Photo courtesy of Isabel Choi.

Your ten-year-old sibling might ask you one morning, “So, what exactly do you do at school?” What if you study thermomechanical and electromagnetic properties of ceramic composites at high temperatures or smooth orthogonal decompositions? What would you say? How would you say it? This is the question graduate students competing in Three Minute Thesis (3MT) are forced to wonder and answer. At Villanova University’s 3MT competition, graduate students had to answer the question, “What do you do?” in three minutes or less. 

Held in The John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, Feb. 24, 13 finalists (master’s and doctoral students at Villanova) presented their research to members of the audience in front of a large slideshow presentation. The stage was setup so that audience members were able to see the three-minute timer. Similar to that of a game show, audience members watched the timer tick down to minutes and then to mere seconds. After each presentation, numerous judges (Villanova faculty) would give feedback before going on to the next contestant.

Towards the end of the event, audience members were able to vote for a “people’s choice” award while the judges calculated the first and second place winners. Before the winners were announced, audience members were able to hear a couple personal comments from the contestants themselves–their process, struggles, and aspirations.

Eliana Uriona took first place for her presentation “Optimizing Biochar Conditions for Heavy Metal Immobilization in Contaminated Soils.” Uriona also earned the people’s choice award. Grace Sutoris, won second place for her presentation “Using Machine Learning to Detect Underlying Heartbeat During CPR.”

Representing Villanova University, Uriona will compete at the Northeast Regional 3MT Competition on Friday, April 28. The virtual competition will be hosted by the University of New Hampshire. Watch Villanova’s 2023 3MT competition here. Be sure to check out Falvey’s blog next year for 2024 3MT announcements.

Isabel Choi ’26, is Communication & Marketing Assistant at Falvey Library.

“Attending the competition definitely inspired me…to see dedicated graduate students present their studies….perhaps graduate research is something I should consider pursuing too!”

In April, a virtual event was held to celebrate the release of the 2022 edition of CONCEPT,  the scholarly journal of graduate students in the Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). This year’s edition of CONCEPT marks the 45th volume in the series.

Hosted by Emory Woodard, PhD, Dean, Graduate Studies in CLAS, the virtual recognition ceremony served as an opportunity to learn more about the multi-faceted process of getting CONCEPT prepared for publication. From enlisting faculty and graduate students to serve as editors and peer reviewers, carefully evaluating the many student submissions, and painstakingly editing student work—there are many steps involved in this great undertaking. At the event, students and faculty discussed their experiences working on production of the journal. You can view the event here.

CONCEPT accepts papers from graduate students in the arts and sciences and seeks to feature exceptional interdisciplinary work. It is published in partnership with the Office of Graduate Studies in CLAS and Falvey Library.

This year’s edition features papers covering a wide range of subjects, including Theatre, Psychology, English, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Human Resources Development, and Classical Studies.

We would like to especially highlight the work of two outstanding graduate student employees at Falvey Library: Emily Poteat and Ethan Shea. Poteat, a history major, is a graduate assistant for Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement and Villanova’s Irish Studies Program. Her paper is titled, “Operation Barbarossa and Hitler’s War on the Eastern Front.” Shea, an English major, is a graduate assistant for the Communication and Marketing department. His piece is titled “The Unracing of Whiteness in Heart of Darkness.”

We are also proud to recognize the efforts of Library staff member Dave Uspal for his technical support of the journal. He is a member of the Technology Services department at Falvey Library.

Check out the article by Graduate Studies CLAS to learn more about the virtual event and to learn more about papers featured in the current issue, which is available in digital and print formats.

Falvey would like to congratulate the many faculty, staff, and students that made CONCEPT 2022 possible!

Regina Duffy is a Communication and Marketing Manager on the Communication and Marketing team in Falvey Memorial Library.

Please join us on Friday, April 22, 1-2 p.m., as we celebrate the official launch of the 2022 issue of CONCEPT, the interdisciplinary journal of graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The ceremony will recognize this year’s Graduate Research Prize for top paper, along with all of the student authors and editors, faculty editors, and peer reviewers.

CONCEPT accepts submissions from Villanova graduate students in all fields of the arts and sciences and is an opportunity for them to share their scholarship and research.

The 2022 edition of CONCEPT marks the 45th release of the journal. This virtual event, co-sponsored by Falvey Memorial Library and the Office of Graduate Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is free and open to the public.

Please REGISTER here for the CONCEPT Recognition Ceremony. Once registered, you will be sent a link to the event.

Visit the CONCEPT website to learn more about the journal and to browse past volumes.

The 2022 Villanova University Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition finalists. Photo courtesy of Kallie Stahl.

Congratulations to the 2022 Villanova University Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition finalists. Villanova graduate and doctoral students presented their research in three minutes to a live audience and panel of judges in the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, Feb. 18.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. 

Join us for the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on Friday, Feb. 18, in the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. The main event will take place from 3-5 p.m. and the reception will take place from 5-6 p.m.

What is a 3MT competition? Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a competition for master’s and doctoral students to develop and showcase their research communication skills. Developed by The University of Queensland, 3MT cultivates students’ academic, professional, presentation and research communication skills. To be successful, competitors must effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

A panel of judges will select a first-place winner ($1,000 award), a second-place winner ($500 award), and audience members in attendance will select an audience choice winner ($250 award). In addition, the first-place winner of Villanova’s 3MT competition will be entered into the regional 3MT competition for the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools.

This event, sponsored by the Graduate Programs in CLAS, COE, FCON, VSB, and Falvey Memorial Library, is free and open to the public. For more information about 3MT, please visit the 3MT website.

Grab your tickets to the competition here (there is no cost to attend the event).

Join the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) for the Graduate Student Research Symposium on Friday, Nov. 12, from 1-4 p.m. Oral presentations will begin at 1 p.m. in the Connelly Center Cinema. Poster presentations will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the St. David’s Room.

Each year, graduate students in CLAS submit proposals for the Graduate Summer Research Fellowship. This event highlights the recipients of the 2021 fellowship. Student projects encompass a wide range of scholarship from various disciplines including theology, English, philosophy, psychology, biology, history, math, chemistry, counseling, environmental science, and software engineering.

Students will present their research with a poster or a Three Minute Thesis-style oral presentation. For a full list of presenters, check out the symposium program.

Be sure to stop by and see the innovative research being conducted by graduate students in CLAS.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

Please join us on Thursday, April 22, from 3:30-4:30 p.m., as we celebrate the official launch of the 2021 issue of CONCEPT: Interdisciplinary Journal of the Graduate Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The ceremony will recognize this year’s top submission along with all of the student editors, faculty editors, and peer reviewers.

CONCEPT accepts submissions from Villanova graduate students in all fields of the arts and sciences and is an opportunity for them to share their creative work and research. Submissions are reviewed by graduate student editors, faculty editors, and peer reviewers, with final decisions made by the editors.

The 2021 edition of CONCEPT marks the 44th release of the journal. This event, co-sponsored by Falvey Memorial Library and the Graduate Division of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is free and open to the public.

Please REGISTER here. Once registered, you will be sent a link to the event.

For more information about CONCEPT and to browse past volumes please click here.

Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) recently celebrated a digital launch of the 2020 edition of CONCEPT: Villanova University’s Interdisciplinary Journal of Graduate Studies. CONCEPT accepts papers from graduate students in the arts and sciences and aims to celebrate exceptional work that is interdisciplinary in nature. It is published in partnership with the Office of Graduate Studies and Falvey Memorial Library.

Typically, CLAS holds an annual CONCEPT publication release celebration and reception event in Falvey Memorial Library each spring; however, due to the impact of COVID-19 and the physical campus closure, the in-person launch of the journal was not possible this year. Instead, CLAS held a digital launch of CONCEPT in order to commemorate the many contributions of journal authors, student and faculty editors, and peer reviewers who put in a great amount of work to make CONCEPT possible. You can learn more about the digital launch efforts here.

This year’s edition of CONCEPT, which is the 43rd volume in the series, features papers covering a wide range of subjects including Communication, History, Psychology, English, Gender and Women’s Studies, Theatre, as well as Classical Studies. Please check out the CONCEPT website for full PDFs of the papers featured in the current issue.

We are proud to highlight the Library’s very own Daniella Snyder ’20 MA, Communication and Marketing Graduate Assistant, as a Graduate Student Editor for CONCEPT. We would also like to recognize Library staff member Dave Uspal for his technical support of the journal.

Falvey Memorial Library would like to congratulate all of the faculty, staff, and students involved in CONCEPT 2020!

Regina Duffy is a Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.