Summer Research Symposium and 3MT Competition
Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium and 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition
The annual Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium and second annual 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition are hosted by Summer REU Programs at Notre Dame. The symposium and competition are open to all undergraduate researchers at Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College for the purpose of sharing their research experiences and gaining valuable skills by presenting their research projects to a broader community.
During the symposium, students will present research posters, summarizing their research projects, and cover a broad range of topics in the arts, business, engineering, science, social sciences, and more. During the 3MT Competition, students will present a 3-minute thesis, using one slide, to explain their research in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. A panel of 3-5 judges will select 1st and 2nd place award winners, while the audience will select a People's Choice award winner. All students will receive a Certificate of Achievement and the priceless experience of sharing their research.
2024 Symposium and 3MT Competition
This year's symposium and 3MT competition are scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the Dahnke Ballroom located on the 7th floor of the Duncan Student Center. The schedule is listed below, and the list of presenters and abstract book will be posted in mid-July. Registration information will be provided to students soon. This event is open to the Notre Dame and Saint Mary's communities and general public. Attendance for the 3MT event will be announced soon. Please check back often for details.
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Poster Session #1
11:15 - 12:15 p.m. Poster Session #2
12:30 - 2:00 p.m. 3MT Competition
2023 Recap
The 2023 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium was held Wednesday, July 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Jordan Hall of Science. All members of the Notre Dame and Saint Mary's communities attended. There were 116 students who presented 111 different research projects across multiple disciplines, representing 16 summer REU programs. Students conducted their summer research projects in collaboration with faculty in 4 colleges and 14 departments at the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College.
Thirteen (13) students competed in the Inaugural 3MT Competition, representing 3 colleges, 6 departments, and 10 summer REU programs (Biology REU, Engineering/E-SURE, ND Energy/Slatt Fellowship, NDnano/NURF, Graduate School/SROP, Naughton, CBE/SMASH, Wireless/AWaRE, and Saint Mary's/Biology). Students were judged on how well they articulated their research topic and presented a clear and logical sequence of objectives, results and impact, using one slide, within three minutes.
A special thanks goes to The Graduate School for hosting the inaugural 3MT event along with Thomas Meyers, Graduate Career Consultant for the College of Arts and Letters, for emceeing the event and helping the students prepare for it. A huge round of applause goes to the judges, Alex Boomgarden, Nate Krakowski, Amanda McKendree, Christian Leham, and Patrick Gibbons, who had the difficult task of determining the first and second place winners.
Additional information about the 2023 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium and Inaugural 3MT Competition can be viewed at the links below.
- Symposium Schedule and Abstract Book link.
- 3MT Slide Presentation link (includes competition guidelines, judging criteria, and student presentations).
- 2023 Photos link (must have an ND net ID to access).
Congratulations to all 3MT competitors for their outstanding presentations with special recognition to our top three winners.
1st Place Award: Evan Wood, ND Energy Slatt Fellowship, Better Recycling for Lithium-Ion Batteries
2nd Place Award: Dorrian Cohen, College of Science Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (COS-SURF), Winning the Microbial War: Combating Evolving Fungal Infections with Novel Antimicrobials
People's Choice Award: Ultan Fallon, Naughton Fellowship, Fighting Diabetes through Pneumatic Sleeves and Exosuits
Sam Chen, ND Energy Slatt Fellowship Program, Gel Polymer Electrolyte in Lithium-ion Battery: Safety and Performance
Dorrian Cohen, COS-SURF, Winning the Microbial War: Combating Evolving Fungal Infections with Novel Antimicrobials
Lydia Csaszar, E-SURE, Generating Genomic Contigs in Python
Ultan Fallon, Naughton Fellowship, Fighting Diabetes through Pneumatic Sleeves and Exosuits
Grace Johnston, Saint Mary's College, Extreme Temperatures Reduce Feeding Success in Smallmouth Bass
Gabriela Melendez Martinez, GS-SROP, Identifying Bacteria in Medical Devices
Kailee Mendiola, SMASH, Cell-to-Cell Communication
Reid Metoyer, GS-SROP, Smart Substitutions: Bettering Health through Technology
Peter Schimpf, NURF, Increasing Safety in Lithium-Ion Batteries with Gel Polymer Electrolytes by Modeling Thermal Runaway
Allen Uy, AWaRE, Machine Learning for Predicting Signal Coverage
Bella Wiebelt-Smith, Biology, Understanding the Epigenetics of Synapse Formation in Kabuki Syndrome Type 2
Alex Williams, Biology, A Potential Diagnostic Approach for Tuberculosis
Evan Wood, ND Energy Slatt Fellowship, Better Recycling for Lithium-Ion Batteries