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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 diversity, equity and inclusion; and Aaron Brockett, City of �鶹ӰԺ mayor.

In the days leading up to the event, we’ll feature each of the competitors. Today’s is Casey Middleton, a doctoral candidate in computer science, specializing in infectious disease modeling. Her 3MT presentation’s title is, “Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3.”

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

I use math to understand how we can control the spread of infectious diseases.

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

Computer science offers a flexible program to develop many computational tools to answer scientific questions!

What is your favorite thing about the research you do?

I spend every day doing work that can create a world with less sickness and death.

What did you do before coming to CU �鶹ӰԺ for graduate school?

Housing policy analyst, Zumba teacher, pharmacy technician, high school geometry teacher.

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

I love rock climbing, trail running, downhill and backcountry skiing, embroidery, and sewing!

Tell us a random fact about yourself

I can doggy paddle super fast.