Analytics Ph.D. student wins Notre Dame's 3MT competition

Marialena Bevilacqua, Ph.D. in Analytics candidate, made history as the first Mendoza College of Business student to win Notre Dame's prestigious Three-Minute Thesis competition. Bevilacqua distilled years of complex research into a compelling three-minute presentation titled "Preserving the Human in Humanitarian: The Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Donations to Humanitarian Organizations." Her research findings show that replacing human roles with AI creates a perceived disconnect with organizational missions, resulting in a striking 39 percent drop in donor participation as people view AI as competent but emotionally distant.

Beyond the $2,500 prize, the competition transformed how Bevilacqua views her own work. Initially skeptical about her research's real-world impact, the process of communicating to a diverse audience helped her recognize the tangible significance of her findings. The experience also prepared her for the upcoming job market this fall, pushing her far outside her comfort zone in ways that classroom presentations to her department never could.

Read the full story about the 2026 competition here.