On November 13, 2025, Anshul, a master’s student in Crop and Soil Sciences at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, UGA Tifton campus, won the 2025 UGA Three Minute Thesis Competition Grand Prize for her presentation, “Peanuts: The Uncrushed Oil Potential.”
3MT® is a highly engaging international research competition which requires participants to explain their thesis or dissertation topic and its significance in three minutes or less using only a single, static presentation slide.
Following the competition, Anshul shared more about herself, her research, and her experience with 3MT®.
Congratulations, Anshul!
What is the focus of your research and whom does it impact?
The focus of my research is diversification of peanut production in the United States from edible market toward oil market. My research impacts growers, industrialists, and us as customers.
Anshul presenting at 3MT
How did preparing for 3MT® help you with your thesis and research?
Preparing for the 3MT changed the way I perceive my research. It shifted my focus from publishing a heavy science-based research paper to explaining my research to the general audience from a bird’s eye view. It made me realize how important it is to actually communicate our research as graduate students, not just to the scientific community, but also to people in general.
What was the competition like for you? How did you feel when you won?
The competition was great in every way! I got to meet other graduate students and got to understand their research backgrounds. It was more exciting for me because I am based at the Tifton campus. Winning the competition felt amazing, more so, because I came straight from Utah from a conference and was exhausted from the travel. However, becoming the winner washed it all away! I felt so grateful for the support that I received from my advisors and my friends that made it possible.
Anshul accepting her award from Ron Walcott, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School
How do you feel that this competition has prepared you for the next step in your career?
I believe the most I took from this competition was to realize the importance of communication in science. As scientists and as graduate students, we gain skills in publishing research papers in scientific journals, however, most of us are not good at communicating our work to people, in general. It is equally important to be able to effectively explain your research to our friends and family as it is to the scientific community.
Who is someone that has impacted your graduate career?
The people who have impacted my graduate career the most are my parents. I am from India, and had it not been for my parents’ support and love, I would not have been able to make it to the University of Georgia. They are the first ones to cheer on my achievements and uplift me on my failures. My advisors and my friends have been equally supportive along the way.
(photos courtesy of Anshul)
What would people be surprised to know about you?
As ironical as it might sound, I really enjoy spending time alone by myself. I do come off a socially interactive person but most of the times, I just stress talk.
What is next for you?
I am in the second year of my master’s degree, and I will be pursuing a Ph.D. after this. I will carry all the experiences I gathered here at UGA to wherever I go!
(photos courtesy of Anshul)
The 2025 3MT® competition drew 72 submissions from students representing 48 different departments across UGA’s campuses. The 3MT® annual contest was open to any currently enrolled UGA master’s or doctoral student. Ten students advanced to the finals after scoring well with a team of judges during the preliminary heats. UGA’s Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition is offered annually in the Fall, and the winner can represent UGA at the regional 3MT® competition.
In addition to our Grand Prize winner, Asghar Sedaghat, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Poultry Science, was awarded Runner-Up for his presentation titled “The Tale of Laying Hens Told by Immune Markers,” and Hadley Copeland, a master’s student studying Wildlife Science at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, was awarded the People’s Choice for her presentation titled “Risk Runs Downstream: Managing Forested Watersheds.”
Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Learn more about 3MT®.
