Research & Creative Work 2017-18

Our research enterprise has again attracted record external research funding鈥攎ore than $511 million this year鈥攁 fitting indication of the impact our campus is having on the wider world.听

Thousands of campus contributors鈥攆aculty, researchers, staff, postdocs and undergraduate and graduate students鈥攑lay crucial roles in the university鈥檚 impact. Add in the contributions of our many collaborators, including partners in industry and federal labs, government, the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the local community and others, and you have something special that can happen only in 麻豆影院.听

Grand Challenge: Solar storm chasers

Mass media representations of space weather鈥攙ariable conditions in space that can affect the technological systems modern society depends on鈥攐ften evoke visions of catastrophic power grid failures and global chaos.听The result can be gripping film or literature but, while such worst-case scenarios are possible, they can distort our understanding of space weather鈥檚 more frequent and broader effects.听

Female student holding up soft, flexible device

Flexing some muscle

Clunky, metallic droids like C-3PO? Old news. CU 麻豆影院 engineers have created a new class of soft, flexible robots that rival biological muscles, pointing the way to the future of prosthetics, automation and other human-robot interactions.

The innovation campus: a tipping point for CU 麻豆影院

At this year鈥檚 New Venture Challenge, a rowdy annual CU 麻豆影院 startup competition at the 麻豆影院 Theater, well-known entrepreneur and venture capitalist Brad Feld witnessed a transformative moment for the campus.

Caught in the middle: Taking art to Korea's demilitarized zone

In mid-June, as he had done so many times before, George Rivera packed more than a hundred pieces of art into a suitcase and boarded a plane bound for a place where rifles can seem more common than paintbrushes.

Vet and researcher with dog and owner walking in background

Wagging tails signal good news for chronic pain therapy

When Shane the therapy dog was hit by a Jeep, life changed for him and his guardian, Taryn Sargent.听Today, Shane has dramatically reduced pain and dependency on medications, and is bounding around like a puppy again, 18 months after receiving a single injection of an experimental gene therapy.

Agricultural landscape and windfarm at sunset

Drought forecast app at home on the range

Each year, ranchers in Colorado and the Mountain West face difficult decisions regarding drought.听This year, scientists set out to get a better understanding of how ranchers actually use climate information to make crucial choices that could make or break their agricultural futures.听

Overhead view of flooding in a community from behind rescue workers inside a helicopter

Social media shakes up disaster communications

As Hurricane Harvey bore down on Houston in August 2017, the Twitterverse lit up with satellite images warning of danger and 140-character exchanges between worried residents.听For those in Harvey鈥檚 path, the tweets provided information, comfort and sometimes confusion. For Leysia Palen, they provided data points.

Innovation means:

We asked the inaugural cohort of Research & Innovation Office Faculty Fellows听what effects they expect from innovations in their fields.

What innovation means to the RIO Faculty Fellows

Research Funding Highlights FY 17-18

$369M

Federal Agencies

$71M

International, nonprofits and other

$36M

Other universities

$30M

Industry

$5M

State of Colorado

Full research funding highlights

Innovate + Research

Flexing some muscle

Rising tides sink property values

Scientists are spying on your tweets. Is it ethical?

The innovation campus: a tipping point for CU 麻豆影院

Postdoctoral researcher Wouter Hoogkamer with a prototype of the 4%.

The world's fastest shoe?

Discover + Space

Black holes feast on stars

Burping black holes

Grand Challenge: Solar storm chasers

How dust bunnies grow up to be planets

Space mystery solved

Together, every drone achieves more

Imagine + Creative

Caught in the middle: Taking art to Korea's demilitarized zone

Kids in costume acting out a performance about the climate

Creative solutions for climate concerns

History comes alive through art

Researcher and colleagues in African garb with musical instrument

Music a key player in global health?

Dimitri Nakassis examining and photographing the pylos tablet

Using technology to read ancient tablets

Cultivate + Health

A loving touch can relieve pain

Researcher and children smiling at light table

Bright lights mean late nights for preschoolers

Buffs lead concussion research collaboration

Growing up with pets and dust

Wagging tails signal good news for chronic pain therapy

Sustain + Tomorrow

Ruins of an ancient structure in a jungle

Archaeology reimagined

Drought forecast app at home on the range

Initiative saves energy, frees up dollars for research

Blacked out containers like those used for shampoos, lotions and similar household products

Personal pollutants

Smoke on the water

Social media shakes up disaster communications

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