UPEI graduate students present research at 2025 3-Minute Thesis event
Building social awareness in robots, the impacts of physical activity for persons with Alzheimer’s disease, and data solutions for hidden potato crop stresses were the focus of prize-winning 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) presentations by UPEI graduate students on May 7, 2025.
The 3MT competition challenges graduate students to explain their thesis within three minutes and in a format that a general audience can understand. The winner earns a place at the regional 3MT competition in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, on June 4, and the top three presenters receive prize money.
Fourteen graduate students presented an overview of their thesis research to a packed room of judges, friends, fellow graduate students, faculty, staff, and UPEI senior administrators. They highlighted their research questions, methods, results, and the potential current and future impacts of their research.
Soroush Izadan, an MSc in Sustainable Design Engineering student, won first prize for his presentation “Decoding the Unspoken: Enhancing Social Awareness in Robotic Systems Through Non-Verbal Human Cues.” He will represent UPEI at the upcoming regional 3MT competition.
Izadan’s research focuses on social robot perception, developing a general framework to evaluate and infer human interaction willingness and intentions in social settings by integrating human non-verbal cues such as eye gaze, head orientation, body posture, and facial emotions with human relative localization and motion profile.
Fairouz Gaballa, a Master of Arts in Island Studies student, took second place for her presentation about the potential positive impacts of physical activity for persons diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Fatima Imtiaz, an Environmental Sciences doctoral candidate at the time of the competition, won third for her presentation on the use of satellite data to develop solutions for hidden crop stress in potatoes. Imtiaz was awarded her PhD, the Governor General’s Medal (Graduate), and the Faculty of Graduate Studies Award of Distinction at the Convocation ceremony for the UPEI Faculty of Science on May 16.
Welcoming remarks were given by Dr. Wendy Rodgers, UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor.
Judging the presentations were Dr. Marva Sweeney-Nixon, Associate Vice-President, Research, and Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies; Dr. Marc Richard, Manager, Innovation and Partnerships, UPEI Office of Commercialization, Industry, and Innovation; and Ms. Shannon Courtney, Chief Changemaker, ShanCo Studio, and a UPEI alumnus.
