ANU 3MT Grand Final! - 27 July

Published in the Research School of Physics Event Horizon
Vol48 Issue28 17–21 July 2023

This Year’s Competitors
Drawn from across ANU, the twelve young researchers who will take to the stage will vie for fame, glory and not insignificant prizes. This year’s competitors are:

Dan Virah-Sawmy
Dan is from Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. In 2018, he moved to Geelong, to undertake a Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering at Deakin University. In 2022 after completng his degree he accepted an offer to begin a PhD project looking at renewable energy solutions for the Great Barrier Reef, based within the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at ANU.

Madeleine McKenzie
Madeleine, a doctoral candidate at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, specialises in analysing the chemical elements inside ancient star clusters. Almost as old as the Universe itself, these stars are the fossil records of our Milky Way’s childhood and reveal the origins of many elements important for life on earth.

Ryan P. O’Donnell
Ryan is a PhD candidate with the Linde Lab at the ANU Research School of Biology. Ryan's research interests lie in plant and fungal systematics and evolutionary ecology. Their current work is focused on understanding the evolution of the Australian orchid flora and their mycorrhizal symbionts. Prior to their scientific career, Ryan worked as an opera singer and voice actor, performing on stages locally, internationally, and on television.

Terri Warner
Terri is a lived experience advocate, educator, and researcher. She has 15 years experience working in the mental health sector in policy, governance, education and training roles. Her experiences of trauma, distress, disability and mental health and social care service use inform all of her work.

Logan Davis
Having grown up in Canberra, Logan completed his undergrad at the ANU, doing a double degree in Physics and Engineering. Upon completing his undergrad, he continued his honours project into a PhD where he created 3D maps of flaws inside diamonds. Starting his PhD at the beginning of 2020 brought multiple challenges but also plenty of chances to work with incredible people, travel overseas, and learn heaps. Outside his research, Logan coaches and plays for the ANU Quadball Team, and works at Questacon, bringing science and fun to thousands of visitors.

Amy Hamilton
Amy is a PhD candidate within the College of Law’s Centre for Law and the Humanities. Her thesis is interdisciplinary, exploring ideas of Australian citizenship in law and literature. In a previous life, Amy worked at the Office of Parliamentary Counsel drafting federal legislation. In this role she was at the intersection of policy and law, and it was where she first started thinking about the role of citizenship in the law.

Diana Tung
Diana is a PhD candidate in anthropology in the College of Arts and Social Sciences. She conducted two years of ethnographic research in the Peruvian Amazon to examine the social and environmental impacts of aguaje commercialisation, in particular its transformation into a global superfood.

Nusrat Haider
Nusrat is a final year PhD student at the Research School of Accounting. Her passion lies in exploring the fascinating intersections between accounting and its broader implications, debunking the misconception that it is solely about numbers and financial statements. In her thesis, titled 'The Real Effects of Financial Reporting', she delves into exploring the captivating intersections between accounting and its far-reaching implications for the real world.

Sai Ramesh
Sai is a second-year PhD candidate researching the cholesterol uptake in malaria parasites. He is excited to explore the many unknowns of this deadly disease. Although he is a complete introvert and prefers keeping to himself, he always enjoys discussing his project. Sai loves playing cricket and watching sitcoms, and he proudly considers himself one of the biggest fans of the show 'The Office'.

Nick Bariesheff
Nick is a PhD candidate in the Clear Vision Research Lab. His research focuses on the intricate molecular pathways underlying exercise-induced protection against age-related diseases. By unravelling these mechanisms, this provides the opportunity to develop novel treatments which could prescribe the protective molecular messages of exercise to treat someone who physically is unable to.

Zoe Piper
Zoe has spent the past 25 years crafting a portfolio career at the intersection of industry, research and government. This has included starting her own ventures in manufacturing and technology, and consulting to wide range of public and private sector organisations. Zoe regularly speaks to PhD students and EMCRs on how to engage with industry and line up career opportunities beyond academia.

Yabo (Joy) Yan
Yabo is a year 4 PhD student from SPIR at ANU. Her research interest includes health reform, health politics and chronic disease management reform. Having worked as a registered nurse for more than a decade, she became very interested in what ways can system changes be initiated and thus benefit health service users.

The Judges
And with the unenviable task for choosing the winners on the night, this year’s judges are:

Glen Nagle
Glen Nagle is the Science Communications Officer for the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex. CDSCC is a part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, and is managed in Australia on NASA’s behalf by CSIRO.
For over 45 years, both as a profession and a life-long hobby, Glen has focused on educating and promoting space science and exploration to the wider community, and especially to the next generation, with the goal of encouraging them to be passionate about their interests and to consider a career in science.
He has worked at and written for a variety of space publications, hosted his own weekly TV program for the ABC called Skywatch, and regularly appears on television and radio to share his knowledge enthusiasm for all things happening in space exploration.

Adrienne Francis
Adrienne Francis is a popular radio, television and digital journalist and presenter for ABC Canberra. In 2023 she anchors ABC Canberra’s 7pm news on Monday and Tuesday nights. During her more than nineteen-year career with the ABC she has presented the ABC’s flagship TV and Radio News bulletins in the ACT and Northern Territory and was a current affairs reporter for 7.30 ACT, one of Canberra’s most watched TV programs.

Adrienne began her career with ABC Local Radio in 2003, where she worked across outback northern Australia. She worked as a specialist rural journalist based out of Katherine and Kununurra, before becoming presenter of the Northern Territory Country Hour in Darwin. She returned to Local Radio to host Saturday Breakfast on ABC Radio Canberra and a wide variety of other programs in recent years. Adrienne spent her early years between Sydney and Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. She originally studied agricultural science at the University of Sydney
before pursuing a media career.

Jack Heath
Jack Heath published his first international bestseller at age 19 and is now the author of forty thrillers. His novels have been translated into eight languages, adapted for the screen and shortlisted for numerous awards, including the ACT book of the year, best science fiction novel at the Aurealis awards and best fiction at the Ned Kelly Awards. His new book is Kill Your Husbands.

Meredith Wright
Meredith has been a bookseller since 1980 and has managed stores in both Sydney and Canberra. Starting with her own bookshop (Daltons Books), she worked for The National Library Bookshop and then for Dymocks in Canberra City. She currently works at Paperchain Bookstore in Manuka. The books and the people are the things I love the most about my life.

And, in a new tradition for ANU, each year’s 3MT winner will be invited back to judge the following year’s competition - a passing of the 3MT baton, if you like. So, from 3MT 2022, we are proud to welcome …

Yu-Ting (Jennifer) Hung
Jennifer is a final year PhD student at The John Curtin School of Medical Research. She studies mRNA translation - the process by which our bodies make proteins from mRNA. She is also a tutor for the Masters course ‘Research Presentation Skills’.
Jennifer has always been passionate about science communication, leading to her entering and winning the 2022 ANU 3-minute thesis competition. Before her PhD, Jennifer studied the PhB (Bachelor of Philosophy) here at ANU, with a focus on biology and medical science, followed by an honours year also at JCSMR.

For more information, please contact Simon Clews (Learning Advisor, Office of the Dean of Higher Degree by Research. Australian National University, Canberra)

https://services.anu.edu.au/training/3mt-the-three-minute-thesis-competition
https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/