Dance Your PhD winner channels his inner Kylie Minogue to explain food science

Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio

· Posted: May 09, 2025 5:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 9

After Sulo Roukka finished defending his PhD successful "the accustomed way," helium didn't rather cognize what to bash with himself. So helium dressed up similar a chili capsicum and made a creation video astir it.

The University of Helsinki nutrient idiosyncratic is this year's victor of Science magazine's yearly Dance Your PhD contest, which has academics ditch their laboratory coats for latex to explicate their analyzable dissertations with question and song.

"After the PhD defence, I felt a spot empty. And past this thought got successful my mind, like, let's bash this," Roukka told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. 

"I judge that it's an absorbing operation of subject meets the dance."

WATCH | This year's winning Dance Your PhD entry: 

Roukka's PhD is called "Insights into oral chemesthetic perception: A absorption connected food-related behaviour." In laymen's terms, helium studies however antithetic radical respond to the chemic compounds that marque nutrient consciousness hot, cool oregon acidic. 

"I'm funny astir however we comprehend and acquisition nutrient done our senses," helium said.

In his video, Roukka spits lyrics astir what makes things "hot blistery hot" and "cool chill cool" arsenic dancers in lab coats groove retired successful a laboratory filled with chili peppers and mint leaves. 

Later, the dancers, each from the pupil theatre radical Viikki-Speksi, region their labcoats to uncover sparkling disco outfits, while Roukka sports a hot red unitard courtesy of his person and stylist Teemu Muurimäki

"He made maine look similar reddish chilli capsicum and I wholly felt similar Kylie Minogue successful the Padam Padam video," Roukka said. 

Asked whether he's a instrumentality of the Australian popular star, Roukka replied: "Yes, of course. Like, who isn't?"

Roukka won the wide prize, arsenic good arsenic successful the chemistry category, earning a $2,750 US ($3,804 Cdn) prize. 

Priya Reddy from Friedrich Schiller University Jena successful Germany, won successful the biology class for her video that uses theatric, interpretive creation to explicate works vaccination.

Arfor Houwman of the University of Innsbruck successful Austria took location the physics prize for his space-infused physics euphony video astir laser cooling.

And Manisha Biswas of  Humboldt University of Berlin won the societal sciences class for her video that uses synchronized question to research the evolutionary and taste advantages of, well, synchronized movement.

WATCH | Dance Your PhD class winners: 

John Bohannon, a erstwhile Science correspondent-turned-data idiosyncratic who started the contention successful 2008 and continues to oversee it, noted this year's competitors skewed much European than erstwhile years. 

"This year, American scientists did not look to beryllium successful the temper to dance," helium said successful a property release. "Lucky for the world, Europe's scientists person doubled their creativity and enthusiasm."

'Bring bid to the meal table'

Roukka says helium was thrilled to person an accidental to stock his research, which helium says has implications extracurricular the nutrient lab. In his thesis, helium recovered that chemical compounds successful nutrient don't impact everyone the aforesaid way.  

"People are different, and determination are idiosyncratic differences. And I deliberation these benignant of idiosyncratic differences successful sensitivity tin explicate our nutrient experiences," helium said.

"We request to recognize our idiosyncratic differences to get a amended knowing of each other. And I judge by doing truthful we tin bring bid to the meal table, and beyond."