Big ideas in three minutes

Carnegie Mellon University’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) pits doctoral students against the clock and each other to explain complex research and captivate their audience in just three minutes. Ten finalists will compete in the 2026 3MT Championship at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, in the Cohon University Center’s McConomy Auditorium. A livestream will also be available.

Now in its 11th year at Carnegie Mellon, 3MT is a celebration of research that challenges Ph.D. students to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance in language that anyone can understand. Developed by The University of Queensland in Australia, the competition was brought to Pittsburgh by Helen and Henry Posner, Jr. Dean of Libraries Keith Webster in 2013. Since then, CMU doctoral candidates have joined students at over 900 universities across more than 85 countries worldwide in sharing their work with broad audiences through the competition.

Finalist Mary Anna Ebbert believes that communicating research to audiences of all backgrounds is just as important as the research itself. The College of Engineering Ph.D. student, who is studying mechanical engineering, has wanted to participate in 3MT since her first year at CMU for the opportunity to help more people connect with her work.

“Sharing our work allows us to convey the future we are working to create and to have a conversation with the world about the impacts it may have — before it leaves the lab,” she said.

Ebbert’s research is focused on developing a small-scale, mobile system that can generate hydrogen – a lightweight, high-energy fuel – from seawater to power marine unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This system contains a deionization unit, which completely removes the salt from seawater, and an electrolyzer, which splits the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

“When the system is scaled up, it will essentially be a mobile, suitcase-sized refueling station that can be carried aboard any ship, extending the range of UAVs while allowing us to use seawater and renewable electricity to generate fuel,” she explained.

At the championship, judges will choose the first-, second- and third-place winners to receive $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. Two audience-selected winners will receive $500 for the People’s Choice Award and $750 for the Alumni Award.

Alumni can watch the competition via the livestream, where they can vote to select the Alumni Award winner.

The Three Minute Thesis Championship is free of charge and open to the public. Registration is required to attend the in-person event or to view the livestream.