Communicating complex research to a general audience is no simple task, but these graduate students make it look easy. Now in its ninth year, Research Live! is a competition that invites graduate students from all disciplines to encapsulate their work in a concise, three-minute presentation. This unique opportunity showcases the diversity and depth of graduate student research at Illinois.
We caught up with this year's Research Live! winners to chat about their experiences. Learn about what drew them to the Research Live! stage, the joys and jitters of distilling their research into a three-minute talk, and winners' advice for future participants. Their stories provide a glimpse into the countless hours of dedication behind graduate student research and the growth that comes from stepping into the spotlight.
Why did you decide to participate in Research Live!?
Vincent Carlson: It was a good opportunity to practice succinctly presenting my research to an audience that was not familiar with my work. I wanted to see how my research was situated amongst other graduate students. And to be honest, I was chasing a little bit of that prize money!
Satinderpal Kaur: I decided to participate in Research Live! because I always like to grab opportunities to showcase my research. As a graduate student, we get fewer opportunities to present our research to a very wide audience, this was the most exciting part about this competition.
Kyle Timmer: I became familiar with Research Live! last year, though I didn't have the time to apply before the deadline, so this year I had really wanted to participate. I was intrigued and excited by the challenge of distilling my research into not only a single slide, 3-minute presentation but also one that could be understood and appreciated by a high school audience. Communication in science is a crucial skill all too often ignored and one that we as researchers don't often get opportunities to explore and improve on. I felt that participating in Research Live! would push me to improve those skills, and I was also excited by the thought of potentially sharing my research with a large audience.
Andrew Freeman: As a new graduate student, I saw an opportunity to better understand the project I had been assigned to just months previous (with bonus monetary incentive!). Throughout the Research Live process, I got a much deeper look into the importance of the work my lab was doing. I also very much enjoy making graphic art and, a bit less so, working on my public speaking whenever possible.
Vignesh Srinivasakumar: Since the advent of ChatGPT, everyone has used and seen ChatGPT fail but never understood why. I really just wanted to share my excitement of the pure magic that goes into making something like ChatGPT reliable.
What did you enjoy the most about preparing for Research Live!?
Vincent Carlson: I enjoyed the Finalist Presentations. It was fun to see everyone there, meet new folks, hear what everyone was working on, have an audience for the presentations, and answer questions about the video.
Satinderpal Kaur: I enjoyed explaining my research in a non-scientific and simpler language. I had fun while practicing my presentation with my family and friends to make sure that they understood, and to confirm that it was easier to follow.
Kyle Timmer: In preparing my slide and what I would say, I talked with family and friends who were outside the sphere of academia and research. Not only was their feedback incredibly helpful, but it was exciting to see people who had previously not understood or fully appreciated my work coming to better see what I do and why I do it. Additionally, I'm used to preparing slides that are more technical and for an audience within the niche of my field, so it was also a fun change of pace to go off the normal script with how I present my work.
Andrew Freeman: It was really fun meeting with Emily and getting advice from professionals about my writing and speaking! And of course, making my slide—if I had legitimate reasons to spend all day every day on Illustrator, I would.
Vignesh Srinivasakumar: Attention is an increasingly rare commodity and to keep someone’s attention for three minutes in a TikTok era is nothing short of an art. I really enjoyed breaking a dense topic into a light and engaging narrative while still being informative. My guinea pig was my teen cousin's sister. If I could get her to listen for 3 minutes straight without opening Instagram, I knew I would win.
What is one piece of advice you would give to other students who are preparing research talks or thinking about participating in Research Live!?
Vincent Carlson: Relax and be confident in your work. Write out a script for your presentation, review it and rehearse it, but don't be afraid to speak away from the verbatim script. You know your work and it's about "selling" your ideas confidently and creatively!
Satinderpal Kaur: I would advise to practice your presentation with your friends who are not in your field of research or who are not into research in general. Because if you can make them understand your experiment and its significance, it means you are doing a great job in presenting.
Kyle Timmer: Every research project tells a story. Anyone can get on a stage and throw out statistics, or show results, or say why what they're doing is important. But engaging an audience sometimes takes more than just facts, and it's important to build a narrative that pulls an audience in and takes them down the path of your research journey. Also, as I previously mentioned, practicing for people outside of academia (friends who didn't go to grad school, nieces or nephews, grandparents, etc.) helps determine the right level of detail, explanation, and technical knowledge to include, so you can be sure your presentation is accessible for your audience!
Andrew Freeman: Just try it out! The worst that can happen is you gain a deeper connection and understanding of your own project and get a good gauge on your speaking/presenting abilities. At best, you get that and a couple hundred dollars. It's a win-win situation.
Vignesh Srinivasakumar: You’ll never convey the full extent of your research. Forget three minutes, even 2 hours isn’t enough. The trick is to excite the audience just enough that they’ll end up reading your research paper. Also, brag a little bit … or a lot, you’ve earned it!
It's no simple task to record a speech on camera! Did you encounter any nerves? If so, how did you deal with them?
Vincent Carlson: Nerves are a way of telling your body that you are excited for something—that you are anticipating and ready for something to occur. Nerves are good energy!
Satinderpal Kaur: Yes, I recorded the preliminary video on my phone without a camera stand. The major difficulty was to get the camera at a specific height. But I stacked some boxes and settled the phone over them to get the desired height.
Kyle Timmer: Honestly, presenting for a video camera was more nerve-wracking for me than an audience. I'm a perfectionist at times and knowing any mistake would be captured in the video was a bit daunting. The main thing that helped me was practice. Being confident in what I wanted to say, how I would speak, and that I could recover from mistakes all helped me prepare for and counteract the onset of that nervousness.
Andrew Freeman: No doubt about it, I was nervous; I forgot my lines at least 10 times and it was a bit frustrating. But the longer you're in the recording room, the more you get used to the space and the better you'll do. I wish I had a lot more time to just be in the recording space to get familiar with it before I had begun. You just have to persevere in there-- arrive early, arrive prepped.
Vignesh Srinivasakumar: I was tricked! I was visibly nervous so Brandon Stauffer told me about a research study where a person forgets about the camera in front of them after the first 7 minutes. I wasn’t convinced and wanted to practice twice without recording. Brandon Stauffer and Emily Wuchner sneakily recorded my practice performance, and it turns out I performed better under the false security of a turned-off camera. I’m grateful for their wise choice. The best advice I can give is to let someone trick you too!
Do you have a public speaking role model? Have you been influenced by any mentors along your journey?
Vincent Carlson: I have been working in Theatre for 25 years. I have watched actors and directors in the rehearsal room, on stage, and on film for a long time. I have teachers and directors who have helped me curate my energy and enthusiasm for performance. Watching others be confident with preparation but also maintain a flexibility/adaptability—that is something I have strived to emulate.
Kyle Timmer: I have always enjoyed public speaking - I was involved in theater starting as early as 7 years old. I've had many friends, mentors, directors, and others help me throughout these experiences to get where I am today. The most recent of these would probably be my advisor (Brendan Harley), who himself is a wonderful speaker and lecturer and has taught me much in terms of delivering talks that are engaging and exciting.
Andrew Freeman: Yes! Hank Green is one of my speaking role models (and John Green, while we're at it). I watched a lot of SciShow in my high school days and have continued keeping up with their content. I really admire their ability to communicate, both with broad audiences and with each other.
Vignesh Srinivasakumar: Growing up, I’ve personally struggled with public speaking, or even just speaking for that matter. I tend to digress and stutter when I’m thrilled about something. So, I personally relate to Elon Musk's oratory style. It's fascinating to note the stark differences between Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Jensen is an eloquent and vivid storyteller, while Elon speaks in a passionate stuttering frenzy and there is something to love about both of them.
You’ve completed a research talk in three minutes or less, which is an impressive feat! What is something equally impressive that you can do in three minutes?
Vincent Carlson: I can eat fast...
Satinderpal Kaur: I am very good at doing henna. Henna is an Indian art form which is basically a plant-based dye used to draw temporary tattoos on hands. I can do one hand of henna art in three minutes.
Kyle Timmer: That's a tricky one! I'll be honest, I'm drawing a bit of a blank here. I have cooked "minute rice" in approximately 55 seconds, though, so maybe that's how I live life on the edge.
Andrew Freeman: I could probably run half a mile in that time, nothing too crazy.
Vignesh Srinivasakumar: Type 330 words. I average about 100-110 words per minute on a keyboard. It's not much but as a software engineer, it saves some time—especially when your employment depends on typing weird symbols on a screen all day.
To watch the Research Live! Finalist Showcase, visit our YouTube channel. You can read more about Research Live! on our website.
This interview was conducted and compiled by John Moist, Digital Media Specialist for the Graduate College. He holds degrees from Mount Aloysius College ('14), Baylor University ('17), and the University of Illinois (PhD, '22). His academic research examines the digital world's impact on our ideas of work and community. In his spare time, he enjoys making music, teaching public speaking, playing board games, drinking espresso, and watching movies. He lives in Champaign, Illinois with his wife Kaitlyn and their cat Mildred.
