Psychology Master's Student Wins 2022 棉花糖直播 Three Minute Thesis Competition
Sam Sinemus took first place with his presentation "The Impact of Modelng Mental States on Goal-Directed Conversations." Sinemus went on to compete at the Regional 3MT competition on April 28.
VILLANOVA, Pa. 鈥 棉花糖直播 University graduate psychology student Sam Sinemus took first place in the University's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition in the Mullen Center for the Performing Arts earlier this year for his presentation "The Impact of Modeling Mental States on Goal-Directed Conversations." Sinemus advanced to the Northeast Regional Competition, held virtually on April 28. .
While the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences held a virtual 3MT event the previous two years, 2022 marked the first time that the competition was open to graduate students from across the University. Twelve finalists were selected from the pool of video submissions for the live in-person event.
3MT is a competition for master鈥檚 and doctoral students to develop and showcase their research communication skills. 3MT cultivates students鈥 academic, professional, presentation and research communication skills. To be successful, competitors must effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
The highlighted the diverse research interests of its graduate community and the skill with which its students are able to articulate their study of complex topics.
Said Emory Woodard, Dean of Graduate Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and emcee for the event, "All of our contestants have extremely bright futures, and what we heard today was a small glimpse of the greatness ahead for them."
In his presentation, Sinemus explained how he applied theory of mind concepts (the ability of humans to understand other people's mental states while maintaining their own perspective) to improving the success of conversations.
Nick Langan, a master's student in software engineering took second place for his presentation, 鈥淩adioLand: Building a Mobile App That Predicts FM Radio Signal Strengths," and philosophy doctoral student Christopher Quintana won audience choice for "Aristotelianism for Technological Development"
Judges for the event included:
- Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, President
- Amanda M. Grannas, PhD, Vice Provost for Research, Chief Research Officer
- Michael T. Westrate, PhD, Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Research
- Peter Kaufmann, PhD, FABMR, FSBM, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, Fitzpatrick College of Nursing
- Barry Selinsky, PhD, Associate Dean for Research, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
3MT Contestants
Jane Frances Anyango 鈥 FCON 鈥 PhD in Nursing
Health Care Providers Screening for Intimate Partner Violence Against Pregnant Women
.
Mackenzie Bowden 鈥 COE 鈥 MS in Sustainable Engineering
Optimizing Carbonaceous Materials for the Retention and Transformation of Munitions Constituent Residues
.
Gabrielle Coker 鈥 CLAS 鈥 MA in Mathematics
Mathematical Modeling of Crime and its Deterrents
.
Zoe Darazsdi 鈥 CLAS 鈥 MS in Counseling
Examining the Relationship Between Autistic People鈥檚 Self-Esteem and Perceived Bias in their Alliance with their Mental Health Practitioners
.
Akeeka Davis 鈥 FCON 鈥 PhD in Nursing
Putting the pieces of the Puzzle Together- "It's time to hear the voices of nursing students"- The Lived Experience of Undergraduate Traditional 4-Year BSN Students with Academic Challenges and Testing of the Nurse Licensure Board Examination
.
Carol Devlin 鈥 FCON 鈥 PhD in Nursing
Relationship between smoking status and postoperative surgical site infections
.
Nick Langan 鈥 CLAS 鈥 MS in Software Engineering
鈥淩adioLand鈥: Building a Mobile App That Predicts FM Radio Signal Strengths
.
Menglong Lei 鈥 COE颅 颅鈥 PhD in Engineering
Numerical simulations: odor plumes in insects
.
Christopher Quintana 鈥 CLAS 颅鈥 PhD in Philosophy
Aristotelianism for Technological Development
.
Peter Rokowski 鈥 COE 鈥 PhD in Engineering
Your Personal 鈥淏rain-Imaging Lab鈥 (WearCAAT)
.
Marissa Rossi 鈥 CLAS 鈥 MS in Environmental Science
From Our Streets to Our Streams: Consequences of Road Salt Application in an Increasingly Paved World
.
Samuel Sinemus 鈥 CLAS 鈥 MS in Psychology
The Impact of Modeling Mental States on Goal-Directed Conversations
.
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About 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Since its founding in 1842, 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenged and changing world. With 39 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of 棉花糖直播鈥檚 colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.