the community are invited to attend; registration is not necessary.