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On Nov. 15, 2024, several talented Ph.D. students at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering distilled years of research into three minutes.
At the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Contest, hosted by the Engineering in Society (EiS) program, eight finalists were selected from a preliminary round of 16 participants. They delivered engaging, three-minute, non-specialist explanations of their work before a crowd of 40 people at Ronald Tutor Hall. Participants could only use a single static slide.
At this high-stakes intellectual showcase, clarity and presentation style mattered as much as groundbreaking ideas.
“It’s satisfying to see students improve their presenting skills and hear that they gained valuable experience that will serve them in the future,” said Helen Choi, co-director of the EiS Communications Hub, which hosted the event for the third straight year.
First-place winner, Yingchao Peng, walked away with $1,000 and advanced to the Western Regionals. Second place finisher, Chase Klewicki, took home $500 and another $250 for his selection by the audience as the People’s Choice winner. Amir Minoofar, who finished third, earned $250.
First Place: Yingchao Peng – “Kirigami for Engineering”
“You may have heard of origami, the art of folding paper. But have you ever heard of kirigami?” asked Peng, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in aerospace and mechanical engineering, as he introduced his innovative work.
Peng developed a design framework that creates two-dimensional patterns capable of transforming into different shapes. “If you provide me with any two shapes, our algorithm can generate a design for a particular need with design transformation and shape morphism,” he explained.
The designs rely on algorithms that optimize the geometry of panels, represented as gray areas, while light yellow regions act as voids for flexibility. By fine-tuning the energy barriers between stable states, Peng’s framework enables seamless shifts between shapes.
One example featured a heart-shaped design that expanded and contracted to mimic motion. This efficiency is a defining feature of his framework, which can generate designs containing thousands of cells in minutes using algorithms such as sequential quadratic programming.
The real-world potential of Peng’s research is vast. “These transformations are applicable in aerospace structures, soft robotics, biomedical devices and energy and environmental systems,” he noted. Peng said his designs could lead to eco-friendly innovations such as self-cooling smart building envelopes or solar panels that automatically track sunlight for optimal efficiency.
Second Place and People’s Choice: Chase Klewicki – “Wings that Sing”
“The next time you see a drone, don’t be surprised if you hear its wings singing,” said Chase Klewicki, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in aerospace and mechanical engineering. His research explores how sound waves can dramatically improve the performance of small aircraft wings, like those on drones.
Klewicki embedded speakers, similar to those in AirPods, into the frame of a wing and found that playing specific sound waves could shrink areas of stagnant air, known as stagnation regions, which reduce wing performance.
“Shooting out tones like ‘do, re, m’ resonated with circular structures in this stagnation region known as vortices,” Klewicki said. This resonance increased mixing and eliminated stagnant air, boosting wing efficiency by up to 90%.
“An increase in wing performance can lead to longer flight times, larger carrying capacities, and faster top speeds for drones,” he said. Klewicki emphasized the potential for applications in firefighting, search and rescue and package delivery.
Third Place: Amir Minoofar – “Optical Signal Processing”
Can we “recognize a bird at the speed of light”? For Minoofar, a sixth-year electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. student, the answer lies in optical signal processing.
Minoofar’s research leverages optical systems to process data faster than traditional electronic systems.
“We should move to the optical domain,” he said, explaining how his tools can process phase-encoded data with unprecedented speed. His work holds potential for applications in autonomous vehicles and cutting-edge computing technologies.
Published on December 18th, 2024
Last updated on December 23rd, 2024
