A three-minute timer loomed over 36 graduate students competing for a spot in the Vice President for Research Fellowship on Feb. 12.
The 16 participants in the 3 Minute Challenge who were selected to become VPR fellows will receive $4,000 in scholarship and travel support. Fellows will also participate in professional development workshops, mentorship, leadership and engagement opportunities over the 2018-19 academic year.
As students quickly summarized their research, judges from across the university and from local industry scored on criteria associated with the content and comprehension of the presentation, as well as students’ effective engagement and communication skills.
Talented and dedicated
“CSU students are extremely talented and dedicated, and it was my distinct privilege to witness their success at the 3 Minute Challenge,” said Ellen Fisher, assistant vice president for research and lead coordinator of the Fellows program. “Every one of the graduate students who participated demonstrated intense passion and outstanding ability to communicate their research to a broad audience.”
This initiative was created in 2016 by the Office of the Vice President for Research to support excellence in graduate research and scholarly works and to promote cross-college and cross-department collaborations. Participants in the 3 Minute Challenge were selected from the CSU Graduate School’s Graduate Student Showcase.
“Our goals for the VPR Fellowship program are to provide a transformative leadership experience and to help prepare the next generation of diverse, innovative, creators for future stages of their careers in the global marketplace,” said Alan Rudolph, vice president for research.
Three of the sixteen participants who were selected as VPR Fellows are from the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology – congratulations Maybellene Gamboa, Clifton McKee, and Ingrid Slette!
Maybellene Gamboa, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
- 3 Minute Presentation: “A Roadmap for Reintroductions to Resurrect our Lost Ecosystems”
Clifton McKee, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
- 3 Minute Presentation: “Bad roommates? Inferring bacterial interactions in coinfected individuals”
Ingrid Slette, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
- 3 Minute Presentation: “Don’t forget your roots: gaining a deeper understanding of ecosystem responses to drought”
