The 2026 John Bandler Memorial Microwave Week Three Minute Thesis® (3MT®) competition

Abstract:

Imagine yourself at IMS, heading down an escalator in the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center with a leading investor in microwave technology. You exchange greetings, and then she asks, “So, what do you do?”. You have seconds to capture her attention, communicate your vision, and leave a lasting impression. How do you make your research compelling, accessible, and unforgettable? The 2026 John Bandler Memorial Microwave Week Three Minute Thesis® (3MT®) competition challenges researchers to distill their work into a three-minute presentation supported by a single static slide. But 3MT® doesn’t begin at IMS: it’s the culmination of a months-long mentoring process, a masterclass in the fundamentals of technical communication. This webinar, hosted by the IEEE MTT-S Education Committee, will walk you through the 3MT® process and introduce the mentoring framework we use to prepare competitors. In the weeks leading up to the competition, our team works one-on-one with candidates to craft compelling narratives, design impactful visuals, and refine delivery. You’ll learn how we structure these conversations, what questions we ask, and how we guide researchers from initial script to polished presentation. Whether you’re competing in 3MT®, mentoring a colleague, or simply wanting to understand what separates a good technical presentation from a great one, this session will give you practical insights. We’ll explore how to engage both technical and non-technical audiences, structure your message for maximum clarity and impact, and use purposeful delivery and visual design to make your ideas stick—skills that apply far beyond the three-minute format. Attendance is free—register today and discover what it takes to turn research into a compelling story.

Speaker’s Details:

Aline Eid
Assistant Professor in EECS, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

Aline Eid is an Assistant Professor in EECS at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. She received her Ph.D. in ECE from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She leads the Beam Dynamics Group, which advances research in ultra-low-power wireless sensing, radar, backscatter and 5G communications, and wireless power transfer for smart cities and infrastructure applications.

Daniel Tajik
Adjunct Assistant Professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University

Daniel Tajik is an Adjunct Assistant Professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. He received his PhD degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the same university in 2022. Daniel currently works in the space robotics field, developing new technologies to advance our reach beyond our atmosphere.

Erin Kiley
Associate Prof. of Mathematics, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Dr. Erin Kiley is an Associate Professor with the Department of Mathematics at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the United States. Among others, she received Fulbright, Chateaubriand, and National Science Foundation fellowships for her work in Multiphysics modelling of high-power microwave heating applications, including sintering. She has authored or co-authored 22 conference papers, 14 international journal publications, and a U.S. patent, but at a liberal arts institution, her primary work focus is now teaching and pedagogy. For nine years, she has co-organized and mentored Three-Minute Thesis Competitions at the International Microwave Symposium, and continues to do so now in its tenth year. She has also organized and mentored 3MT competitions at MAPCON (India, 2024 and 2025) and at IMOC (Brazil, 2025), MTT’s first 3MT competition run fully in Portuguese.

Marius Schmidt
PhD Student at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany

Marius Schmidt received his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and is currently pursuing his PhD at the same institution, specifically at the Institute of Microwave and Photonics (LHFT). His research focuses on developing an electro-optic sensor for remotely detecting small muscle movements.Marius joined the 3MT Mentoring Team for the International Microwave Symposium in 2025 and has been a member ever since.

Jimmy Hester
CTO and Co-Founder, Atheraxon

Jimmy Hesteristhe CTO of Atheraxon, a deeptech startupcommercializingTheia, a mmWave asset tracking and computer vision technology. He received his PhD degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering fromGeorgia Techin 2019 for his workonmmWave RFIDs, energy harvesting, and wireless localization and chemical sensing.