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The annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition delivers a tremendous amount of excitement for those of us in the graduate education community. Presenting complex research to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes with one static slide is no easy feat for any scholar. 

This year, the campus competition was held earlier than usual. The Graduate School adjusted the timeline so that our finalists could compete in the first ever statewide 3MT® competition, hosted by the Louisiana Board of Regents as part of the inaugural LA-Next Symposium.

All presented their research at the campus competition with professionalism, clarity and impressive storytelling skills. Our community judges—Kevin Blanchard (Chief Executive Officer of Downtown Lafayette), Alex Lazard (Executive Director at Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority), Christiaan Mader (Editor/Founder of The Current Media)—who joined Graduate School Dean Dr. Mary Farmer-Kaiser to select the winners, both lauded the finalists for their important research and impressive work communicating it and lamented the challenge of their task. 

The Graduate School is proud to congratulate again this year’s winners as well as their faculty advisors:

1st Place & People’s Choice Award
Asif Istiak
Nano Medicine for Cureless Disease
PhD program in Systems Engineering (Mechanical)
College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tanvir Faisal

2nd Place
Mahek Chirag Pathak
A Fairy Tale Experiment: Shaping Moral Bias in Children
PhD program in English (Literature)
College of Liberal Arts
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Geer

3rd Place
Hope Okunbor
The Hidden Key to Food Security
PhD program in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology
Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Yi-Hong Wang

Representing �ǿ����޴�ý Lafayette on the State Stage

At the statewide 3MT® competition on January 8 in Baton Rouge, Asif Istiak and Mahek Chirag Pathak joined 10 competitors from five additional Louisiana universities to showcase graduate research excellence. The competition was fierce and impressive. While the top prizes went to two PhD students at Louisiana State University, LA-NEXT organizers, Board of Regents leaders, and local judges offered much praise for all participants. 

“Asif and Mahek were outstanding ambassadors for graduate education at �ǿ����޴�ý Lafayette,” Dr. Farmer-Kaiser said. “Not only did they represent their graduate programs and the importance of their work well, but they also did exactly what 3MT® challenges us all to do. They made rigorous research meaningful beyond the walls of academia.”

 
About LA-NEXT and the Statewide 3MT®

The statewide competition took place during the inaugural LA-NEXT Symposium hosted by the Louisiana Board of Regents. 
The Louisiana Networks of Excellence for Tomorrow (LA-NEXT), one of the state’s significant , is transforming our state’s R&D ecosystem through coordination, facilitation, and capacity building in strategic areas. The initiative connects universities, community colleges, and research partners to expand opportunities in key areas such as biomedical research, energy, resilience, advanced manufacturing, and science communication.

, its multiple initiatives, and the funding opportunities it offers.

Up Next: Regional 3MT® Competition

Later this month, in the days following Mardi Gras, Asif will join over 60 competitors for the Regional 3MT® competition . The regional competition is held during the (CSGS) annual meeting, which is being held in Baton Rouge on February 18-20, 2026. 

The winner of the CSGS 3MT® competition advances to the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) 3MT showcase, held annually in December as part of its annual meeting. 

Join us in not only congratulating Asif for coming this far and representing �ǿ����޴�ý Lafayette so well, but also wishing him good luck at regionals!