2020-2021 Penn 3MT Competition

2020-2021 Penn 3MT Competition

Penn 3MT is a university-sponsored competitive speaking competition designed to showcase graduate student research in three-minute talks to a general audience. This is a terrific opportunity for graduate students engaged in substantive original research to develop communication skills and share their work with faculty, students, and staff from across the University.

  • Submissions Accepted: February 9 – March 15. Deadline extended to March 18!
  • Research Communications Workshops February 15-March 5.
  • Finalists will be announced: March 19
  • The top finalists will advance to the final round of competition, which will take place between March 22-30, 2021 online.

In addition to bragging rights, prizes will be awarded to the top three winners and an audience choice winner.

To enter, students must submit a video of their three-minute talk to Penn 3MT (details below). From those submissions, finalists will be chosen to compete in the campuswide online competition. Colleagues and friends of the competitors are warmly invited to attend and vote for the audience choice winner!

2021 3MT Winners
First Place
Christiana Kallon Kelly
The Innovation Generation: Students, Teachers, and Technology for National Development in Sierra Leone
Graduate School of Education

Presenter: Christiana Kallon Kelly, PhD Candidate, Division of Literacy, Culture, and International Education
Title: The Innovation Generation: Students, Teachers, and Technology for National Development in Sierra Leone
School: Graduate School of Education
Website: https://pdri.upenn.edu/bio/christiana-kallon-kelly/

Second Place
Nicky Bell
Better Help for the Rust Belt
School of Arts & Sciences

Presenter: Nicky Bell, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Title: Better Help for the Rust Belt
School: School of Arts & Sciences
Website: https://web.sas.upenn.edu/belln/

Third Place
Gnana Saurya Vankayalapati
Nanocellulose fibers as reinforcement to improve strength and toughness of structural materials
School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

Presenter: Gnana Saurya Vankayalapati, PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Title: Nanocellulose fibers as reinforcement to improve strength and toughness of structural materials
School: School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gnanasaurya/

Third Place
Sarah Carson
The New Girls' Club: Political Party Culture and the Women Changing the Face of U.S. Politics
School of Arts & Sciences

Presenter: Sarah Carson, PhD Student, Anthropology
Title: The New Girls' Club: Political Party Culture and the Women Changing the Face of U.S. Politics
School: School of Arts & Sciences
Website: https://anthropology.sas.upenn.edu/people/sarah-carson

Audience Choice
Peixin Mo
Hollywood is threatened by the rise of the Chinese film industry. Should Hollywood blame itself?
School of Arts & Sciences, Wharton

Presenter: Peixin Mo, Master of Arts, International/Global Studies
Title: Hollywood is threatened by the rise of the Chinese film industry. Should Hollywood blame itself?
School: School of Arts & Sciences, Wharton
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peixinmo/

2021 Finalists
Nicky Bell
Better Help for the Rust Belt

Presenter: Nicky Bell, PhD Candidate, Political Science
Title: Better Help for the Rust Belt
School: School of Arts & Sciences
Website: https://web.sas.upenn.edu/belln/

Daniel Rosen
Electrifying Chemistry: Nanostructured Catalysts for Electrons to Fuels

Presenter: Daniel Rosen, PhD Candidate, Materials Science and Engineering
Title: Electrifying Chemistry: Nanostructured Catalysts for Electrons to Fuels
School: School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Website: https://web.sas.upenn.edu/cbmurray/wiki/daniel-rosen/

Jothi Priyanka Thiruraman
Filtering Water One Molecule At A Time

Presenter: Jothi Priyanka Thiruraman, PhD Candidate, Electrical Engineering
Title: Filtering Water One Molecule At A Time
School: School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpthiruraman/

Peixin Mo
Hollywood is threatened by the rise of the Chinese film industry. Should Hollywood blame itself?

Presenter: Peixin Mo, Master of Arts, International/Global Studies
Title: Hollywood is threatened by the rise of the Chinese film industry. Should Hollywood blame itself?
School: School of Arts & Sciences
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peixinmo/

A. Stefanie Ruiz Sportmann
Immigrant Volunteering & Integration

Presenter: A. Stefanie Ruiz Sportmann, PhD Student, Social Welfare
Title: Immigrant Volunteering & Integration
School: Social Policy & Practice
Website: https://www.sp2.upenn.edu/people/view/anne-stefanie-ruiz-sportmann/

Dustin Dill
Mexican Experimental Short Filmmaking: Helio (2018)

Presenter: Dustin Dill, PhD Candidate, Hispanic & Portuguese Studies
Title: Mexican Experimental Short Filmmaking: Helio (2018) 
School: School of Arts & Sciences
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-dill-3623181b4/
Video with Spanish subtitles: https://vimeo.com/527019959/a85ec13658

Gnana Saurya Vankayalapati
Nanocellulose fibers as reinforcement to improve strength and toughness of structural materials

Presenter: Gnana Saurya Vankayalapati, PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Title: Nanocellulose fibers as reinforcement to improve strength and toughness of structural materials
School: School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gnanasaurya/

Karan Wanchoo
Temporal markers identify impact of public health emergencies

Presenter: Karan Wanchoo, Master's Student, Electrical Engineering
Title: Temporal markers identify impact of public health emergencies
School: School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karan-wanchoo-21b94240/

Christiana Kallon Kelly
The Innovation Generation: Students, Teachers, and Technology for National Development in Sierra Leone

Presenter: Christiana Kallon Kelly, PhD Candidate, Division of Literacy, Culture, and International Education
Title: The Innovation Generation: Students, Teachers, and Technology for National Development in Sierra Leone
School: Graduate School of Education
Website: https://pdri.upenn.edu/bio/christiana-kallon-kelly/

Sarah Carson
The New Girls' Club: Political Party Culture and the Women Changing the Face of U.S. Politics

Presenter: Sarah Carson, PhD Student, Anthropology
Title: The New Girls' Club: Political Party Culture and the Women Changing the Face of U.S. Politics
School: School of Arts & Sciences
Website: https://anthropology.sas.upenn.edu/people/sarah-carson

Arusha Acharyya
Watching Proteins In Ultrafast Motion

Presenter: Arusha Acharyya, PhD Candidate, Physical Chemisty
Title: Watching Proteins In Ultrafast Motion
School: School of Arts & Sciences
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arusha-acharyya-6584b83b/

Research Communications Workshops
All events will be recorded and links provided below.

2020-2021