Graduate student Alyssa Griffin among winners of Three Minute Thesis competition
Graduate student Alyssa Griffin was named the second-place winner of NC State’s 10th annual Three Minute Thesis competition last month.
The Graduate School hosts the competition each year to allow students an opportunity to explain their thesis to audiences outside of their specialties. Students not only have to explain their research without jargon, but they must effectively do so in only three minutes. That’s three minutes for students to explain what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, their results and why their research matters — quite a challenge, considering an average thesis can clock in at approximately 80 pages.
According to the Graduate School, more than 65 students entered this year’s competition. Griffin was selected as one of 10 finalists, and she was the only finalist to represent the College of Sciences.
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Griffin studies future extreme precipitation in North Carolina under the guidance of professor Sarah Larson (left) and State Climatologist Kathie Dello (right). -
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Griffin stands with Graduate School Dean Peter Harries and Rob Dunn, Senior Vice Provost for University Interdisciplinary Programs -
Alyssa Griffin with the other winners of the Three Minute Thesis challenge -
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Griffin is a second-year graduate student in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at NC State. She studies future extreme precipitation in North Carolina under the guidance of professor Sarah Larson and State Climatologist Kathie Dello.
Griffin’s work is focused on updating Atlas 14, a database that tells organizations like the North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) how much rainfall an area may receive and how often that rainfall occurs. Such data allows the DOT to build infrastructure like roads that are prepared to handle such rainfall.
However, Atlas 14 does not include precipitation data past the year 2000. Since that time, areas across the state are receiving more rainfall more frequently as the climate warms. Griffin’s work will then allow the DOT to build infrastructure that’s up to par with modern and future rainfall, helping to lessen hazards like flooded roads.
Watch Griffin’s full Three Minute Thesis presentation below:
