I have recently won “Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition: Concise Portrayal of Research Discovery to Non-specialist Audience” at the 98th annual meeting of Transportation Research Board (TRB). 3MT competition, co-sponsored by TRB Operations and Preservation Group Young Members Council (OPG YMC) and Maintenance and Preservation Section (AHD00), was open to all graduate students conducting research in all areas of Transportation Engineering who have made significant progress towards their degrees.
The competition was held in two rounds, first/initial round and the final. In the first round, finalists were selected based on their application package that included an abstract under 350 words and a CV. The final round that took place on Sunday, January 13 during the 98th TRB annual meeting required the participants to describe the importance and results of their PhD dissertation in three (3) minutes using a single PowerPoint slide. The presentations were judged by a panel of experts selected from TRB standing committee chairs and members. There were several judging criteria such as the clarity of the presentation, effectiveness of the communication skills along with scientific merits, technical quality, and impact of the presented research.
My presentation entitled “Data-Driven Damage Prediction Tool for Airfield Flexible Pavements” was chosen out of 21 contestants and I received an award certificate in recognition of my achievement (award certificate).
Also, thanks to the dept of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Illinois and Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) for highlighting it on their social media outlets and newsletter.
ICT Newsletter:
https://ict.illinois.edu/2019/01/23/illinois-transportation-team-takes-on-the-98th-annual-transportation-review-board-meeting/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/ceeatillinois/photos/a.140207803621/10157035151373622/?type=3&theater
Priyanka Sarker, PhD 