Doctoral and master’s students at Wichita State went head to head in an academic competition to present their research in three minutes to a general audience. 

Participants had to craft their speeches to fit in the timeframe, while also communicating their research to the audience. They were allowed to have a single static PowerPoint slide in the presentation. 

Students first presented their speeches in smaller groups, then the finalists shared with the whole group for a chance to go to a regional competition.

Coleen Pugh, dean of the Graduate School, gave the final remarks at the event. 

“It’s my favorite event of the year,” Pugh said. “It’s so interesting to see how students are able to capture the gist of their research and put it in a language that everyone can understand.“

The finalists

Third place: Jenna Ercolani, faculty adviser Laila Cure

Bio: Centered on industrial engineering, Ercolani’s thesis explored the workload in Emergency Medical Services. Her thesis modeled an opportunity to “improve health care with engineering and data analysis.” The motivation behind this research topic was to alleviate burnout and staffing issues in EMS. 

“Just since 2019, their burnout has increased from 35% up to 58%,” Ercolani said. “And also turnover and demand rates are rising, leading to a critical shortage in the United States of

paramedics.

“This is why it’s important to be able to accurately measure their workload, so they’ll be able to use that and make informed decisions to be able to balance that.”

Ercolani said that, though stressful, the experience was positive.

“It was nerve-wracking, for sure, to be able to fit the entire thing in three minutes,” Ercolani said. “But it’s a really cool way to be able to get across so much information.”

Second place: Reilly Jensen

Bio: Jenson is a second-year student pursuing a master’s in biomedical engineering. He grew up in Buhler, Kansas, and came to WSU for graduate studies. His thesis covers early detection and classification of strokes to procure better outcomes for stroke victims.

“In my thesis, I address two critical factors,” Jensen said. “One, reduced time to treatment. For every hour after the onset of stroke, the risk of death and disability is increased substantially. And two, continuous monitoring of cerebral hemorrhage, because a 10% increase in cerebral hemorrhage volume correlates to a 5% increase in mortality.”

Last year, Jensen’s grandmother had a stroke. She became another source of inspiration for Jensen to research measures for stroke recovery. 

“I chose my thesis topic because my grandmother experienced an ischemic stroke, and I thought maybe I could help,” Jensen said. 

He described his experience presenting his thesis as ‘nervous and sweaty.’

Winner: Mary Peterson, faculty adviser Visvakumar Aravinthan

Bio: Peterson is a first-year graduate student in electrical engineering focusing on the systems that distribute power to different communities. 

Part of the reason she chose this topic was the power outages she experienced living in Shocker Hall during her freshman year at WSU in 2021. Peterson recognizes the importance of reliable energy in everyday life and sees solar energy as a more reliable and financially secure energy source. 

“It’s so essential to the way that we live into a modern society, and making sure the power systems are operated equitably is just an important next step in our energy market,” Peterson said. 

Peterson said that she enjoyed hearing about her peers’ research. Now, her next step is to prepare for the regional competition.

“I’ll have to learn more about that,” Peterson said. “I’m just excited to be here. Well, thanks to God and to my adviser, Dr. Aravinthan.” 

The regional three-minute thesis competition will be held on April 4, 2025, in Indianapolis, Indiana.