Monica McNerney, a PhD student in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE), won first place in the 2016 Georgia Tech Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, held on November 15.

McNerney, who is advised by Associate Professor Styczynski, won a $2,000 travel grant for “Bacterial biosensors: Low-cost, Field-friendly Nutrition Tests.” See YouTube video.

The 3MT competition, which started at the University of Queensland in Australia and has spread to campuses around the world, is an event that challenges Ph.D. students to explain their research in three minutes in a way that someone with no knowledge of the subject would understand. Last year, Georgia Tech held its first annual 3MT event.

Another ChBE PhD student, Lalit Arun Darunte, was among 10 finalists chosen from two preliminary rounds. Advised by Professors Christopher Jones, David Sholl and Krista Walton, Darunte presented “CO2 Capture from Ai” in the competition. See YouTube video.