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The 2024 Three Minute Thesis final competition will be held Feb. 7, 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 ten graduate students will be wrestling with as part of the Graduate School’s seventh annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which will be held in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom on Feb. 7, 2024, 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, including College of Arts and Sciences Dean Glen Krutz, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Associate Dean Charles Musgraves, Professor of Sociology Lori Hunter, and Physics Professor and Nobel Laureate Eric Cornell.

In the days leading up to the event, we’ll be featuring each of the competitors. Today’s is Ruhan Yang, a doctoral candidate in the ATLAS Institute who focuses on human-computer interaction. Her 3MT presentation’s title is, “cubo: Paper Modular Robot You Can Build at Home.”

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

I make making easier.

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

My advisor showed me that doing research can be fun.

What is your favorite thing about the research you do?

Make everything out of paper, with other people in our lab.

What is your favorite food and why?

Szechuan hot pot. It's from my hometown.

Tell us a random fact about yourself

I really like fire hydrants, they are cute. But the pipes they have in the ground are extremely tall, and I didn't like them as much once I learned that.