BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University’s Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies held the 14th annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition on Friday, November 21, 2025. This year's competition featured seven students from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), three of whom advanced to the second round.
For the competition, graduate students explain their research or scholarly/creative projects in jargon-free language to a general "lay" audience in three minutes with the help of only one static slide.
This year, 20 students representing CAS, the Beaver College of Health Sciences, the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Hayes School of Music, and the Walker College of Business participated:
Michael Ayiku (Technology) presented "Turning Trash into Trust: Replacing Sand and Cement with Biochar in Mortar." Ayiku is advised by Dr. Sharareh Shirzad, assistant professor in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment.
Lilly Baer ’24 (Geography) presented "Documenting Sand Beach Changes Along Jamaica’s Southwest Coast Following Hurricane Beryl: Implications for Future Vulnerability." Baer is advised by Dr. Derek Martin, professor in the Department of Geography and Planning.
Benjamin Brody (Music Performance) presented "Effective Orchestration for Student Musicians with Soloists." Brody is advised by Dr. Nicholas Cline, assistant professor in the Hayes School of Music.
Zachary Carter ’24 (Computer Science) presented "Creating Replicatable Observational Studies in ASD Diagnosis Using Humanoid Socially Assistive Robotics." Carter is advised by Dr. Yeganeh Madadi, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science.
Grace Charbonnet (Nutrition) presented "Development of the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior Research Resource Repository (R3)." Charbonnet is advised by Dr. Sydeena Isaacs, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management.
Emily Charlip (Applied Data Analytics and Business Administration) presented "Mind the (Gender) Gap: How YouTube Creators Shape Community Responses." Charlip is advised by Dr. Jeff Kaleta, associate professor in the Department of Computer Information Systems.
Karlee Cook (Business Administration) presented "Chemical Accidents and Newborn Health: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis." Cook is advised by Dr. Dennis Guignet, assistant professor in the Department of Economics.
Bradley Del Vecchio ’25 (Technology) presented "Solar-Powered Water Purification for Disaster Relief." Del Vecchio is advised by Dr. Sohad Abu-Elzait, assistant professor in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment.
Mia Dziwanowski ’24 (Technology) presented "Comparative Analysis of Innovative Plastic Films for Enhanced Greenhouse Performance." Dziwanowski is advised by Dr. Andrew Windham, associate professor in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment.
Casey Edmonson ’24 (Nutrition) presented "Evaluation of Competitive Cyclists’ Dietary Intake Compared to Nutrient Guidelines." Edmonson is advised by Dr. Laurel Wentz, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management.
Amara Epley ’25 (Psychology) presented "Feeding Frenzy: A Look into Infant Feeding Practices and Motor Development." Epley is advised by Dr. Amy Galloway, professor in the Department of Psychology.
Carolyn Gura ’24 (Kinesiology) presented "Girls Gone Strong: A Scoping Review of Resistance Training in Physical Education." Gura is advised by Dr. Rebecca Battista, professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Public Health.
Jake Jenkins ’25 (Computer Science) presented "Glaucoma Classification using Ensemble Learning." Jenkins is advised by Dr. Mohammed Ali Javidian, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science.
Sierra Lawing ’24 (Geography) presented "Learning from Helene: Rural Resilience, Planning, and Recovery in Western North Carolina." Lawing is advised by Dr. Elizabeth Shay, associate professor in the Department of Geography and Planning.
Marisa Lorenzetti (Occupational Therapy) presented "DCS Near Me." Lorenzetti is advised by Dr. Heather McKay, assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences.
Analee Monrreal (Geography) presented "Embodied Heat: Women Farmworkers’ Experiences of Heat Stress, Care, and Coping in Pierson, Florida." Monrreal is advised by Dr. Kathleen Schroeder, professor in the Department of Geography and Planning.
Lily Nilo (Occupational Therapy) presented "'I Love Doing Baseball:' Building Belonging through an Adaptive Baseball League." Nilo is advised by Dr. Adrienne Miao, assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences.
Michael Sciole ’24 (Computer Science) presented "Transemble: A Transformer Ensemble Network for Detecting Retinal Ganglion Cell Types." Sciole is advised by Dr. Yeganeh Madadi, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science.
Anna Silva ’24 (Business Administration) presented "Does the Effect of Drinking Water Pollution on Home Values Diminish Over Time? A Meta-Analysis of Property Value Studies." Silva is advised by Dr. Dennis Guignet, assistant professor in the Department of Economics.
Margaret Sullivan (Athletic Training) presented "The Impact of Footwear, Bracing, and Taping on Ankle Sprains Incidence in Basketball Players." Sullivan is advised by Dr. Ashley Marshall, associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences.
Following the initial heat, nine students — Ayiku, Baer, Charlip, Cook, Del Vecchio, Edmondson, Jenkins, Lorenzetti, and Sciole — were selected to compete in the final competition.
The nine finalists and Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies Dean Dr. Ashley Colquitt at the 14th annual Three Minute Thesis competition on Friday, November 21, 2025. Photo by Troy Tuttle
The competition was judged by:
Robert R. ‘Skip’ Harkrader III ’78 ’83, alumnus of the Department of Geography and Planning and Department of Government and Justice Studies
Kim Shepherd ’97, Chief Executive Officer of SkyLine and alumna of the Department of Mathematical Sciences
Jeannine Underdown Collins ’79 ’81, Appalachian State University Foundation Board member and alumna of the Department of History
Ultimately, Del Vecchio received first place, Cook received second place, and Lorenzetti received the People's Choice Award, voted by the event's attendees. All winners received cash awards to support travel and research.
The first-place winner, Del Vecchio, will represent Appalachian State at the regional competition held at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in February 2026.
App State College of Arts and Sciences alumni Robert R. ‘Skip’ Harkrader III ’78 ’83, Kim Shepherd ’97, and Jeannine Underdown Collins ’79 ’81 served as guest judges of the 14th annual Three Minute Thesis competition on Friday, November 21, 2025. Photo by Troy Tuttle
The 3MT competition was started at the University of Queensland in Australia in 2008 and has since been adopted at universities worldwide. To learn more about App State's 3MT competition, visit graduate.appstate.edu/events/three-minute-thesis-competition.
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About Graduate Education at App State
Appalachian State University’s Williams School of Graduate Studies helps individuals reach the next level in their career advancement and preparedness. The school offers 80 graduate degree and certificate programs — both in person and online — in a range of disciplines, including doctoral programs in education (Ed.D.) and psychology (Psy.D.). The graduate school enrolls nearly 2,000 students. Learn more at graduate.appstate.edu.
By Lauren Gibbs
November 24, 2025
BOONE, N.C.
App State College of Arts and Sciences graduate students Lilly Baer ’24, Jake Jenkins ’25, and Michael Sciole ’24 were selected to compete in the final round of the 14th annual Three Minute Thesis competition on Friday, November 21, 2025. Photos by Troy Tuttle
App State College of Arts and Sciences Lilly Baer ’24, Jake Jenkins ’25, and Michael Sciole ’24 were selected to compete in the final round of the 14th annual Three Minute Thesis competition on Friday, November 21, 2025. Photos by Troy Tuttle