Florida Atlantic University’s Omair Faqah, a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, recently took second place in the statewide Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition.

Florida Atlantic University’s Omair Faqah, a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, recently took second place in the statewide Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition.

Faqah was awarded for his thesis, “Shrinking the Lab: HIV Testing Anytime, Anywhere,” that he presented against fellow statewide entrants at the 2025 Conference of Florida Graduate Schools, in which FAU served as the host site.

Not only was Faqah chosen as the 3MT® runner-up, he also placed in the People’s Choice category, winning a total of $500. He also recently won the 2025 FAU 3MT® competition.

“The 3MT® experience gave me a platform to show how accessible, rapid HIV testing can make a real difference,” said Faqah. “Placing runner-up and winning the people’s choice award at the state level was exciting, but more than that, understanding my work from the users’ perspective, rather than just focusing on my technical work, further reinvigorated me in my approach to the project with renewed enthusiasm. I’m thankful for the mentorship of Dr. Waseem Asghar and proud to share this work.”

For this statewide 3MT® competition, students presented their research evaluated by a panel of staff from Florida graduate schools, to a live audience. A separate panel of graduate school staff served as judges for a poster competition in which FAU student Kathy Altidor, from the College of Education, won in the “Arts, Humanities and Communication” category that came with a $200 prize.

“We are incredibly proud of our graduate students and the remarkable talent they bring to Florida Atlantic,” said Robert Stackman Jr., Ph.D., dean of the Graduate College and associate vice president of academic affairs at the John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter. “To see two of our own recognized at the statewide level is a testament to the strength of our programs, the dedication of our faculty and the hard work of our students. Their success reflects the excellence we strive for across the Graduate College.”

FAU 3MT® and Poster Competition are venues for graduate students from various disciplines to interact with one another and discuss their research and its implications. These competitions provide opportunities for undergraduates, alumni, industry partners, various on-campus departments, institutions and the community to gain exposure to high-level, cutting-edge research at FAU. For more information on 3MT®, visit here. For the Poster Competition, visit here, and for CFGS 2025, visit here.

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