Carleton’s 2026 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition Winners!
Congratulations to our 3MT winners!
Graduate Studies hosted its annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on March 25, 2026. The qualifying rounds were held the week prior, culminating in a final event where 10 finalists competed for top honours.
Our top 10 graduate student finalists vied for several awards, including a first-place prize of $500, a second-place prize of $300, a third-place prize of $200, as well as an honourable mention.
First-Place Winner
Our top honour goes to Physics master’s student Kimia Ghanaatpisheh. Her compelling presentation, “A Cosmic Flip-Flop,” will be published following the Ontario Regional 3MT Competition in May.
Second Place: Harper Chaisson, Psychology master’s student. “Perceptions of sexual assault victims.”
Third Place: Josie Mallett, Geography and Environmental Studies master’s student. “Marsh troubles and methane bubbles: Methane emissions in restored wetlands.”
Honourable Mention: Flor Ali Salehie Barbosa, Biology master’s student. “Brewing a solution to plastic pollution.“
All presentations by our top 10 finalists are available on our Graduate Studies’ YouTube channel. In addition to the above-mentioned prize winners, the finalists included:
- Tae Bourque, Cognitive Science PhD student: Mastering mathematical language for academic success.
- Alex Bales D’Cruze, Electrical and Computer Engineering master’s student: Imaging prostate cancer from the inside out.
- Sarah Lavallée, Geography master’s student: Heckled for being weed eaters: Re-claiming cultural roots through urban foraging.
- Abigail Meloche, Economics master’s student: Where’s my white picket fence?
- Abiraam Samithamby, Psychology master’s student: Behind closed doors no more.
- Madeline Wadlow, Psychology master’s student: Does eco-anxiety lead to eco-action?
3MT Three Minute Thesis
Founded by the University of Queensland in Australia, 3MT celebrates graduate student research and takes place at universities around the world. Participants are required to present a concise summary of their research in no more than 180 seconds.
This year’s competition was evaluated by the following judges:
- Jackie Choquette, Head of Government Affairs, 3M Canada, and member of Carleton University’s Board of Governors
- Andrea Lawrance, Director, Carleton Office for Research Initiatives and Services (CORIS), Carleton University
- Brett Tackaberry, Principal Architect for the Public Sector, Google Cloud, Google, and member of Carleton University’s Board of Governors
