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The 2025 Three Minute Thesis final competition will be held Feb. 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.

What is the best way to distill a multitude of information into just three minutes?

That’s the question eleven graduate students will be wrestling with as part of the Graduate School’s eighth annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which will be held in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom on Feb. 13, 2025, from 4 to 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but .

This event challenges students to explain their thesis to the general public. They are then evaluated by a panel of judges from across the university and local community, including Waleed Abdalati, executive director of the Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and professor of geography; Jared Bahir Browsh, director of critical sports studies and an assistant teaching professor; Sonia DeLuca Fernández, senior vice chancellor for leadership support and programming; and Aaron Brockett, City of ��«����Ƶ mayor.

In the days leading up to the event, we’ll feature each of the competitors. Today is Casey Hunt, a doctoral candidate in the ATLAS Institute, specializing in human-robot interaction and participatory design. Her 3MT presentation’s title is, “Building a Shared Future: A Toolkit for Collaborative Robot Design.”

If you had to describe your research in one sentence, what would you say?

My work explores how to design prototyping materials to help non-engineers meaningfully contribute their expertise and perspective during the design of robots.

What led you to pursue your doctoral degree in your field of study?

After being part of the development of bespoke hardware and software for a cancer research startup, I became aware of the challenges of these processes. I became interested in representing the voices of users and navigating tradeoffs in technology development.

What is your favorite thing about the research you do?

I love listening and collaborating with people. Everyone has really interesting and impactful ideas about the future of technology, I love hearing these ideas and providing a platform that allows these ideas to be shared.

What did you do before coming to CU ��«����Ƶ for graduate school?

Quality assurance and quality control in the pharmaceutical industry.

What are your hobbies/what do you enjoy doing outside of your academic work?

Crochet, hiking, camping, cooking and gardening.

Tell us a random fact about yourself

When I was in high school, I saw Earth Wind and Fire live in concert five times at various music festivals in Colorado and Wyoming.