Sooyong Chae and Ana-Maria Bratu awarded at the Three Minutes Thesis competition

Two PhD students from École Polytechnique's laboratories took top prizes at the final of the Three Minutes Thesis (3MT) competition, following their performance on June 10 at the joint final of Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Université Paris-Saclay and Université PSL.

This is a science mediation competition in which finalists have 3 minutes to present their research topic eloquently and in simple terms in English. The competition, originally launched by the University of Queensland in Australia, was the inspiration for the French-speaking Ma Thèse en 180 secondes (MT180) competition. Ecole Polytechnique doctoral students took part in the Three Minutes Thesis competition for the first time.

Sooyong Chae, who is doing her thesis at the Laboratory of Physics of Interfaces and Thin Films (LPICM*) received the 1st Jury Prize and the Audience Prize. 

His thesis focuses on the integration of high-field Mueller polarimetric imaging in a surgical context. Polarimetric imaging uses a property of light called polarization. The aim here is to provide real-time guidance for the detection of brain tumors. The main objective is to improve visualization of the boundaries between healthy and tumor tissue, especially using machine and deep learning methods.

Ana-Maria Bratu, a doctoral student at the Hydrodynamics Laboratory (LadHyX*) was awarded the 2nd Jury Prize.

For her thesis, she is focusing on plant dispersal by rain, a little-explored mode of dissemination. The work is based mainly on laboratory experiments aimed at understanding the mechanisms by which raindrops transport plant reproductive units, as well as the conditions for optimizing this dispersal.

*LPICM: a joint research unit CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France

*LadHyX: a joint research unit CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France