REGINA, Sask. — A researcher developing 3D-printed materials that can combine multiple functions into a single, durable product has claimed first place at Canada's national Three Minute Thesis competition, held Wednesday night at the University of Regina.
Negar Aghigh, a PhD candidate at Polytechnique Montréal, took the top prize after presenting her research into multimaterial additive manufacturing and the development of smart materials with several capabilities built into one piece.
Her work explores how a single 3D-printing process could produce materials that are strong, electrically conductive, capable of sensing their surroundings and even able to generate heat.
“I'm trying to mix all of those functionalities in a single piece in a very simplified manufacturing process,” Aghigh explained in an interview before the competition.
“That's why I use multi material 3D printing. So I can just in one single step, print something that's strong, something that's conductive, something that can sense, something that can heat, and that will give us stronger and more durable materials for the future.”
For Aghigh, however, the competition was about more than presenting her own research. She saw it as an opportunity to show the public that scientists are working toward solutions to problems people may not yet know how to address.
“People are constantly anxious about the future. They are worried, they're not sure what's going to happen,” she said.
“And I feel like having seen this many young people being committed to promoting making a better future, promoting science … will make people give a sense of comfort to them knowing that somebody cares about the future problems and is actively trying to solve it every day.”
Paula Brandt, a PhD candidate in medical sciences at the University of Calgary, earned second place for research examining how protein misfolding could contribute to complications associated with type 2 diabetes.
While diabetes is commonly associated with insulin and blood sugar, Brandt is investigating what happens when a protein produced by people with the condition begins to misfold and clump together.
Her research looks at whether those protein deposits could attract blood components and contribute to clot formation, potentially helping explain the increased risk of blood clots among people with type 2 diabetes.
“Most people hear diabetes, they think insulin or blood sugar, but I look at something different,” Brandt said.
She said the competition gave her a chance to bring attention to an area of research that does not always receive the same public recognition.
“It would be a huge personal accomplishment and it would also bring awareness to this protein, which a lot of people don't think about in terms of type 2 diabetes,” she said before the results were announced.
Brandt also encouraged other graduate students to take part, saying the challenge of explaining research in simple language can help researchers understand their own work more deeply.
“If you can't explain your science in simple terms, you don't know it well enough,” she said, sharing one of her favourite quotes.
The University of Regina had a reason to celebrate as well. Graduate student Jaclyn Roach finished third and received the People's Choice Award, earning recognition from both the judges and the audience.
Roach's research focuses on trauma-informed pedagogy, a way of approaching education that emphasizes predictability, trustworthiness and safety. She is examining how future teachers can be supported as they move from their studies into classroom teaching.
She described the three-minute format as an opportunity to step back from academic terminology and reconnect with the purpose behind years of research.
“Sometimes as a grad student we get lost in methodology and in our literature review and in all these things and then it's like, wait, what am I actually doing here?” Roach said.
“Three Minute Thesis really helps you bring that down and truly understand and kind of deepen ownership of your own research.”
Roach arrived at the national competition after being selected through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's Storytellers competition in Montreal in June. She said reaching the national stage was already meaningful, regardless of the final result.
“Winning is just like affirmation that, like you're doing a good job,” she said. “And I think getting here in the first place is affirmation of that.”
The three were among eight national finalists representing universities across Canada. The other competitors were Sogand Golshahian of the University of British Columbia, Anna Nickel of Brock University, Isabelle Hinch of the University of Windsor, Sarah Boukhames of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and Claire Floras of Dalhousie University.
Each finalist had only 180 seconds and one static slide to explain complex research to a general audience. The competition was hosted by the University of Regina's Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research as part of the 64th annual Canadian Association for Graduate Studies conference.
Aghigh and Brandt will now advance to the North American Three Minute Thesis Showcase in Los Angeles, where they will represent Canada against graduate researchers from across the continent.
For Roach, the experience is something she hopes more students will embrace.
“Try it. Do it,” she said. “It's been such a good experience for me.”
