2022 CEPS 3MT College Heat Winners
On March 8, 2022, the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS) held its virtual Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) College Heat to select the top two candidates who will advance to the University of Guelph’s (U of G) Final Competition in April 2022. Ten CEPS graduate students worked hard to hone their skills for the competition.
The 3MT® contest provides graduate students with the grilling challenge of distilling their research and its impacts down to just three minutes and one slide. The competition is judged by a panel of non-specialists who score the students on their communication skills, engagement with the audience and their plain-language research explanation.
After a close competition, we are pleased to announce that the two winners from CEPS moving forward to the U of G competition are:
1st Place – PhD candidate Suranjoy Singam Singh for his presentation, Biodegradable and Antimicrobial Filter for Respiratory Mask
2nd Place – PhD candidate Gaganjyot Madanpotra for her presentation, Valorization of Carrot Rejects
Both winners receive a certificate and a cash prize – Suranjoy Singam Singh receives $500 and Gaganjyot Madanpotra receives $250.
Suranjoy Singam Singh is completing his PhD studies in the School of Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Loong-Tak Lim (Department of Food Science) and Dr. Manickavasagan Annamalai (School of Engineering). His research objective is to develop a face mask that improves upon breathability, filtration efficiency and antimicrobial properties, while being biodegradable. The mask design is developed entirely out of plant biomass and the filter is developed through electrospinning technology using biodegradable polymers. Electrospinning uses high voltage electric force to create nanosized fibers that are 20 to 50 times smaller than those in a conventional surgical mask! To create the antimicrobial properties, they incorporated silver nanoparticles during electrospinning which can kill pathogens, such as COVID-19. This could be a game-changing technology to mitigate the pandemic and reduce waste.
Gaganjyot Madanpotra is completing her PhD studies in the School of Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Ashutosh Singh, School of Engineering. Her research focuses on the utilization of carrot rejects, those that do not meet the required specifications for sale, as a food product—specifically, Madanpotra investigated creating a carrot puree utilizing the entire carrot, including the peels and crowns. Madanpotra and team used sound and mechanical energy, developing a method known as multiple paths ultrasonication with mechanical homogenization. This method was able to preserve the health benefits of polyacetylene and retain 80 per cent of the beta carotene—what gives vegetables their vibrant colour—which have been shown to lower the risk of cancer. Now the carrots, which were headed for landfills, could be used to develop a product with healthy properties which are consumer- and environment-friendly with economic benefits.
The two winners from the U of G-wide 3MT® will move on to represent the University on the Ontario stage at the provincial competition that follows.
Each of the ten participants are to be commended for their outstanding performance in this year’s CEPS College heat. They demonstrated mastery of their topics, passion for the impacts their research creates and exemplar communication skills. Congratulations!
Watch the CEPS 3MT College Heat presentations.