Meet 3MT Finalist Yorick Andeweg
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 registration is required.
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 CU 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 Yorick Andeweg, a doctoral candidate in physics, who researches atomic clocks. His 3MT presentation's title is, "From Pendulums to Atoms: How to Keep Clocks Ticking Without Disturbing Them."
If you had to describe your research in one sentence, what would you say?
I come up with techniques to improve the precision of atomic clocks.
What do you feel is the significance of your research to the every day audience?
Behind the scenes, atomic clocks are critical for all sorts of infrastructure that we all rely on! The most obvious example is that all of our cell phones and computers always display the correct time because they sync up with the United States' official atomic clock, which operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology right here in Boulder. Smaller field-deployable atomic clocks, like the kind I work on, are used in a variety of other systems, including GPS satellites, the power grid, and financial exchanges. If you have charged your phone, used a navigation app, or bought stocks for a retirement account, you have benefited from atomic clocks!
What led you to pursue your doctoral degree in your field of study?
Growing up, I have always loved playing with construction toys like Lego's and K'nex. Building an atomic clock is not so different—my toys are just more expensive now.
What is your favorite thing about the research you do?
The thrill of seeing an exciting new result for the first time. It has only happened a few times during my four years of research so far, but it makes all the other time spent in the lab worth it.
What is your favorite food and why?
Chicken parmesan with spaghetti. Carbs, sauce, cheese and fried chicken—what more could you want?
Tell us a random fact about yourself
I have grapheme-color synesthesia, which means that I associate each letter of the alphabet with an specific, unchanging color. It helps me parse equations and remember acronyms, unless there are too many R's, N's and D's—they're all the same shade of green!