Ten Core Facilities Assistance Grants totaling $200,000 have been awarded to 14 new core facility-led projects for the 2023 cycle. Stop by the Shared Instrumentation Network’s open house and local industry fair on Tuesday, June 6.

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Join a letter writing campaign to build awareness about the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

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anytime from Jan. 21-24, 2021. Then join BETC online at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 24, for a conversation with the playwrights and scientists. 

. All registrants will receive the streaming link when it becomes available on Jan. 21 and can opt in to receive the Zoom link for the Sunday event. 

Stages remain quiet these days, seats sit unfilled and curtains gather dust as the COVID-19 pandemic has put theater on pause around the world. But this weekend, four new short, science-based plays debut online about everything from pikas and tsunamis to cannibalism. 

Available to view online starting today, are the result of four CU �鶹ӰԺ scientists partnering with four playwrights from Colorado to write and produce four fictitious, 10-minute plays, followed by four short talks by the scientists who inspired their work. The production is the result of a collaboration between the (BETC) and the (CIRES), with support from CU �鶹ӰԺ’s Nature, Environment, Science & Technology (NEST) Studio for the Arts. 

“There are so many artists who are interested in environmental work and climate change issues, that it's really a fruitful area for artistic exploration,” said , associate producer at BETC and coordinator of Science Shorts. 

Local professional actors take on the characters in these play readings over Zoom, since the plays could not be performed for live audiences as originally envisioned due to the pandemic. While it’s not a weekend of live performances, Beasley is excited that more people have the chance to see the production through its online format. And, because the plays are recorded, they have the potential to be used in classrooms as educational tools. 

Science in the screenplay 

From top to bottom, left to right: Participating scientists Atreyee Bhattacharya, Ted Scambos, Neesha Schnepf and Ashley Whipple. (Credit: Atreyee Bhattacharya, Ted Scambos/CIRES, Neesha Schnepf/CIRES and Ashley Whipple) 

Participating scientists Atreyee Bhattacharya, , and were matched with playwrights Kenya Fashaw, Ellen Graham, Nigel Knutzen and Lia Romeo to provide research-based catalysts for the plays, and to advise the playwrights throughout the process. Any science that is in the plays is accurately represented, even though it's represented within a fictional framework. 

The science represented in the plays is also quite diverse. Schnepf is a post-doctoral research associate at CIRES who studies geomagnetism, while Whipple is a research affiliate at INSTAAR who studies pikas in the Rocky Mountains. 

“To the credit of the scientists, they were willing and able to be really flexible,” said , education and outreach associate at CIRES and co-coordinator of Science Shorts. 

Scambos, an internationally known who studies Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, jumped on the chance to participate because he has always been interested in science writing for the public, as well as writing science fiction. Due to effects of global climate change, the massive, 70-mile-across Thwaites Glacier is slowly flowing into the sea like stretched saltwater taffy, and it could be responsible for a significant part of sea level rise between now and the end of the century. 

After learning this information for the first time, Scambos’ playwright partner Romeo was faced with a unique challenge. When she writes short plays, she tends to make them comedic. But what’s funny about glaciers melting? 

“The play that was written really caught me by surprise,” said Scambos. “The key is that it’s always about people, no matter what—science fiction, romance, history—it’s always about people. That’s the story.” 

The realm of the real 

From top to bottom, left to right: Playwrights Kenya Fashaw, Ellen Graham, Nigel Knutzen and Lia Romeo. (Credit: Kenya Fashaw, Ellen Graham, Nigel Knutzen and Lia Romeo) 

For Bhattacharya, working with playwright Fashaw was one of the most unique experiences of her life. It helped her see the impacts of her work on individuals, not just communities. 

Bhattacharya is currently a visiting researcher in Civil Environmental and Architectural Engineering, a research affiliate in the Center for Asian Studies, and will return this fall as a research affiliate in CIRES. She studies variations in temperature and rainfall related to climate, and the impacts of climate anomalies on human societies, particularly in semi-arid societies in the global south. Her findings help inform climate policymakers and governments about the risks to particular societies from climate variability, from conflict to migration and agriculture. 

When Bhattacharya talks to some communities about climate change and mentions that there's going to be “X centimeters” of sea level rise, that information isn’t tangible to people. That’s where Fashaw’s work comes in. 

“People don't react to data,” Bhattacharya said. “But the impacts are real. Climate scientists are not able to paint that picture for us. They need artists to paint that for us.”

Visual art, theater, documentaries and movies also allow people who are facing climate impacts to share their story, she noted. 

“I think the thing that theater does so well is that it takes stories and information from the realm of the abstract to the realm of the real,” said Romeo. “It brings a real sense of concreteness and urgency to these ideas that otherwise can feel sort of abstract and far away.”

As theater looks for ways to continue to feel relevant in a COVID-19 world, its power remains in storytelling and starting conversations, Romeo said. Even if a play isn’t about the scientific research itself, the scientists involved in Science Shorts all are keen to alert more people to their work and its relevance to their lives. 

“Anything that you can get people to kind of sit down, look at and be entertained by, they're definitely going to take away some type of awareness from it,” said Fashaw. “If you can get their attention in a very exciting way about a topic they probably would have never even thought about, I feel like you're doing your job as an artist.” 

Science Shorts is supported by CU �鶹ӰԺ’s Nature, Environment, Science & Technology (NEST) Studio for the Arts and producing partners Elizabeth Barrekette & Jonathan Steinberg. 

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Visitors to Fiske Planetarium will soon get the chance to feel like they’re walking on the sun.

Next week, the CU �鶹ӰԺ planetarium will debut two new exhibits that explore the inner workings of Earth’s favorite star. They include an installation that lets anyone stroll through a glowing archway made up of coronal “loops”—or the ribbons of blazing-hot plasma that leap from the surface of the sun and can occasionally send solar flares hurtling toward Earth. 

   If you go

Who: Free and open to the public
What: Collaboration Showcase, featuring exhibits and screening of Climate Change in Our Backyard
When: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 5–6 p.m.
Where: Fiske Planetarium

The exhibits, which incorporate animations and a lot of LED lights, are the brainchildren of CU �鶹ӰԺ graduate and undergraduate students who worked together across a wide range of fields. 

“It was a really great experience to meet people from so many backgrounds,” said Minso Kim, a PhD student in the Department of Critical Media Practices who took part in that effort. “Everyone was so enthusiastic to share their talents.”

While the exhibits are already up and ready to view, they’ll get their official launch at an event open to the public on Feb. 4 from 5–6 p.m. Collaborators on the effort included CU �鶹ӰԺ’s ATLAS Institute and the National Solar Observatory in �鶹ӰԺ.

That debut will coincide with the first-ever screening of a second project from Fiske: a full-dome film called Climate Change in Our Backyard. This roughly 20-minute feature probes the science behind climate change, its impacts close to home and strategies for addressing those threats. The film was produced in collaboration with students and faculty from the (INSTAAR) and the departments of Geography, Geological Sciences and Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences. 

Both projects were funded by the CU �鶹ӰԺ Outreach Awards, which help connect research, teaching and creative work with communities in Colorado and beyond.

“These installations are compelling in a different way than a lot of other science exhibits because they really combine science and art,” said Briana Ingermann, the education programs manager for Fiske. “I hope that they will inspire visitors to look up information on solar flares and much more.”

Top: This hanging cube uses LED lights to give visitors a look at the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights; bottom: The "Solar Arcade" helps visitors to explore the connection between the sun's magnetic fields and potentially dangerous solar flares. (Credits: Briana Ingermann)

Blinking lights

They’re also the products of years of hard work.

The first of the new solar installations, for example, hangs from the ceiling in Fiske’s lobby. It’s a cube made up of 4,100 LED lights that were soldered together with help from SparkFun Electronics. This company, which is based in Colorado, was founded by CU �鶹ӰԺ alumnus Nathan Seidle. 

It’s a colorful lesson in physics: Watch the cube long enough, and you can see colorful flares erupt from the surface of the sun, then go crashing into Earth’s magnetic field. 

“This is an epic project,” said John Keller, director of the Fiske Planetarium.

Keller explained that the idea of the cube first emerged out of a one-of-a-kind class held in spring 2019. The course, called “Studio: Design an Immersive Science Exhibit,” included instructors Keller and Ingermann from Fiske, Mark Gross, Annie Bruns and Wayne Seltzer from ATLAS and Claire Raftery from the National Solar Observatory.

It brought together 20 undergraduate students from several disciplines and set them on an unusual charge—to come up with fun ways for people of all ages to learn about the sun. 

Graduate student Kim was one of the team members who worked on the second of those exhibits, an installation dubbed the Solar Arcade. She said her group wanted the project to dive into the strange behavior of the sun’s contorting magnetic fields. 

And what better way to do that than to let visitors walk among those field lines on the surface of the sun itself?

“I’m interested in making people feel like they’re somewhere else,” Kim said. “That can mean giving people the chance to be in an impossible place.”

Sharing ideas

You can’t miss the group's own impossible place in the middle of Fiske’s lobby. It’s the exhibit that looks a bit like a dance rave version of a garden walkway.

Kim added that the final product couldn’t have come together without the work of the whole team, which included five students studying everything from communications to computer science.

Keller agreed, noting that the new installations are proof of what students can do when they work together.

“I was most impressed with the level of collaboration and idea-sharing from the members of the class,” Keller said. “It was a cross-pollination of ideas that was so much richer than anything we imagined.”

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CU �鶹ӰԺ will host the first field hearing of a special congressional committee on climate change on Thursday, Aug. 1. 

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., whose district includes �鶹ӰԺ, made the this week, calling the region the “epicenter for climate change research, home to both renowned research facilities at the �鶹ӰԺ” and other institutions around the state. 

The Committee is coming to Colorado for their first congressional field hearing!

I'm excited to show & committee members the incredible scientists, labs & epicenter of climate research here in our district

— Rep. Joe Neguse (@RepJoeNeguse)

The will discuss clean energy transition. Committee Chair Kathy Castor, D-Fla., committee members and Congressman Neguse also plan to visit with officials in �鶹ӰԺ.  The hearing is open to the public; more details will be forthcoming. 

CU �鶹ӰԺ experts are regularly asked to testify before Congressional committees regarding environmental research. The university is a top university for National Science Foundation funding, consistently ranked top in the world for geosciences, and maintains a high commitment to sustainability through multiple programs and initiatives. It’s also home to several research hubs, such as the , Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, , and . The Front Range is home to the ; ; one of 's five global research hubs; and in Golden, one of the country's leading centers for research in wind, solar and energy efficiency.

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Applications are now open for the first annual event, which will offer grad students and post-docs in scientific fields the chance to learn science communication best practices from industry professionals and faculty mentors. The event is scheduled to take place Sept. 23-24, 2017 on the CU �鶹ӰԺ campus.

Participants will network with and learn from professional science communicators — including science journalists, writers, researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers — and work closely with these experts to construe the perfect elevator pitch, deliver a winning interview, write an original piece for a popular science outlet and more. This workshop will also feature panels discussions on communicating science through writing and multimedia, industry and policy and advocacy as well as diversity and inclusion and community engagement. Participants will walk away with insight on how to utilize best practices in science communication throughout their careers, regardless of career path.

The two-day workshop will feature a write-a-thon (in which attendees prepare a piece of sciece writing and then work with experts to hone and publish it); a career networking event at Fiske planetarium; interviewing and public speaking workshops; pitch practice ("elevator speeches"); and panel discussions hosted by leading media industry experts.

This regional event is open to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers affliated with any Colorado college or university, the University of Montana or the University of Wyoming. The workshop is free of charge. Travel will be covered for accepted applicants from out-of-state schools. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. Mountain time on June 1, 2017.

For more information, .

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Scott Eustis (left), Shannon Dosemagen and Jeff Warren were part of the Public Lab response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, using low-cost cameras, kites and balloons to document the BP oil spill. Photo: Nathan Dappen/Crowd & Cloud.

Enabled by smartphones, computers and mobile technology, regular people are observing their environments, monitoring neighborhoods and collecting information about the world and the things they care about. These so-called “citizen scientists” are the focus of "," a four-part public television series premiering in April hosted by Waleed Abdalati, director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences () at CU �鶹ӰԺ. 

What: Sneak peek of "The Crowd and the Cloud," hosted by CU �鶹ӰԺ’s Waleed Abdalati, producer Geoff Haines-Stiles, executive producer Erna Akuginow and a panel of citizen science leaders from across Colorado.

Where: Old Main Chapel at 1600 Pleasant Street

When: Tuesday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: Free, but required. . 

Live webinar: .

Families welcome. Non-alcoholic refreshments will follow in the CIRES Atrium. This free event is supported by the CU �鶹ӰԺ .

Abdalati, the former Chief Scientist of NASA, traveled around the country during the past few years, to learn about SmartFin, which turns surfers into ocean scientists, to meet weather watchers who provide life-saving data to forecasters, and to bring the citizen science experience to life in this series.

“My background as a scientist has shown me the value of the big-picture perspective you get from looking at Earth from space,” said Abdalati. “By diving into the projects we’ve covered in 'The Crowd and the Cloud,' I’ve learned how the up-close-and-personal perspective, people collaborating and sharing data via the cloud, is an excellent way to gather the information we need to help solve the challenges we all face.”

The series has been more than three years in the making, funded by the National Science Foundation and written and produced by , the award-winning senior producer and series director of Carl Sagan’s classic COSMOS series. 

In "The Crowd and the Cloud," Haines-Stiles and Abdalati take viewers on a global tour of citizen science projects and people on the front lines of this disruptive transformation of how science is done. The series shows how citizen scientists are helping professional scientists advance knowledge, speeding up new discoveries and innovations in public health, environmental science, wildlife conservation and more. And it deals with emerging challenges, too, such as questions about data quality and privacy.

"The Crowd and the Cloud" also encourages viewers to become involved, engaging through social media and by offering a set of to help viewers become doers.

“I loved talking with people about these projects, because they are so passionate and making such a difference,,” Abdalati said. “The fervor out there, the enthusiasm to better understand their world, from our brains to the health of our oceans…really impressed me.”

"The Crowd and the Cloud" will be distributed by American Public Television and premieres on the World Channel on Thursday, April 6, at 9 p.m. EDT. Live Facebook appearances after each show will let viewers continue the conversation with Haines-Stiles, Abdalati and other viewers.

For updated information about how to watch, .

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBV0HiHFt9Y]

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British Consul in Chicago, Stephen Bridges

Part of a weeklong public event in Denver known as “Great Britain House,” designed to promote and strengthen ties between the United Kingdom and the state of Colorado, British Consul General Stephen Bridges will give a keynote speech at CU �鶹ӰԺ at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, at the .

The relationship-promoting Great Britain House event is designed to highlight business, politics, policy, culture and academic ties. Bridges’ speech on campus, “Britain’s Place in the World,” which is free and open to the public, will highlight the British economy, foreign policy and the country’s relationship with the United States. Bridges is expected to address the issue of Brexit during the talk.

“We are very pleased to host Consul General Bridges on campus – it demonstrates the strength of CU �鶹ӰԺ’s relationship with Great Britain,” said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Strategic Initiatives Lawrence Bell. “Over the years many of our students, faculty and staff have been engaged in exchange programs and other academic endeavors with Great Britain, partnerships we expect to continue far into the future.”

There currently are 38 students from Great Britain on the CU �鶹ӰԺ campus, part of five active exchanges with universities there, said Bell. CU �鶹ӰԺ also has 22 visiting scholars from Great Britain, all non-students on visas engaged in research and teaching. One of the longest-standing exchanges is with Lancaster University in Lancashire, England, which began with CU �鶹ӰԺ more than 40 years ago, said Bell.

“The United Kingdom has a special relationship with Colorado that spans business, political, academic and research ties, and we are hosting the Great Britain House in Denver to celebrate and strengthen these important connections,” said Erin Kuhn, Consul for Government and Prosperity Affairs at the U.K. office in Denver. “As part of this week of events, we look forward to joining the CU �鶹ӰԺ community to discuss the U.K.’s economic and foreign policy priorities for 2017 and beyond.”

What: “Britain’s Place in the World”

When: 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 14

Where:

Bridges has been Consul General in Chicago since August 2013. Before that he was in London assigned to human resource and workforce issues for the Commonwealth Office. He also has worked in the private sector with renewable energy and natural resources companies. The Consul General in Chicago oversees British consulates in 13 Midwest states.

In his 30-year career as a diplomat, Bridges has served the U.K. government in both Africa and Asia, including a post as the British ambassador to Cambodia from 2001-04. He also was acting and deputy high commissioner, consul general and trade and investment director to Bangladesh from 2005-07.

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