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Thesis Winners

UNCW held the spring Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition on April 1st during the Student Research and Creativity Showcase.  The Graduate School sponsored the event, and prizes were funded via the Dr. Ralph W. Brauer Fellowship. 

The 3MT is an international competition that began at the University of Queensland Australia in 2008 to help graduate students learn to talk succinctly about their research to a non-specialist audience.  This competition is now held at over 900 universities in more than 85 countries worldwide.   The graduate school hopes to make the 3MT a tradition at UNCW.

Thirteen graduate students competed in the virtual competition.

2023 Winners

First Place

1st Place: Justin Van Heukelom, Psychology

Risky Decision-Making in Rats: When the Going Gets Tough…

Justin Van Heukelom is completing his Psychology Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina Wilmington under the primary mentorship of Dr. Raymond Pitts. His research concerns behavior-analytic approaches to understanding and treating substance misuse, to which end he has been involved in human and nonhuman translational research. After obtaining his Ph.D., Justin will work as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Florida’s Center for Behavioral Economic Health Research

Justin Van Heukelom is completing his Psychology Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina Wilmington under the primary mentorship of Dr. Raymond Pitts. His research concerns behavior-analytic approaches to understanding and treating substance misuse, to which end he has been involved in human and nonhuman translational research. After obtaining his Ph.D., Justin will work as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Florida’s Center for Behavioral Economic Health Research.

Second Place

Christian Sanders, Psychology

Parental Identity and Motivation within Treatment Courts

Christian Sanders, M.A., is a student in the Ph.D. Clinical Psychology program. She works with Dr. Sally Mackain. Her thesis and dissertation research seeks to understand what it means to be a parent in treatment court and the impact of the parenting identity on motivation and sense of autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Her clinical interests and career goals center on providing evidence-based assessment and interventions to people of color, especially those involved in the justice system.

Crowd Favorite

Crowd Favorite: Gina Carney, Geoscience

Analytics of seawater pH at in-situ conditions using commercial technology, bench-top spectrophotometry, and citizen science tools 

Gina Marie Carney is a second-year graduate student, receiving Master of Science in Geoscience under the mentorship of Dr. Philip Bresnahan. Her research involves examining the efficacy of water quality sensors to better monitor pH and ocean acidification. This project includes observations of changes in estuarine and marine ecosystems, as well as improving knowledge of pH monitoring. She is devoted to marine conservation, coastal water quality, and the preservation of water resources. She received a B.S. in Geology from Appalachian State University.  

Previous Winners

Fall 2022

  • 1st place tie: Lauren Olinger, Marine Biology & Hawken Hass, Psychology
  • Crowd Favorite: Tiffany Hoefler, Psychology
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