Food science doctoral student Kriza Calumba won the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s, 2025 Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition from among seventeen graduate student finalists. Winning the finals means Calumba will represent UT Knoxville in the regional 3MT competition February 18-20, 2026, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The 3MT is a research communication competition widely adopted at universities such as UT, challenging master’s and doctoral students to present their often highly technical thesis or dissertation topic to a lay audience in just three minutes.

Calumba said, “The 3MT competition has been one of the highlights of my PhD experience at UT. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to participate—and even more grateful to have won.”

We wish Kriza Calumba good luck at regionals as she represents the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the Herbert College of Agriculture!

To read more about her experience doing 3MT, and her research visit tiny.utk.edu/kriza-calumba