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The 2026 Three Minute Thesis final competition will be held Jan. 29, 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 ninth annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which will be held in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom on Jan. 29, 2026, from 4 to 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but .

This event challenges each student to explain their thesis to the general public. They are then evaluated by a panel of judges, which this year include Lori Bergen, dean of the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information; Sammy Ramsey or "Dr. Sammy," an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, a science communicator, and an international 3MT winner; Leopold Beuken, an assistant teaching professor in robotics and a former ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder 3MT finalist; and Aaron Brockett, the City of Boulder mayor.

In the days leading up to the event, we’ll feature each of the competitors. Today’s is James Cannon, a doctoral candidate in aerospace engineering sciences, who researches very low frequency (VLF) remote sensing of the ionosphere, or the ionization part of Earth's upper atmosphere. His 3MT presentation's title is, "Measuring Electron Puddles in our Atmosphere."

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

I bounce radio waves off the upper atmosphere to figure out where there are higher concentrations of electrons that come from space storm.Ìý

What do you feel is the significance of your research to the every day audience?

Fundamentally my research is crucial to advancing global climate models and predicting the effect to our ozone layer by solar and geomagnetic storms. While the Northern Lights are the most visible impact of these storms, the long-lasting effects on the ozone layer will contribute to our globally changing climate and is currently poorly understood.

What did you do before coming to ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder for graduate school?

I came to grad school immediately after undergrad in St. Paul, Minnesota. Undergrad at Macalester was a whirlwind of experiences, most notably I both co-founded the high-power rocketry club and performed on the main stage in Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard."Ìý

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

The combination of being able to tease at incredibly complex problems and to teach others about these problems made a doctorate program incredibly enticing.Ìý

What is your favorite thing about the research you do?

I love how I have been able to see the full life-cycle of this project from building instruments, to deploying those same instruments into the field, all the way now to data analysis and theoretical work.

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

I wish I had time for all the things I enjoy outside of work! I'm a rock climber, hiker and baker. I enjoy reading sci-fi and fantasy, playing role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, and love both board and video games. Most of all, I enjoy spending time with my wife Kaitlin, and our two cats Bear and Bun.Ìý

Tell us a random fact about yourself

I used to be able to do a really accurate Irish accent. Ten years ago, for a play, we all worked with a dialect coach to do Irish accents and I took to it more than most of my cast mates. For years, my party trick has been to either juggle or slip seamlessly into an Irish accent. (It's not nearly as good as it used to be.)