Kinesiology doctoral student to compete in Three Minute Thesis finals

A doctoral student from the College of Education’s School of Kinesiology will present his research next week as a finalist in Auburn University’s Three Minute Thesis competition Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. in the Melton Student Center ballroom.

Cole Bordonie, who conducts research in the Warrior Research Center under the mentorship of Professor JoEllen Sefton, was selected as a finalist after his first-round presentation of “The Effect of Heat Acclimation on the Ability to Tolerate a Cold Environment.”

“Competing in the first round was an exciting opportunity as I had watched many of the previous doctoral students from our lab compete in the past,” Bordonie said. “Making it to the finals was a bit of a surprise, but I’m thrilled to represent the School of Kinesiology at a university-wide competition.”

Bordonie said he approached the first round looking forward to the challenge, albeit admittedly a bit nervous.

“My goal for the finals is to have a solid performance and ultimately share the research that we as students have the possibility to complete,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity, and I’m thankful to be one of the few participants getting to step onto the stage.”

A second representative from the School of Kinesiology was selected to participate in Auburn’s 3MT finals – Nawara Alsalmie, who works with Dr. Harsimran Baweja, director of physical therapy, in the Sensorimotor and Rehab Technology Neuroscience Lab. Alsalmie is unable to compete due to a conflict. She will be presenting her research on balance, titled “Equally steady,” in San Diego, California, at the annual conference for the Society of Neuroscience, an organization of 30,000 worldwide neuroscientists.

Auburn’s 3MT competition is held annually and is jointly sponsored by the Graduate School and the Graduate Student Council. To determine who competes in the 3MT, a preliminary competition is held, and the top 10 competitors advance to the university-wide final and compete for cash prizes. Three winners are chosen: first place, second place, and people’s choice. Three Minute Thesis is a research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland. The exercise challenges current graduate students to present a compelling oration on their thesis or dissertation topic and its significance in just three minutes. The competition develops academic, presentation, and research communication skills and supports the development of research students’ capacity to effectively explain their research in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. Auburn’s winner will also have the opportunity to represent the university in regional 3MT competitions.