(l to r) Pravalika Irukulla, People’s Choice Winner; Anne Shaffer, Interim Dean of the Graduate School; Ania Grandino, Grand Prize Winner; Kyle Jones, Runner Up Winner
Thank you to all of the students who participated in the 2026 University of Georgia Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition.
The final competition was held Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the Morton Theatre in downtown Athens. The lively and engaged audience supported the finalists in-person and virtually via the livestream on Facebook.
A team of judges during the preliminary heats advanced ten students to the final competition. The 3MT® Competition was open to any currently enrolled UGA master’s or doctoral student.
(l to r) Moira Taber; Pravalika Irukulla, People’s Choice Winner; Muneeb Elahi Malik; Anita Giabardo; Kristi James; Joshua Weiss; Katherine Araúz Ponce; Sankaranarayanan Venkatakrishnan; Ania Grandino, Grand Prize Winner; Kyle Jones, Runner Up Winner
Congratulations, 2026 3MT® Winners!
Ania Granadino, Grand Prize Winner, and Anne Shaffer, Interim Dean of the Graduate School
The 2026 Grand Prize Winner was Ania Granadino for her presentation titled “The Case of the Missing Nitrogen in Blueberry Farms.”
Kyle Jones, Runner Up Winner, and Anne Shaffer, Interim Dean of the Graduate School
The Runner Up Winner was Kyle Jones for presenting “Daily Damage: How Your Cells Repair DNA Damage Every Single Day.”
Pravalika Irukulla, Peoples Choice Winner, and Anne Shaffer, Interim Dean of the Graduate School
The People’s Choice award, which is given to the contestant who receives the most votes from viewers of the competition, went to Pravalika Irukulla for her presentation, “The Sole Solution – Next Generation Care for Chronic Wounds.”
Special Thanks
The Graduate School would like to extend our gratitude to the Fall 2026 Panel of Judges, Master of Ceremonies, and Graduate Student Performer.
Master of Ceremonies: Nic Laconico, Director of Industry & Foundation Initiatives, UGA Office of Business Engagement
Graduate Student Performer: Malik Henry, Master’s Student in the Department of Mathematics, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, presented Creativity and Connection: Exploring the Relationships Between Mathematics and Music as Two Distinct Forms of Meaning-Making. Keyboard accompaniment by Zach Wilson
Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.
