Hart’s dissertation research explored the cardiovascular health effects of replacing snacks with a two-ounce serving of pecans every day. High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol, can clog the arteries and increase the risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. Because diet is a main contributor to LDL levels, Hart hypothesized that replacing usual snacks with pecans could reduce LDL. She measured LDL both before and after a 12-week dietary study for which participants received instructions to replace daily snacks with pecans, compared to a control group that had no pecans and ate their usual diet. She found that it reduced LDL by about 6% compared to the usual diet, which would be estimated to reduce heart disease deaths by 28,000 per year.
“Earning first place in Three Minute Thesis was both rewarding and exciting,” Hart said. “Receiving positive feedback from people outside of my field feels incredibly validating. It reinforced my confidence in communicating exciting findings to broader audiences and gives me confidence in moving forward to pursue my career after Penn State.”
Hart will go on to represent Penn State at the regional Three Minute Thesis competition hosted by the Northeast Association for Graduate Schools.
Second-place recipient Smerigan studies ways to harvest rare earth elements, which are essential for renewable energy and electronic devices such as smartphones. He examined how to use peptides, the building blocks of proteins, to latch on to individual rare earth element ions in phosphogypsum, a toxic byproduct of fertilizer production. Smerigan noted that more than 3,000 football fields’ worth of phosphogypsum is produced every year, containing approximately $300 million in rare earth elements. Through his study, which spanned the atomic to the system scale, Smerigan found that it is possible to clean this toxic material in a way that is profitable and sustainable, through the recovery of these rare earth elements.
People’s Choice Award recipient Sarpong studies how to extract lithium, a valuable material required for renewable energy and electronic devices, from battery waste. Using a process called bioleaching, he used bacteria to create a natural and environmentally friendly acid that would break down the waste, leaving up to 92% of lithium behind. He then conducted an economic analysis and found that this extraction could reduce operating costs in the renewable energy sector by 34%, by reducing transportation and disposal processes.
The competition included a panel of judges who awarded first and second place. The People’s Choice Award was determined through audience voting. Invited judges included Christina Grozinger, director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology; Tonya L. Peeples, Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of the College of Engineering, and professor of chemical engineering; Jeff Middleton, senior director of finance and North American agricultural brands controller, Case New Holland Industrial Inc., and representative of the event’s co-sponsor, the Fox Graduate School Alumni Society; and Mahmudul Hasan, doctoral candidate in chemical engineering and GPSA member.
The 2025 competition is available to view on the Fox Graduate School’s YouTube channel.
The Fox Graduate School is planning to host a third annual Three Minute Thesis competition in the 2025-26 academic year. More details will be available in summer or early fall 2025 on the Three Minute Thesis website.