Zahra Ghiasi Wins 2024 Three Minute Thesis Competition 

Chemical Engineering Doctoral Student to Represent Texas A&M in the Regional 3MT® Research Presentation Competition  

COLLEGE STATION, November 13, 2024 – After 11 stellar presentations on research ranging from the irrationality of group-thinking to immune system treatments for PTSD, chemical engineering doctoral student Zhara Ghiasi emerged victorious at Texas A&M’s twelfth annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition on Tuesday night.  

See Zahra Ghiasi's presentation on YouTube

Photo Courtesy: Butch Ireland

Her presentation, “Stabilizing mRNA Vaccines for a Global Health Solution," clinched first place in both the doctoral division and the overall competition. Ghiasi will bring the coveted 3MT winner’s cup back to the Department of Chemical Engineering and she will advance to represent Texas A&M at the regional 3MT competition in Dallas this March.  

Dallas Williams, from the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was the runner-up and people’s choice award winner in the doctoral division for her presentation “Rethinking Rain Gardens: Sustainable Design for a Resilient Future.” 

In the master’s category, anthropology student Alyssa Carpenter won first place for her presentation, “The Origin of 20 Guns Recovered in Savannah, Georgia.” Runner-up and people’s choice awards went to ecology and conservation biology student Julia Tapilatu for “Safeguarding Zebra Shark Population through Research and Conservation Efforts.”  

Alyssa Carpenter
Photo Courtesy: Butch Ireland

The 3MT® competition, developed by the University of Queensland (Australia) in 2008, gives students three minutes to present a compelling oration of their research and its significance to a general audience, using just one slide. The event helps students develop their communication and presentation skills, while serving as a venue to showcase graduate student research.  

The Graduate and Professional School, along with co-sponsors the Center for Teaching Excellence and the University Writing Center, hosted the event in Rudder Forum before a record live audience of over 170 people in Rudder Forum and streamed for viewers worldwide on Zoom. Dr. Adam Seipp, professor of history and associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences served as master of ceremonies. 

The Grad School and its professional development partner, the Career Center, utilized the 3MT spotlight to present the second annual Investing in Excellence Award to the to the Rand Corporation. This award recognizes a company's exceptional efforts in engaging and supporting graduate and professional students through innovative recruitment and development initiatives.

The competition's panel of judges, representing a diverse array of expertise, included Stacy Colvin, operations manager for KBTX; John Cullen, distinguished professor of toxicology at North Carolina State University; Megan Lacy, vice president of strategic initiatives in Texas A&M’s Division of Marketing and Communications; Al Pulliam, executive advisor for recruitment initiatives at the Texas A&M Foundation; Andrea Porter, 2023 Texas A&M 3MT® champion; and Jörg Steiner, Texas A&M Regents Professor and University Distinguished Professor of small animal medicine and surgery and veterinary pathobiology. 

Ghiasi’s victory marks the third consecutive overall win for the College of Engineering, following the triumphs of Chih-Shen Ching (civil engineering) in 2022 and Andrea Porter (multidisciplinary engineering) in 2023. The College of Engineering now boasts four wins in the 12 years Texas A&M has held a 3MT competition, just behind the College of Arts and Sciences with five wins. 

Ghiasi said she was honored to win against such stiff competition. “The other presentations were outstanding, each addressing important challenges. The quality of the presentations reflects the strength and diversity of Texas A&M’s graduate programs,” she said.  

Dr. Faisal Khan, Ghiasi’s faculty advisor in chemical engineering, lauded her drive, commitment and approach to her work: “Zahra is passionate about her research, which drives her to gain a deeper understanding of the research question and its impact on the public.” 

Khan also praised his department. “We have outstanding faculty who have developed a culture of nurturing young researchers by providing them with opportunities, resources, and support to excel,” he said. 

Dr. Robert Bishop, dean of engineering, celebrated Ghiasi’s win and his college’s recent run of success: “We are incredibly proud of Zahra Ghiasi’s achievement. Her success is a testament to the talent and dedication within the College of Engineering, which has now produced back-to-back-to-back winners,” he said. “And her work highlights the impactful research our graduate students are conducting.” 

2024 3MT Finalists (l to r) Dr. Fuhui Tong, Alyssa Carpenter, Poojashree Chettiar, Kimberly Breyfogle, Julia Tapilatu, Tatlock Lauten, Zahra Ghiasi, Aditya Yalamanchili, Dallas Williams, Saptarshi Biswas, Sarah Chu, and Siun Lee
Photo Courtesy: Butch Ireland

Dr. Fuhui Tong, dean of the Graduate and Professional School, praised all of this year’s finalists and highlighted increased participation and interest in this year’s event. “It’s exciting to see that we broke records this year in number of participants at the preliminary competition and attendance at the finals,” Tong said. “Congratulations to this year’s finalists for advancing from an opening round field of 68 competitors and thanks to our community for showing such overwhelming support of graduate student research.”  

Ghiasi is looking forward to the regionals. “Representing Texas A&M is an honor, so I plan to keep practicing and fine-tuning my presentation to make sure my performance reflects positively on our university.” 

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See the Finalists' Presentations on our YouTube Channel. 

_{Media contact: Rob Dixon, Texas A&M University Graduate and Professional School, 979-845-3631, rdixon@tamu.edu.}