Fifteen Delaware State University Master's and Doctoral student recently competed in the institution's first-ever Three-Minute Thesis competition. — *In this photo:* Fifteen Delaware State University Master’s and Doctoral student recently competed in the institution’s first-ever Three-Minute Thesis competition.

On Campus

University holds first-ever Three-Minute Thesis competition

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Delaware State University recently held its first-ever virtual Three-Minute Thesis Competitions.

Held on Oct. 21, the competition featured power point and oral presentations from 15 students. The participants’ presentations were judged on their enthusiasm, delivery and ease of explanation that made it understandable to anyone outside of their academic field.

The winners and runner-ups and their prizes were:

In the Doctoral Category, the winner ($250) was Lindsey Hyppolite, a Chemistry Ph.D. candidate, whose top thesis was “A Novel Synthetic Method of Chitosan Functionalized Liposomes as an Innovative Nano-Carrier for Chemotherapeutic Drugs.”
The Doctoral Category runner-ups were: Chelsea Harris, a Mathematics Ph.D. candidate, whose topic was “Computer-Aided Diagnosis Techniques using Sparse Representations” ($150); and Schentel Jones, an Education Ed.D. candidate, whose topic was “A Critical Factor in the Success of African American Male Students” ($100, People’s Choice
In the Master’s Category, the winner ($250) was LaToya Irvin, an Agriculture M.S. student, whose top thesis was on “Investigating mechanisms that contribute to drought tolerance in Durum Wheat (Triticum durum).” She was also awarded $100 as the People’s Choice winner.
The Master’s Category runner-up were: Yao Xia, a Mathematics M.S. student, whose topic was “Simulation of interaction between laser and a single water microdroplet.”

The University judges for were Dr. Jason Bourke, Interim Director of the Master of Public Administration Program: Dr, Shelly Rouser, Chair of the Education Department; Dr. Qiquan Wang, Associate Professor of Chemistry, and Dr. Brian McNaughton, a Fellow in University Delaware Institute of Science and Technology. The competition was organized by Cheryl Still, Graduate Student Support Specialist, and Dr. Terry Jeffries, Assistant Dean of Graduate, Adult and Extended Studies.

An audience of students witnessed the presentation virtually, at the end voted Ms. Jones and Ms. Irvin as the People’s Choice Master’s and Doctoral winners, respectively.

The concept of Three-Minute Thesis evolved at University of Queensland in Australia and has spread worldwide, replicated at over 80 colleges and universities.