From left: UBC SoE 3MT Heat Winners Shamim Noroozi, Katherine Latosinsky and Ilay Sarilar.
On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, students, faculty and staff from the School of Engineering had the privilege of witnessing an outstanding Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Heat, where SoE graduate students showcased their research with clarity, passion, and impact.
The three winners who will advance to the next round are:
- Katherine Latosinsky – Solution-Processed Perovskite-CIGS Tandem Solar Cells
- Shamim Noroozi – Toward Safer Aging: Using a Simple Foot-Tapping Test and Artificial Intelligence to Predict Fall Risk
- Ilay Sarilar – Better Decisions, Better Future: A Framework for Sustainable Water Services
A special congratulations goes to Shamim Noroozi, who also won the People’s Choice Award.
“On behalf of the School of a Engineering, congratulations to everyone who participated and thank you to all who supported this event. A special shoutout to Shannon Hohl and Brittany Parr for their hard work behind the scenes—your dedication made this event a resounding success!” said Dr. Sumi Siddiqua, Associate Director, Graduate Programs, for the School of Engineering.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to our judges for their time and expertise, Dr. Joshua Brinkerhoff, Dr. Alon Eisenstein and Samantha Luckow,” said Siddiqua. “Stay tuned for more updates as our winners prepare for the next stage of the competition.”
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an academic competition that assists current graduate students with fostering effective presentation and communication skills. Participants have just three minutes to explain the breadth and significance of their research project to a non-specialist audience.
Founded by the University of Queensland in 2008, the popularity of the competition has steadily increased and 3MT competitions are now held in over 350 universities across 59 countries worldwide. UBC, one of the first universities in North America to host a 3MT competition, has been presenting 3MT since 2011.
All UBC Okanagan graduate students in a thesis-based program are eligible to compete in 3MT at UBC Okanagan. Students compete against others from their Faculty in qualifying heats. The winners from each faculty then advance to the UBC Okanagan final event. Details about the Faculty heats can be found below.
The SoE Heat winners will now advance to the UBCO Finals on April 9, 2025 at the Mary Irwin Theatre in Kelowna.
Learn more about 3MT.