Sarah Fakher, a Ph.D. student in bioengineering, took first place in Missouri S&T’s 2026 Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition, held Thursday, Nov. 12.

Fakher impressed the judges with her presentation, “From Turmeric to Regeneration: Engineering Multifunctional Nanofibers for Chronic Wounds.” She will represent Missouri S&T at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools regional 3MT competition in Minneapolis in March 2027, where she will compete against graduate students from universities across the Midwest.

Kymberly Juettemeyer, a master’s student in industrial-organizational psychology, earned runner-up honors for her presentation, “Women in Technical Teams and the Leaky Pipeline: Identity Safety and Threat Cues in Everyday Team Interactions.” Juettemeyer will serve as S&T’s alternate at the regional competition.

Jack Coleman, a Ph.D. student in mathematics, won the People’s Choice Award for his presentation, “When Predictions Differ, What Stays the Same?” Audience members in the room and online voted for the winner.

Ali Fasihi, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering, and Isaac Pope, a Ph.D. student in geology and geophysics, also competed as finalists. Congratulations to every graduate student who took part this year!

Five judges scored the finale: Andrew Careaga, retired chief marketing officer and chief of staff at Missouri S&T; Faith Barnes, Phelps County collector; Emily Marie Jones, director of patient experience at Phelps Health; Tara Peters, state representative for Missouri’s 122nd District; and Angelica Nuno, business and finance officer at S&T. Campus and community members judged the earlier rounds.

Three Minute Thesis began at the University of Queensland in Australia and is now held each year at more than 900 universities worldwide. Competitors get three minutes and one slide to explain their research to a general audience. The Graduate School hosts Missouri S&T’s competition each fall.