Tian said, “This is really a celebration event, and it’s great to be in the same room with talented people from all disciplines throughout Michigan Engineering.”
BME Ph.D. candidate Yucheng (Jacky) Tian earned first place at the Engineering Graduate Symposium (EGS) Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition on February 20. The final round, held in Pierpont Commons, featured graduate students from departments across Michigan Engineering, with six master’s and 26 Ph.D. finalists presenting their research to a multidisciplinary audience and a panel of judges representing academia and industry.
Michigan Engineering organizes this annual three-minute-thesis competition, with the event’s format requiring students to summarize complex research for a general audience. “You’re essentially not presenting the technical details of your Ph.D. research,” Tian explained. “The purpose is to share the impact of your work to someone who is not in your field. Imagine that you’re talking to your parents about your research and trying to make a pitch or briefly explain to them what you do. You have to eliminate jargon and technical details, while capturing the essence of your work.”
Tian’s presentation, “The muscle cuff regenerative peripheral nerve interface (MC-RPNI) for bionic exoskeleton control,” was based on his Ph.D. thesis. “What I did in my talk was to introduce the significance of my work and lay out basically three aims of my Ph.D.,” he explained. The work combines biomedical engineering and surgical innovation. “My lab is in both biomedical engineering and plastic surgery. My PIs Dr. Stephen Kemp is a neuroscientist and Dr. Paul Cederna is a plastic surgeon at the University of Michigan Hospital, and my Ph.D. work crosses disciplines. We’re making a surgical innovation to help people with exoskeleton control, restore their motor function, and improve their quality of life ,” Tian said. “My research is clinically translatable and will directly impact patient lives.”
Preparation for the competition was intensive. “I definitely wrote a script, because this competition has to be really tight. Every sentence counts,” Tian said. Unlike typical scientific talks, the 3MT allows only one static slide and ends strictly at three minutes. “If your talk is 3:01, you automatically are disqualified,” he said. “Every practice was about timing perfectly.”
Tian practiced with his PI, lab mates, friends, and partner: “I practiced maybe 100 times. The day before I wished I had more time, but it was worth it,” he said.
Tian recommends the 3MT competition as a way for students to gain perspective and motivation. “This event is an excellent opportunity to step out of your comfort zone,” he said. “Many times, we’re stuck in the rigors of day-to-day research, but this competition reminds us we are doing impactful work.” He emphasized the skill-building aspects that presentation preparation provides. “Practice how you deliver something succinctly and precisely to a target audience,” he noted. “This is a skill for life after graduation that we can take with us into the professional world.”
Tian also underscored the importance of community that the 3MT fosters. “I was honored to bring clinical innovation to this competition and represent BME,” he said. “Every candidate did amazing work. This is really a celebration event, and it’s great to be in the same room with talented people from all disciplines throughout Michigan Engineering.”
Tian is finalizing manuscripts and his thesis, and expects to graduate in the next year. He has recently shared his work at international conferences. “I completed five talks in five weeks last fall globally—in Italy, Austria, Taiwan, and San Diego,” he said. “It’s really worth it to share your passion, your research, on a global stage. There are a lot of amazing people all around the world doing exciting work, and they’re also cheering for your work.”
Tian encourages students to participate in future presentations as a way for Michigan Engineering to “share the passion of learning together and as a way to build community.”