Meet 3MT Finalist Ben Hammel
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 Ben Hammel, a doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering who researches electron microscopy of nanomaterials. His 3MT presentation's title is, "Looking at Nanocrystals."
If you had to describe your research in one sentence, what would you say?
I use a powerful microscope to take pictures of tiny crystals.
What do you feel is the significance of your research to the every day audience?
I study tiny crystals which emit colorful light, which is already used in the latest generation televisions to make them brighter and vibrant. But more than that, I think these tiny crystals might enable new types of quantum computers or allow us to efficiently harvest sunlight to make electricity and fuels.
What did you do before coming to CU Boulder for graduate school?
Drove from Albuquerque to the Outer Banks.
What led you to pursue your doctoral degree in your field of study?
I love building things with atoms and molecules and want to do that to make a positive difference in the world.
What is your favorite thing about the research you do?
Definitely collaborating with other researchers. My collaborators send me gorgeous nanocrystals. Of course, nanocrystals are so small that you really can only see them with an electron microscope. So I might be the first person to see what they look like. The best part is when I get to share my images and see how delighted my collaborators are by the data.
What is your favorite food and why?
Chile rellenos: Hatch green chile, melted cheese and it's fried. What more could you want?
Tell us a random fact about yourself
My middle name is Franklin. So my name is actually Benjamin Franklin.