Founded by the University of Queensland, Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a student competition that challenges Masters and Ph.D. students to condense hours of research and pages of text into a three-minute talk that effectively explains their research in a way that engages a non-specialist audience. After the first competition in 2008, 3MT® has expanded worldwide with now over 900 universities across 85 countries.

Chapman’s 3MT® Competition is sponsored annually by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and the Office of Research. This year the competition was held virtually via Zoom and included online voting. Judges selected the first place ($1000 prize) and second place ($700 prize) winner from the finalists. Members of the public voted for their favorite 3MT® video to receive the People’s Choice Award ($500 prize). The four finalists’ videos are available for viewing on the 3MT® webpage; videos will remain posted through the rest of the academic year.

Out of the four finalists, two food science graduate students took home the top prizes. Anna Paula Colella took home First Prize and the People’s Choice Award, and Michelle Tu took second place.

Congratulations to our Food Science Student Winners!

Anna Paula ColellaAnna Paula Colella (First Place and People’s Choice Winner)
The Impact of Processing on the Composition of Bovine Milk Extracellular Vesicles
Thesis advisor: Dr. John Miklavcic

Anna joined the Chapman Food Science program in Fall 2019. Anna received her bachelor’s degree in Production Engineering in her home country of Brazil and worked in the automobile industry and in the national parks system before discovering her passion for food science after working as an intern in a powdered beverage company’s research & development lab. Anna is a world traveler who speaks four languages.

Michelle Tu (Second Place)
Lowering physiological disorders in Bartlett pears in long-term storage by irradiation treatment 
Thesis advisor: Dr. Anuradha Prakash

Michelle joined the Chapman Food Science program in Fall 2018 and will graduate in Summer 2020. A graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, Michelle worked in the Food & Beverage industry for several years before returning to school. Michelle is a master baker & pastry chef-and loves sharing her skills with our grateful students & faculty. In her “spare” time, Michelle is an adjunct faculty member at Orange Coast College.