CLAS Doctoral Students Take Top Spots in 3MT Contest

For decades, the color blue has been a significant focus of research into improvements in digital display technology. The images seen on laptops, phones and flat-screen TVs come from light-emitting materials comprising three colors: red, green and blue. 

“The colors red and green are very easy to obtain, but the color blue has been the bane of display technology. My research is focused on creating a new class of blue-emitting materials to make these displays more energy efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly,” said Abhishek Shibu, a Ph.D. candidate in Nanoscale Science. He won first place and the People’s Choice Award for the presentation “Let There Be ‘BLUE’ Light” at UNC Charlotte’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

He and the second- and third-place winners are doctoral students in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

The Walter Research Group in the Department of Chemistry has created a library of crystals in the quest to improve the blue, which, Shibu says, “will be paradigm-shifting candidates in the world of display technology.”

The Three Minute Thesis competition helps prepare graduate students to communicate for success in their chosen careers. Students who participate in the 3MT have an opportunity to receive personal coaching and instruction on public presentations through the Center for Graduate Life. The center’s course, Communicating Your Research to a Non-Expert Audience, is tailored to help students communicate about their research with varied audiences.

Nicole Stott, a Ph.D. student in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Cellular and Molecular Biology, placed second for “Lung Cancer Progression.”

Stott’s research assesses how the drug Metformin, commonly used to treat diabetes, also can reduce lung cancer tumor burden while maintaining skeletal muscle health. Stott’s work holds promise for improving the welfare and recovery time for lung cancer patients.

Mukulika Bose, also a Ph.D. student in Biological Sciences, received the third place award for “Targeting Pancreatic Cancer with a Specific Antibody.”

Current treatment for pancreatic cancer often kills normal cells as well as the tumor. Bose’s research focuses on identifying biomarkers of cancerous cells to better target treatment. 

Learn more about the origins of the 3MT Competitions here. In the image, Abhishek Shibu presents his research.