Psychology PhD student Matthew Berry gave a performance worthy of the stage, walking away as this year’s McMaster Three Minute Thesis (3MT) champion.

The 3MT challenges competitors to explain their research and its broader impact in just three minutes, using one static presentation slide. Adjudication panels are comprised of non-specialists, making it important that presentations are accessible for a wide audience.

Berry’s winning presentation, Scientifically Quantifying the Craft of Acting, garnered top spot in a field of 15 competitors representing four Faculties. In April, he will represent McMaster at the Ontario Provincial 3MT.

Rounding out the top five finalists:

• Second Place goes to Anthropology PhD student Kaitlin East for her 3MT, Stress, Death and Dying.
• Third Place is Shawn Hercules, Biology PhD student, for his presentation, Race and Breast Cancer: Is there a link?
• Fourth Place goes to Master’s student Steven Mancini, Neuroscience, for Enhancing the Aging Brain.
• Fifth Place is Master’s student Jasprit Pannag, Nursing, Taking the shock out of shock therapy: Pre-implantation education for implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients.

Each of the top five finalists will receive the Dean’s Award of Excellence in Communicating Graduate Research, $500, and a $50 Phoenix gift card – courtesy the Graduate Students Association and the Phoenix. Additionally, Berry (Science), East (Social Sciences), and Mancini (Health Sciences) win $500 each for placing first in the new Faculty Award category.

With her presentation, Engineering a New Material to Regrow Skin, Nicola Muzzin captured first place for the Faculty of Engineering. Muzzin is a Master’s student in Chemical Engineering.

Faculty awards for Humanities and Business went to top presenters in the preliminaries:

• Master’s student Sookie Bardwell, Gender Studies and Feminist Research, for her presentation, In This Together: Self and Community Care for Sustainable Social Change Work.
• Armagan Ozbilge, PhD student in Business (Management Science), won the DeGroote School of Business Faculty Award for his 3MT, Donate More to Earn More.

The Competitor’s Choice Award ($250) – as voted by 15 finalists and preliminary heat participants on hand for the Final – goes to Kaitlin East.

McMaster’s biggest 3MT to date

Close to 80 Masters and PhD students presented in the Concert Hall over five preliminary heats throughout Wednesday and Thursday, making for a challenging adjudication. 

Judges for this year’s Final include:

• Peter Dyakowski, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Patrick Deane, President and Vice-Chancellor, McMaster
• Annette Hamm, Host, CHCH Morning Live
• Pearl F. Veenema, President and CEO, Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation
• Doug Welch, Vice-Provost and Dean, Graduate Studies, McMaster