Summia Rahman wins 2021 Three-Minute Thesis competition

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. Summia Rahman, a graduate student in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, won Auburn's 2021 3MT during the competition held on Thursday, Nov. 11, in the Melton Student Center Ballroom.

Rahman’s presentation, "Sustainable Food Packaging for a Future World," is about reducing the environmental impacts of the plastics current food packaging has on the world around us. She will represent Auburn University in the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools' 3MT competition in February 2022.

3MT, 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 are named after the judges and audience have voted respectively. Rahman also took home the People’s Choice award while Ja’Lia Taylor, doctoral student in the College of Education, was awarded runner-up for her presentation on the “Effects of Virtual Coaching on Preschool Teacher Practices.”

For more information about the 3MT competition at Auburn University and to watch the award-winning presentations, click here.