Deakin PhD researcher wins People's Choice Award at Asia-Pacific 3MT Final

Summary

• Deakin PhD candidate Dilendra Wijesekara has won the People’s Choice Award at the 2024 Asia-Pacific 3MT® Final.
• She was awarded for her fascinating three-minute presentation about her work on the fabrication of silk-based biomaterials and their potential use as packing materials for ear surgery.

Dilendra Wijesekara from Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) has seized the People’s Choice Award in the 2024 Virtual Asia-Pacific Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Final.

After winning the Deakin University 3MT® Competition in August, Dilendra competed amongst a field of 55 in the Asia-Pacific Semi-Final before being selected as one of eight finalists. This is the second year in a row that a Deakin researcher has won the coveted People’s Choice Award.

A materials scientist, chemist, educator and science communicator, Dilendra’s research focuses on the fabrication of silk-based biomaterials.

Her presentation, ‘Unlocking the power of silk: next-generation packing materials for ear surgery’ reveals her work in partnership with Ear Science Institute Australia, which aims to create a first-of-its-kind silk packing material.

'I’m honoured to be chosen as one of eight finalists and thrilled to receive the People’s Choice Award at the Asia-Pacific 3 Minute Thesis competition. This platform allows me to share a glimpse of the remarkable research undertaken at Deakin University with the world,’ Dilendra said.

‘I’m grateful for the support of Deakin’s Researcher Development Academy throughout my 3MT journey and proud to represent the Institute for Frontier Materials on a global stage. With great research comes great responsibility – Silk Superhero, signing off. Regular researcher, reporting back to duty.’

Watch Dilendra’s winning 3MT® presentation.

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