UWindsorENG student represents UWindsor in provincial thesis competition

Liza-Anastasia DiCecco, mechanical, automotive and materials engineering master's student, presents during the Three Minute Thesis competition at the University of Windsor on March 26.

A UWindsor Engineering graduate student represented the University of Windsor at a provincial Three Minute Thesis competition.

Liza-Anastasia Di-Cecco, a master's student in Materials Engineering, presented her 3D printing research at the Ontario 3MT® competition final on April 19, 2018 at York University. 

Di-Cecco had three minutes and a single presentation slide to deliver her presentation titled "Move over plastic, we're 3D printing titanium." 

"In my research, I’m studying the material properties of pure titanium made through a specific 3D printing process using plasma fabrication," Di-Cecco said. "I’m concentrating on looking at their strength, hardness, and durability, while also looking at what’s happening at the microscopic level to characterise these parts."

Di-Cecco said 3D printing is expanding our ability to make parts and more complex items such as custom prosthetics and orthotics and lighter and more fuel efficient cars.

"Even advanced rocket fuel nozzles that might someday get us to Mars; The possibilities of this research are endless," she added.

Three UWindsor Engineering graduate students made it to the final six in the University of Windsor's Three Minute Thesis competition where Di-Cecco took home a second-place prize of $500.

Rounding out the top six with Di-Cecco were engineering graduate students Dylan Verburg and Lucas Chauvin. This year’s competition took place March 26, 2018 in the Alumni Auditorium. Twenty UWindsor graduate students competed by presenting their thesis, major research paper or dissertation topic in under three minutes. 

The Three Minute Thesis competition started at the University of Queensland in 2008 and has quickly spread around the world. The winners of the provincial competition at York University will go on to compete at the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies' annual conference.