France
November 10, 2016

Nicolas Urruty presented his thesis on the impact of reduced pesticide use on wheat yields in just three minutes. The doctoral candidate in agronomy at INRA Paris won third prize in the 2016 “My Thesis in 180 Seconds” international competition, which was held in Rabat, Morocco, on 29 September 2016. Twenty doctoral candidates from ten French-speaking countries made the final, which was won by the Swiss Désiré Koenig.

“Identifying production systems that use fewer pesticides while still generating high yields.” Nicolas Urruty, a doctoral candidate at the University of Poitiers, works at INRA in Paris where he is examining wheat production systems to identify those that can best withstand climate and biotic hazards. His presentation of his thesis won him third place at the 2016 “My Thesis in 180 Seconds” international competition, held in Rabat, Morocco, on 29 September.

Now in its third year, this international event was organised by the Mohammed V University in Rabat and the National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST). Twenty French-speaking competitors from ten countries (Belgium, Benin, Cameroon, Canada, France, Indonesia, Morocco, Senegal, Switzerland and Tunisia) faced off. The winner was the Swiss Désiré Koenig, who presented her work on organ regeneration mechanisms in zebrafish. Second place went to Maud Gratuze from Laval University (Quebec, Canada) for her thesis on the impact of diabetes on tau protein phosphorylation in Alzheimer’s disease. The audience award was given to Chaimae Samtal (Sidi Mohamed Ben Addellah University) for her thesis on prostate cancer in the Moroccan population.

> Read Nicolas Urruty’s online portrait: “The secrets of a future actor”

> Video of Nicolas Urruty’s three minute thesis presentation (during the French final in Bordeaux in May 2016)

Website: https://www.inrae.fr

Published: November 16, 2016