ANU Three Minute Thesis finals make a live comeback

Ivan Vinogradov. Photo: supplied - After watching a goldfish swim around in circles, have you ever wondered: am I smarter than a fish?  The average human might understand there is more to life than the confines of a well decorated tank, but really, do we have more going on upstairs than our marine counterparts?  If fishy thoughts aren't your speed, the hidden Grand Prix inside our cells might drive your curiosity. In your average research thesis, these questions would take 80,000 words, or over 540 minutes of a reader's time to answer. Our contestants only have three. ANU PhD candidates have the chance to battle it out for a podium place in the highly regarded Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) next week. Researchers have three minutes, one slide, and no extra frills to present their PhD research to a live captive audience.  "The 3MT competition forces students to present their research in a concise manner. It's a challenge to explain the difficult concepts we have been researching for three or four years in only three minutes," Ivan Vinogradov, one of 11 ANU finalists, said.  "For my research, I looked at animal intelligence, seeing how different factors like age, sex and environment affect how intelligent animals are.  "I came up with IQ tests for different animals, testing their memory, learning and navigation skills.