Graduate student in biosystems engineering wins university's Three Minute Thesis competition
Published: Nov 14, 2024 2:15 PM
By Joe McAdory
Can plastic power airplanes? Ayden Kemp, a graduate student in biosystems engineering, believes so — and he’s researching the means to prove it.
“By taking plastic waste and pine wood that’s available everywhere in the South, we heat this at very high temperatures (pyrolysis) and convert the matter into liquid,” said Kemp, researching under the direction of Sushil Adhikari, professor of biosystems engineering and director at the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts.
“Energy supplied by the heat splits the molecules that create each of those compounds. Biomass and polystyrene both have a lot of cyclic aromatic benzene ring structures that, when heated, will separate from the other ones — and can be used as an additive to make sustainable, pollutant-free aviation fuels. This would be a way to reduce the amount of plastic going into landfills and use that waste for something else, like turning them into environmentally friendly fuels.”
Kemp impressed a panel of five professional and faculty judges enough to win $500 and the university’s 14th Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, a research showcase presented annually by the Auburn University Graduate School, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the Melton Student Center Ballroom. Twelve finalists from six colleges (engineering, education, pharmacy, human sciences, agriculture and liberal arts) were each given three minutes — with slides — to promote their respective research and potential impacts.
Along with Kemp, Auburn Engineering students secured all three prizes.
Md Mijan Rahman, a graduate student in aerospace engineering, won $250 and second place for his research, “Seamless handover of autopilot via kinetics and exhaustion (S.H.A.K.E.).”
Azeez Adebayo, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, earned the People’s Choice Award (audience vote) and $250 for his presentation, “Green, tough, and resilient: Exploring the extraordinary strength of cellulose nanopaper.”
Other finalists included:
- Rachel Day (Biosystems engineering): “Biochar-based plastic composites for eco-friendly plant containers”
- Katie Wolfe (Electrical and Computer engineering): “Light up your life: The UVA effect on focus and well-being”
- Matt Beth (Kinesiology): "From cause to consequence: Disabilities following traumatic brain injuries"
- Iva Durdanovic (Drug Discovery & Development/Pharmacy): "Fighting the aftermath of chemo: Why protecting the brain matters"
- Rita Fiagbor (Nutrition, Dietetics & Hospitality Management/Human Sciences): "Food and nutrition security survey development for college students"
- Marina Meyer Vega (Kinesiology): "The zen in the neuroscience of multisensory integration for balance and mobility in neurological disorders"
- Annie Musselwhite (Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences/Liberal Arts): "Vocal Function in individuals with asthma versus controls"
- Maryan Saeed (Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences/Agriculture): "From waste to wonder: The power of biochar in cutting greenhous gas emissions"
Summarizing months, or years, of research into one three-minute presentation can be daunting.
“Me and all of the finalists had to practice so much,” Kemp said. “I was in a cramped bathroom in my trailer practicing for probably 30 minutes every night for the past two or three weeks just to make sure I could have my presentation within three minutes without any pauses, umms, or things like that. Condensing your work into three minutes is a unique challenge that the Graduate School offers us to communicate our research and to show how it affects the world as a whole.”
Kemp, also pursuing an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering, is now qualified to represent Auburn University in the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools’ regional competition on March 19-21, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
Auburn Engineering is no stranger to 3MT success. Shivasprasad Nageswaran, an alumnus, former graduate student in industrial and systems engineering and now a director at the Auburn University RFID Lab, not only won Auburn’s 3MT in 2022 — but also swept the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools and national Council of Graduate Schools 3MT competitions in 2023.
“The annual Three Minute Thesis competition not only provides select engineering graduate students with an opportunity to enhance their presentation skills by detailing their research and hard work in a compact summary — which is difficult — but also learn from one another,” said Maria Auad, Auburn Engineering associate dean for graduate studies and faculty development.
“Like our annual Graduate Engineering Research Showcase and AUSome Science in 60 Seconds competitions, this event is another experiential learning opportunity provided by the university that helps transform today’s engineering students into tomorrow’s engineering leaders. We are so proud of each of them. Their presentation skills were on point, and their theses are individually amazing.”
Media Contact: , jem0040@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447
Ayden Kemp, a graduate student in biosystems engineering, presents his winning pitch, "Can plastic power airplanes?"
