Celebrating CSCT student success in public engagement and contribution to the doctoral community

James Boxall-Clasby and Isabel Thomlinson place first and third in 3MT® competition, while Philippa Kearney receives a Doctoral Recognition Award for her contribution to the doctoral experience at Bath.

We are pleased to announce that a total of five CSCT students made it to the final of this year’s 3-Minute-Thesis (3MT®) competition, an academic research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland in which doctoral students are challenged to present their work in three minutes and using only one slide.

The five students who made it to the 3MT® final, and who delivered their talks online from their own homes instead of following the traditional live format, are:

• James Boxall-Clasby, who won the competition with his presentation on COVID-19 detection in wastewater
• Isabel Thomlinson, who got third place with her talk on studying plastic molecules to create sustainable plastics
• Viviane Runa, who spoke about how bacteria work together to treat wastewater
• Jessica Pinheiro de Lucena-Thomas, who works creating 3D cellular models to mimic organ functions for drug testing
• Jon Noble, who shared his work on electrification and decarbonisation of industrial chemical reactions.

In addition, Philippa Kearney has received a Doctoral Recognition Award by the University for her commitment to improving the doctoral experience and for the support offered to her fellow students – besides being a very committed researcher in sustainable technologies and an excellent advocate of her research. Philippa has also recently received a prestigious POST fellowship to carry out policy work.

On getting first place on the 3MT® competition, James said: “Communicating our research clearly and concisely is a particularly important skill for students at the CSCT. Due to our focus on sustainability, the research we carry out is of great relevance and interest to non-specialists. Unfortunately, due to the technicality of the work, it can difficult to explain exactly what it is that we do and why.

“3MT® has been an excellent opportunity to improve my ability to present my research in a way that is clear, accessible and understandable. I have always had a tendency to ‘enthuse’, ‘ramble’ and ‘digress’, so I found the emphasis on speaking for no longer than 3 minutes to be especially useful!

“I am excited to have the opportunity to progress to the next stages of the national competition, and I am grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way so far.”

On winning the Doctoral Recognition Award, Philippa said: “I believe that a supportive community is important for everyone, but particularly for doctoral students, who often face challenges relating to isolation, poor mental health, and inequity.

“Over the last few years, I have really enjoyed working with the Doctoral College and as part of a range of teams within the CSCT to build a strong doctoral community and to benefit students within the Centre. I am grateful for these opportunities, which have been amazing and have helped me to maintain a broader perspective on my work, whilst hopefully supporting and representing others.

“I am very pleased to receive a Doctoral Recognition Award, and would like to thank those who nominated me, the people who support me, and those who I work alongside to improve the doctoral experience.”

Professor Matthew Davidson, Director of the CSCT, said: “It is fantastic to see the talent of so many of our PhD students being recognised by the University. Huge congratulations to all five CSCT students who made it to 3MT final and particularly to James and Izzy for being placed first and third, respectively. Very well done also to Philippa on her award which recognises just how much she’s done for the Centre and beyond. We are very proud of you all for helping to make the CSCT the dynamic, fun place that it is. I look forward to us all celebrating together (on Zoom).”

Professor Marcelle McManus, Co-Director, said: “I am constantly impressed by the talent and enthusiasm the CSCT students bring to everything they do. I am honoured to be part of a centre with so much to offer.”