A University of Guelph graduate student looking at ways to safely preserve fruit longer has placed fifth in the regional 3MT (Three-Minute Thesis) competition.

Shanthanu Krishnakumar, a plant agriculture master’s student, took fifth place at the Ontario competition, held at the University of Waterloo April 12. He will compete in the finals to be held online for two weeks in May by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies.

Under the annual competition, students must discuss their thesis within three minutes, using just one PowerPoint slide. The event challenges students to present complex research in an engaging, accessible way.

Krishnakumar, whose advisers are Profs. Jay Subramanian and Al Sullivan, spoke about lengthening the shelf life of fruit using hexanal, a natural plant-derived compound.

He said his work would keep fruit, such as nectarines, from turning soft and spoiling quickly, benefiting farmers, grocery stores and consumers.