The People have spoken!
CAGS is pleased to announce the People’s Choice winner for this year’s Canada’s 3MT competition.
Laura Rios Carreno, a Master’s student in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Calgary, has clenched the title of being the most popular competitor in the 2019 national finals. A total of 3140 people voted in this year’s competition, and Laura’s 3MT video received an astounding 843 votes – more than one quarter of all votes cast!
Laura’s research focusses on the chemistry of road surfaces like asphalt. As Laura relates in her 3MT video, everyone has experience driving on poor roads that are deformed, damaged, or filled with potholes. Traditional solutions like patches are ineffective, and the road will continue to degrade. This is where Laura’s research comes into play. She focusses on how we can use chemistry to improve the quality and performance of road surfaces like asphalt, and is working on designing a modifier that performs well in both hot and cold environments. In communicating her complex research to a non-specialist audience, Laura drew upon an important life lesson: “Remember, potholes in roads are like problems in life – they are hard to avoid, but with a little modification we can make anything smoother.”
As the People’s Choice winner, Laura will receive a cash prize of $500.
Watch Laura’s outstanding video here:
