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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 Heather Kenny-Duddela, a doctoral candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology, specializing in the behavioral ecology of birds. Her 3MT presentation’s title is, “Feathered Flings: The Dating Lives of Barn Swallows.”

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

I seek to understand how movement behavior and social interactions contribute to the process of mate choice in barn swallows.

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

I enjoy being outside and observing animals in their natural habitats. I think it is fascinating to try and understand the lives and behaviors of animals. I became interested in birds after taking an ornithology class in undergrad, and I enjoy the process of studying wild birds, working together with a research team, and discovering new information about how the world works.

What is your favorite thing about the research you do?

I love getting to handle barn swallows and see them up close. This type of interaction gives me so much appreciation for wildlife and motivates me to help protect wild birds.

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

I received a Master's degree in Biology from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where I studied the response of bluebirds to experimental traffic noise. Before starting my graduate studies, I held several research positions including as the lab manager of a frog research lab in Washington state, and a post-bac researcher at the Archbold Biological Station in central Florida.

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

Outside of work, I enjoy playing Ultimate Frisbee, doing Zumba and salsa dancing, and hiking. I also like reading fantasy and sci-fi novels.

Tell us a random fact about yourself

My husband is from south India and his first language is Telugu. I'm working on learning Telugu so that I can speak with his mom and other relatives who still live in India.