French competition tests scientific concision Published duration 4 June 2015

image copyright AFP image caption Alexandre Artaud wowed the jury with a lucid disquisition on superconducting rhenium

French PhD students have taken part in a challenge to summarise their research in thee minutes designed to test their concision and eloquence.

One of the 27 finalists compared a molecule to a "club bouncer in reverse" who lets people in but not out.

The winner used a metaphor about love to explain research on "low-temperature tunnelling spectroscopy of a graphene on superconducting rhenium".

PhD student Alexandre Artaud said electrons faced a choice between pairing up thanks to "superconductivity which allows love between two particles", or graphene, which enhances performance but at a cost.

He compared this to doctoral students having to choose between love and research, AFP news agency reports.

"I don't want to choose. I want doctoral students in love - and electrons that are both paired up and performing," he explained.

"My thesis in three minutes" was co-sponsored by the National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) - France's main research body.

Most of the finalists were women. The jury was composed of academics unfamiliar with the subjects covered.