This Friday, FAU's Graduate College will host the culminating event of its inaugural Three-Minute Thesis Competition. The competition challenges participants to explain their research in three minutes, in layman's terms, to a non-specialist audience. Nearly 90 graduate students competed in eight preliminary heats leading up to Friday's championship event. Winners of each heat received scholarships, and the championship winner could walk away with $5,500 to support his or her graduate research.

Everyone is invited to attend the free championship event at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18. Research topics to be presented include group problem solving, pathogen detection safety, studies on sea turtles and stingrays, public speaking, event detection using wireless sensors networks, and more. My wife Carolyn and our Board of Trustees Chair Anthony Barbar will be among the judges. All event attendees will have the opportunity to vote for the People's Choice scholarship winners. For more information about the Three-Minute Thesis Competition, visit www.fau.edu/graduate/3MT.php.