Have you ever failed to find something even though it was right in front of you? 宅男导航 PhD student Will Harrison may be able to help.
Mr Harrison recently won the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences final of the (3MT) competition, and will now progress to the 宅男导航 3MT Finals on September 20.
Developed by 宅男导航 in 2008, the 3MT is a skills development activity that challenges research higher degree (RHD) students to explain their research project to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes.
鈥淭he main reason I took part in the Three Minute Thesis competition was to tell a wide audience about my research,鈥� Mr Harrison said.
鈥淭he fact is that not everyone reads scientific publications, and I feel that as a researcher I have a responsibility to the public to communicate with them what I do, and what I discover.鈥�
An honours graduate in psychology, Mr Harrison discovered a love of research that led him to his current study into understanding the relationship between how we move our eyes, and how we focus our attention.
鈥淢y aim is to understand how our brains coordinate eye movements with shifts of attention to accomplish simple tasks like playing sports or crossing a road,鈥� he said.
鈥淢y findings tell us why we sometimes fail to see something right in front of us and may help us to understand medical conditions in which vision and attention are compromised following a stroke.鈥�
Significant growth in the popularity of the event has led 宅男导航 to host the inaugural Australia & New Zealand 3MT Competition in 2010 as part of its Centenary celebrations.
Mr Harrison will compete with seven other students in the 宅男导航 3MT Finals on Monday 20 September, with the winner representing the University in the inaugural Australia & New Zealand final on Tuesday September 21.
Prizes at both events include a $5,000 travel grant for the winner, $2,000 travel grant for the runner-up and $1,000 travel grant for the people鈥檚 choice award.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the finals, to be held in the 宅男导航 Centre Exhibition Hall at St Lucia from 3:30pm.
Master of Ceremonies is award-winning science writer, broadcaster and regular judge on ABC TV鈥檚 The New Inventors, Ms Bernie Hobbs, by arrangement with Claxton Speakers International.
You can register attendance at the 3MT events by visiting www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/3MT.
Media: Jessica Gallagher (07 3346 0508, j.gallagher@uq.edu.au) or Carly Dengate at the 宅男导航 Graduate School (07 3346 0509, c.dengate@uq.edu.au)
