Among the state鈥檚 four winners of this year鈥檚 Governor鈥檚 Award for High-Impact Research are the and the physics institute, both at CU 麻豆影院. The award, administered by the CO-LABS consortium, celebrates the groundbreaking work of scientists and engineers from Colorado鈥檚 federal research labs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted that CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 research institutes are being recognized for their high-impact research,鈥� said Terri Fiez, CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 Vice Chancellor for Research. 鈥淛ILA and LASP are exceptional in their pursuit of innovations that can transform the lives of people across Colorado and the world.鈥�
LASP听won in the category of Earth Systems and Space Sciences for its research on space weather. 听LASP Director Dan Baker led LASP scientists and engineers in the research, which can lead to future mitigation of damage of space and ground-based technological systems caused by severe space weather events.
鈥淚 am honored on behalf of all the great people at LASP doing space research to accept this recognition from CO-LABS and Governor Hickenlooper,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淚t is gratifying to study themes that are both fascinating from a basic scientific point of view and also highly relevant for societal needs.鈥�
JILA won in the category of Foundational Science and Technology. Scientists Cindy Regal and Konrad Lehnert led the JILA Quantum Machine Team, which was awarded for work on an electrical to optical converter, needed when superfast quantum computing becomes widespread. Fiber-optic networks will still carry information, but quantum computers will emit electrical signals, and these two signals don't communicate鈥撯�搚et.
"We are thrilled to have the governor's recognition of the Quantum Machine Team,鈥� said JILA chair Dana Anderson. 鈥淏uilding on more than 50 years of Colorado-federal joint research and training, JILA is proud to witness quantum technology having a rapidly growing impact on the economy of Colorado and the nation."
In total, 12 nominations from Colorado鈥檚 federal laboratories were reviewed by a CO-LABS panel of 10 researchers from Colorado鈥檚 research universities and professional scientific community. CO-LABS is a nonprofit partnership among federal research labs, research 听universities, businesses and economic development organizations that informs the public about breakthroughs and impacts from the 24 federal labs in Colorado.
Other award recipients for work in public health, life sciences and sustainability include representatives from the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention, Vector-Borne Disease Division and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory.
JILA is a joint physics institute between CU-麻豆影院 and the National Institute of Standards and Technology that fosters creative collaborations among its scientists.
LASP is a full-cycle space research institute, combining all aspects of space exploration through expertise in science, engineering, mission operations, data management and education. It employs 77 doctoral-level scientists ranging in fields from solar influences, to Earth's and other planetary atmospherics processes, space weather, space plasma and dusty plasma physics. In addition, more than 135 CU 麻豆影院 undergraduate and graduate students work at LASP.
The two groups will be recognized at an awards presentation to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The event will be hosted by CO-LABS and presented by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy. Those wishing to attend the event should register at .
For its听involvement in space weather research, which can have听many and varied impacts听on technological systems, LASP will receive one of this year's governor's awards for high-impact research.听(Image: NASA)
For their work on an electrical to optical converter to further quantum computing, Cindy Regal, left, and Konrad Lehnert, right, will receive one of this year's governor's awards for high-impact research. (Photo courtesy of JILA.)
