Imagine having only three minutes to explain your research to a general audience–this is the challenge for students competing in the Three Minute Thesis, or 3MT, competition.

Ayden Kemp, a graduate student in biosystems engineering, won Auburn’s 2024 3MT during the competition held on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the Melton Student Center Ballroom.

Kemp’s presentation, “Can plastic power airplanes,” explained his research on using plastic waste material in sustainable aviation fuels to reduce greenhouse gasses that impact global warming. He will represent Auburn University in the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools’ 3MT competition in March 2025.

Three Minute Thesis, established by The University of Queensland in 2008, has now spread to graduate schools around the globe. Auburn held its first 3MT in 2013 and now holds an annual competition for all graduate students.

In addition, a runner-up and a people’s choice winner were named after the judges and audience, respectively, voted. Md Mijan Rahman, an aerospace engineering graduate student, was selected as the runner-up for his presentation on “Seamless handover of autopilot via kinetics and exhaustion (S.H.A.K.E.).” Azeez Adebayo, a mechanical engineering graduate student, took home the people’s choice award for his presentation entitled, “Green, tough, and resilient: Exploring the extraordinary strength of cellulose nanopaper.” 

Read more about the top three winners from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

For more information about the 3MT competition at Auburn University, visit https://aub.ie/3MT.