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Anchored in Excellence: From CU to the High Seas

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:52:09 +0000

Anchored in Excellence: From CU to the High Seas Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:52

Erika Hanes

Admiral Stephen T. “Web” Koehler (Phys’86) has dedicated his life to the U.S. Navy. Inspired by his father’s career as a Navy pilot, Koehler began his own career in naval aviation upon graduating from CU, where he was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC). After nearly 40 years as a naval aviator, he assumed command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in April 2024.

How did your education at CU Boulder prepare you for a career in the Navy?

My studies in physics made me a more competitive recruit when I joined the CU Navy ROTC. This was especially beneficial when I attended the Navy’s Nuclear Power School later in my career, ultimately enabling me to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

What leadership principles do you prioritize when commanding a team, both in combat and in peacetime?

Whether in war or peace, operating well requires every individual to maintain a constant pursuit of excellence and a mastery of their area of expertise. A highly skilled team is able to make the extremely difficult look routine. Cooperation and teamwork are non-negotiable standards in any mission.

Reflecting on your roles in major operations, such as Operation Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom, what do you want the next generation of military leaders to know?

Every generation of leaders faces new challenges. Our success, however, depends on compassion, care, standards and true leadership of those who work for and with you. Only with a shared understanding of service and a common purpose will you succeed as a team.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for the U.S. Navy in the coming years?

Since the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy has preserved and promoted a rules-based international order with relative peace and prosperity. In the years ahead, we must continue to strengthen our ability to maintain this peace and prosperity with cutting-edge technologies, the innovation of our warfighters, and enduring coordination with our allies and partners — and we always do so with honor, courage and commitment.

Can you share your favorite memory from your time at CU Boulder?

It is hard to pick a single memory. It varies from hiking and climbing in Chautauqua Park and Eldorado Canyon to the CU football win over Nebraska in the fall of 1986. I still remember that win, because there is nothing like the taste of victory.

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Photo by Christopher Sypert

Admiral Stephen T. “Web” Koehler (Phys’86) shares his journey from CU to the high seas, highlighting the Navy’s enduring values of honor, courage and commitment.

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Breaking the News: A Journalist's Perspective

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:50:53 +0000

Breaking the News: A Journalist's Perspective Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:50

Cynthia Barnes

In 2022, Allison Sandza (Jour’09) became the executive producer for the CBS News Streaming Network’s coverage for Washington, D.C. She has also served as a senior producer for Meet the Press, the longest-running show in television history, after stints at PBS and CNN. Born and raised in the capital city, Sandza is committed to reaching an audience that increasingly turns to digital devices for their news.

What led you to journalism?

I grew up in a news household: My parents met in a newsroom before my mom became a lawyer. I grew up with framed newspapers on the walls. So, to say politics and news is in my blood is probably an understatement. It is what I was meant to do.

How do you see streaming platforms evolving for political news coverage, especially in this election cycle?

We are the live and breaking news arm of CBS News. We rush toward the stories, and in this news cycle — especially this political news cycle — it’s just faster than ever.

How did your time at CU and in Boulder affect what you’re doing now and what’s happened in your career?

In my last semester at CU, I took what ended up being my all-time favorite class: a media ethics course. I still think about that class. Every day, every single day, I think, “Is this fair? Is this sourced enough?”

We try to make sure that we are explaining the context and analysis of the whole picture, all while it’s happening in real time. I learned those nuts and bolts in journalism school at CU.

How do you balance breaking timely political coverage with the desire for, as you said, more nuanced, in-depth reporting on complex issues?

Every day, it’s a conversation and an internal struggle. I do think CBS News is unique in that it’s a place that’s known for taking a beat, for taking context into account with every story. It’s the home of 60 Minutes. It’s the home of in-depth reporting and analysis. So I think we’re very careful — we admit in real time when we still don’t know something. That is really the only way to operate. And I think it’s authentic, which audiences now crave.

Any final thoughts?

It’s a privilege to be able to cover this election, to be able to really write this first draft of history. That’s such a journalism cliché, but I think it’s a cliché for a reason.

Editor’s note: This interview was conducted prior to the November 5 election.

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Photo by Hugo Ross/ CBS

In 2022, Allison Sandza (Jour’09) became the executive producer for the CBS News Streaming Network's coverage for Washington, D.C. Here's why she's committed to reaching an audience that increasingly turns to digital devices for their news.

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Mining the Moon: A New Era of Commercial Space Exploration

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:49:47 +0000

Mining the Moon: A New Era of Commercial Space Exploration Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:49

Kelsey Yandura

Elizabeth Frank (PhDGeol’14) is helping pave the way for a new era of space exploration and commerce as the chief scientist at Interlune, a Seattle-based startup aiming to become the first private company to harvest the Moon’s natural resources, namely the stable isotope helium-3.

This useful gas, while rare on Earth, is abundant on the Moon and sought after for its uses in medical imaging, nuclear fusion research, quantum computing and more. For the extraction and transportation of the isotope, Interlune plans to build a lunar harvester that the company would fly via spacecraft to the Moon.

What is the vision in terms of the future of space mining and space commerce?

We are trying to find novel ways to leverage the commercial space sector for planetary exploration. What makes people excited about Interlune is that even though we have this vision that seems kind of sci-fi, we have actual customers on Earth in areas like quantum computing, medical imaging and national security. There is an actual demand.

Your PhD was in planetary geochemistry at CU. What led you to Boulder?

There’s an incredible space community in Boulder — a lot of interdisciplinary work among CU departments and organizations like LASP and the Southwest Research Institute. When I was touring CU, I was handed a list of planetary scientists in Boulder that was upwards of 50 people. I thought, “Oh my gosh, there’s just so much going on.”

Your work seems to challenge the idea that industries exist in a silo. Can you talk more about your multidisciplinary approach?

When you’re a PhD student, you are expected to be a specialist. But I don’t actually identify anymore as a specialist. I’m a generalist — I have a PhD in planetary geochemistry, but I’ve also worked in spacecraft engineering, mining consulting, business development and more. To move humanity forward, you need people like me to stitch the specialists’ work together in new and exciting ways.

What topics in the field have been piquing your interest these days?

Ethics and sustainability are really top of mind. The mining industry has a long legacy of harming both people and the environment. I think that we can learn from the mistakes of the past. We want to be intentional and thoughtful about how we use technology and extract space resources for human use.

Any thoughts or advice for recent graduates?

I think PhD students and graduates should know that just because you got your degree in one topic, doesn’t mean you have to stay in that field. You can redirect your career in unexpected and exciting ways. Stay open to opportunities and take them — you never know where they’ll lead you.

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Photo courtesy Elizabeth Frank

Elizabeth Frank (PhDGeol’14) is helping pave the way for a new era of space exploration and commerce as the chief scientist at Interlune, a Seattle-based startup aiming to become the first private company to harvest the Moon’s natural resources.

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Welcoming the Wolf to Colorado’s Western Slope

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:48:21 +0000

Welcoming the Wolf to Colorado’s Western Slope Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:48

Dan Oberhaus

On a cold morning in December 2023, Joanna Lambert found herself surrounded by five gray wolves on Colorado’s Western Slope. For most people, this sounds like the stuff of nightmares. But for Lambert, a professor who teaches animal ecology and conservation biology at CU Boulder, it was a dream come true.

“I was so close to the wolves, I could smell and hear them,” Lambert said. “The whole experience was just extraordinary.”

For the first time in over 75 years, gray wolves were about to set foot on Colorado soil, marking the first time an endangered and federally protected species was reintroduced to its native habitat by a democratic vote. And this historic occasion was due in no small part to Lambert’s tireless — and often thankless — work advocating for this misunderstood apex predator.

The “Big Bad Wolf”

Lambert was elated as she watched the wolves bound across the snow-dusted field. But as the last wolf disappeared into the Coloradan wilderness, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety. After a decades-long career studying and advocating for endangered species worldwide, Lambert knew that releasing these wolves into the Rockies was just the beginning. The true test would be whether humans could learn how to co-exist with the wolves — and she had every reason to be worried.

Prior to the arrival of European settlers, North America was home to millions of gray wolves whose habitats stretched from modern Mexico into the Canadian north. The largest of any dog species — technically known as Canis lupus — gray wolves were despised by settlers, who viewed them as a threat to their livestock, big game, and personal safety.

“Western settlers brought all these myths and legends about the ’big bad wolf,’” said Lambert. “There’s something about gray wolves that evokes more fear, dread and loathing than any other species I have ever worked with.”

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, settlers systematically tried to exterminate gray wolves in the region. Their programs were devastatingly effective, and by the time gray wolves were officially listed as an endangered species in the mid-1970s, only a few hundred breeding pairs remained in the lower United States.

A vote decides

When Lambert arrived at CU in 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had recently delisted gray wolves as an endangered species in the Northern Rockies. This sparked controversy among conservationists, who argued that gray wolf populations were nowhere near the levels needed to justify delisting.

“Colorado is arguably the best place in the U.S. to reintroduce gray wolves,” Lambert said. “We have around 20 million acres of protected public lands, the most abundant elk population anywhere in the country, and a prime location to enable full latitudinal distribution.”

The lack of government support particularly troubled Mike Phillips, director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund, who was previously a state senator of Montana and former biologist with the National Park Service. When Lambert arrived in Boulder, Phillips was cooking up a plan to put the reintroduction of gray wolves in Colorado to a state vote.

Lambert jumped on board and spent the next five years working with a political campaign team of scientists, nonprofit partners, pollsters, lawyers and citizen volunteers known as the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project (RMWP). By 2019, RMWP had enough signatures to get the initiative on the 2020 General Election ballot. Along with several RMWP colleagues, Lambert herself delivered those signatures to Colorado’s secretary of state.

She was also a spokesperson for the campaign. “Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be in television ads for a political campaign,” reflected Lambert. “I’m happiest in wild landscapes running around after animals, and there I was in the trenches of a campaign.”

The result was Proposition 114, which was voted into law by Coloradans in 2020. Beginning in 2023, it committed the state to releasing around ten gray wolves per year for the next three to five years.

Into the wild

The initiative was a landmark moment for ecological conservation, and it passed by the narrowest of margins — 50.9% in favor. When considering why some would be opposed to the measure, Lambert says that a lot of the opposition stems from concerns about personal safety (though gray wolves almost never attack humans) and impact on livestock producers.

For Lambert, these concerns echo the fears that once nearly drove gray wolves to extinction.

“We’ve lived with wolves and other apex predators through virtually all of our evolutionary history,” said Lambert. “That’s one thing humans are very good at — we’ve got a big brain and the tools to cope. It will just take time to attenuate the inherent fear that many folks have about these predators and to relearn how to share a landscape with them.”

Today, one of Lambert’s major research initiatives is investigating the different evolutionary trajectories of gray wolves and coyotes, the closest living genetic relative to the gray wolf. Unlike gray wolves, coyotes are increasingly co-existing with humans in urban environments. The question for Lambert is why, and the answer may have a lot to teach conservationists about how to tilt the odds in favor of successfully reintroducing the gray wolf throughout the American West.

In the meantime, Lambert believes that Colorado taking the reintroduction of gray wolves into its own hands bodes well for future conservation efforts in the state and across the nation. The journey, however, could be a long and winding one. In August, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials announced that two of the gray wolves released last year — along with three of their pups — would be relocated following a spate of attacks on livestock that local ranchers blamed on wolves.

While Lambert acknowledges this was a blow, she doesn’t see the relocation as a setback and says it’s important to keep sight of the bigger picture.

She says fewer than 0.01% of cattle in the northern Rockies are attacked by gray wolves, and that cattle are far more likely to die from eating larkspur weeds or even being struck by lightning than a wolf attack. And the majority of the reintroduced wolves, she says, are not causing any problems.

“The fundamental reality is that we are living through the sixth extinction crisis and we must learn how to live with wildlife,” said Lambert. “We are turning into a state that represents an alternative way of thinking about how to manage wildlife, and this should be a source of hope for everyone.”

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Illustrations by Anuj Shrestha

After an 80-year absence, gray wolves have returned to Colorado. CU’s Joanna Lambert discusses the implications — and why she fought so hard to make it happen.

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CU Opera Songbirds Hit the High Notes

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:47:05 +0000

CU Opera Songbirds Hit the High Notes Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:47

Helen Olsson

In June, two renowned opera singers from CU were inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. Cynthia Lawrence (Mus’83; MM’87) studied music at CU and went on to share the stage with Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti more than 70 times. Keith Miller (Art’97), on the other hand, was a star football player who pivoted to opera after graduation. They have both performed stints as principal artists at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Soprano, equestrian, stunt woman

“When I heard about [the Hall of Fame induction], I couldn’t believe it,” Lawrence said. “To be recognized is beyond an honor.” But the honor is no surprise to those in the singer’s orbit. Lawrence has performed with virtually every opera company in Colorado and worldwide, from Paris to Prague, with legendary performers like Plácido Domingo and Mirella Freni.

"Cynthia has a world-class voice. People say she was kissed in the throat,” said acclaimed tenor Mark Calkins (MMus’87), who met Lawrence at CU. (They married in 1985.) “She won the Metropolitan Opera contest in 1984 at age 23 — a stunning achievement.”

Lawrence credits her success, in part, to her time at CU. “It’s a great school with great facilities. Barbara Doscher was one of the best voice teachers in the world,” said Lawrence. She also points to her background as a competitive equestrian. “If you’re nervous on horseback, that horse may dump you in the dirt,” she said. “In opera, you also have to keep your nerves underneath you. That discipline, concentration and preparation made me a better performer on stage.”

In addition to jumping horses, Lawrence credits childhood time on the trampoline with her ability to perform dramatic free-flying leaps in Puccini’s “Tosca.” Lawrence, who insisted on doing her own stunts, perfected numerous daring feats on stage. She frequently plummeted backward (into a hidden foam pit), and her most notable stunt was a 26-foot forward jump at Royal Albert Hall.

Bass-baritone, athlete, thespian

Keith Miller grew up on a beet farm in Ovid, Colorado, a town so small that its high school football team consisted of six players and there was no school choir. A football scholarship recipient and three-year starter as a fullback, Miller played opera music in the locker room and sang in the shower.

He was inspired by varsity players singing the CU fight song on the sidelines. “These guys, my idols, were singing like they were warrior poets,” he said. Not long after the 1994 Michigan game, when CU made one of the greatest comebacks in Buff history, Miller took his then-girlfriend to see “Phantom of the Opera” in Denver. “I felt the same emotion at the opera that I had during the Michigan game,” he said.

In 2001, while working out with the Denver Broncos at North Dakota State University, Miller took refuge from a snowstorm in a music practice room. “I started singing along to “Don Giovanni” — and someone knocked on the door.” He was offered a scholarship on the spot. He declined, but decided it was time to start following the music. On the way out, he saw a flier for the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Minneapolis and decided to audition. Suddenly, Miller had a dozen job offers to sing and decided to pursue singing full-time.

The next fall, Miller enrolled at the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and, after graduation in 2006, auditioned for the Met in New York. He made his debut at the opera’s opening-night gala. At the reception, he bumped into someone who remarked, “Wonderful performance,” in a familiar Scottish accent. It was Sean Connery.

Beyond the Hall of Fame

Today, the inductees are still showing off their versatility. Miller serves as founder and CEO of CedoHealth and has recently moved back to Colorado to re-engage with the Crested Butte Music Festival (CBMF). (For six years, he served as director of opera and oversaw the CBMF’s Opera Young Artists Program.) He also has his sights set on film acting. “There are things out there creatively I want to do,” he said. “My journey’s not done.”

Meanwhile, Lawrence works as the endowed chair professor for voice and opera at the University of Kentucky, where she’s teaching the next generation of opera singers. “I love teaching. When students have that ’Aha’ moment, when they finally get it — that’s the prize.”

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Illustration by Chris Buzelli

This year, CU songbirds Cynthia Lawrence (Mus’83; MM’87) and Keith Miller (Art’97) made the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

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Filming the Frontlines: Jordan Campbell’s Journey Into Ukraine

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:44:53 +0000

Filming the Frontlines: Jordan Campbell’s Journey Into Ukraine Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:44

Audrea Lin

Journalist, photographer and filmmaker Jordan Campbell (Comm’91) is no stranger to the harshness of international conflict. He has reported from South Sudan, Libya and Iraq for publications like National Geographic and Men's Journal. He also founded Ramro Global, a film production company that documents the work of global health and humanitarian initiatives.

But his latest project, an upcoming documentary titled Ukraine Under Fire, is a personal labor — the origins and experiences of which are unlike anything he’s ever undertaken.

International storytelling

After graduating from CU, Campbell started working with outdoor company Marmot as a communications director. Always one to seek out new and interesting perspectives, he befriended a few of the company’s international representatives, becoming close to his Ukrainian colleagues Iryna Karagan and Pavlo Vasianoych.

Over the course of the next decade, Campbell found himself drawn to bigger stories, fueled by his university training in storytelling, geopolitics and political science. His career segued into global journalism and film.

Still, he remained friends with Karagan and Vasianoych. And when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he quickly reached out to Karagan. Concerned, he asked if she would flee. Karagan’s answer was resolved: Not only was she staying put, she was staying “to defend our country.”

Her determination highlighted what Campbell saw as “the most incredible injustice, a David and Goliath story — of resistance, resilience and the quest for freedom, democracy and European integration.”

Documenting conflict

A month later, Campbell crossed the Polish border heading to Kiev, his camera in tow and post-apocalyptic sirens blaring. “It was a ghost town,” he remembered. In areas near Bucha that Ukrainian soldiers had just liberated from Russia, he saw evidence of violence alongside the burnt remains of tanks, buildings and cars.

He returned again that summer and embedded at a military hospital in Pokrovsk, a grisly scene of battered and injured soldiers. “It was a life-changing event,” he said. Campbell decided that the footage he shot would become part of a film, Ukraine Under Fire, that documents Russia’s invasion and Ukraine’s resilience, and includes Karagan and Vasianoych as subjects.

Between visits, Campbell spoke up about what he had seen. At the U.S. Senate Building, he presented before an audience of global politicians during the Parliamentary Intelligence Security Forum, speaking about Russia’s use of cluster bombs on civilian targets and what he believed was evidence of war crimes and genocide.

“What he’s doing by humanizing the conflict encourages people to take an interest and support the cause of the Ukrainian people,” said Dan Martinez, a retired Foreign Service Officer and Ramro Global advisory board member who facilitated Campbell’s participation.

Despite the inherent risks, Campbell continued to return to Ukraine, mitigating the dangers by following a few simple rules: “Make the best decisions you can possibly make, given where you are and who you're with,” and, “Pick the people you're going to be with very carefully.”

One such person he shadowed was Peter Fouché, a South African combat medic. During a frigid morning in early 2023, the two men patrolled a quiet hamlet near the front line, peering up at the sky for incoming drones. Fouché, burly and hardened, a Rambo-like figure cradling an AK-47, emerged from the broken shell of a little stone house. Then, he broke into tears.

“The West will be remembered for what they have done or have not done in this war,” Fouché said, staring directly into Campbell’s lens.

Capturing reality

The summer of 2023 was Campbell’s fifth visit to Ukraine — one he now describes as “disastrous.” He was with Fouché at the time, and their nerves were shot from exhaustion, PTSD and a relentless, soggy heat. He didn’t know it, but it would be the last time he’d see his friend.

As Campbell made plans to return, to embed with Fouché and his Ukrainian colleague Tatyana Millard, he learned that the two were killed near the frontlines. The duo were evacuating injured soldiers from the combat zone “like a superhero team,” Campbell said.

“That’s Peter’s essence right there,” Campbell remarked weeks after Fouché’s death, while reflecting on the footage he captured of the heroic medic and his piercing statement about the West’s role in the war. “That's the power of documentary film. It's that close.”

Campbell’s documentary, Ukraine Under Fire, is set to release in December 2024.

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Photos courtesy Oleg Avilov

In 2022, journalist, photographer and filmmaker Jordan Campbell (Comm’91) headed to Ukraine to report on the war. Now, he’s sharing his experiences in his documentary, Ukraine Under Fire.

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Major Change: Five Fresh Degrees

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:43:34 +0000

Major Change: Five Fresh Degrees Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:43

Kelsey Yandura

Did Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film boost Birkenstock sales? Does a high-fat diet increase anxiousness? How are business leaders addressing “Zoom fatigue” among employees? Can a jellyfish-inspired robot track climate change?

The questions facing industry professionals today can range from complex to straight out of a science fiction novel. To keep up with and prepare students for the ever-evolving times, academic institutions need to constantly reevaluate course content and degree offerings.

CU Boulder’s leadership strategically approaches the challenges of continuous modernization in higher education by examining both what and how students learn. This allows the university to remain on the leading edge of education while empowering students to navigate a fast-changing world.

“Our degrees don’t focus on a finite set of competencies, but on teaching students how to learn and lead,” said Katherine Eggert, vice chancellor for academic planning and assessment at CU Boulder. “What our graduates learn today may be outdated by tomorrow. They’ll need to acquire new skills quickly from the moment they start their careers.”

The university’s academic strategy is centered on equipping students with adaptable, real-world skills in programs that embrace multidisciplinary approaches, foster collaboration and generate creative solutions to complex problems.

Here are five of the latest undergraduate and graduate degree paths CU Boulder has unveiled over the past four years.

Corporate Communication (MA)

CU Boulder Online

When Kiana Junior (MCorpComm’25) graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, job prospects in her field of study were dire.

“I took the first job I could, which happened to be in the real estate industry,” said Junior. Three years later, she’s bounding ahead on a totally new path: working as a brand communicator and pursuing her master’s in corporate communication at CU, a fully online degree program introduced in 2020.

In the field of corporate communication, professionals study the way companies and organizations communicate with internal and external audiences to share information and manage brand perception.

“It’s the practice and art of distilling information with integrity and consistency,” said Junior. “Consumers and employees expect transparency and social responsibility from corporations, now more than ever — especially when it comes to social responsibility, environmental compliance and diversity.”

The curriculum is designed to be student-centric. “The students learn from a mix of university faculty and current and distinguished practitioners who are working in the field,” said Tobias Hopp, director of the program. “It’s a dynamic educational experience.”

The results speak for themselves.

“I could read something in class one day and take it to work the next day,” said Junior. “It’s directly applicable every single week.”

Business Analytics (BS)

Leeds School of Business

Businesses have access to more data than ever — but it’s what they do with this data that provides value. Streaming site subscriptions, airline loyalty memberships, coffee shop sales and nail salon customer reviews — each of these datasets can provide a wealth of information for the respective businesses.

That’s where business analytics comes in: using data to glean insights, inform strategic decisions and recommend meaningful changes within a business. This fast-growing field of study became a new undergraduate focus within the Leeds School of Business in 2022.

“It’s about critical thinking with data,” said Kai R. Larsen, professor of information systems at Leeds. “Datasets are only getting bigger. We tried to imagine what a major would look like so that students could really understand the story behind the numbers.”

Business analytics students learn how to translate and distill hard numbers into helpful information. It is designed to be paired with another area of emphasis within the business school, such as marketing, finance or accounting.

“The beauty comes from how to put all these parts together,” said Larsen. “Not only understand the problem, but be able to analyze and also distill the information into something that’s valuable.”

Public Health (BA)

College of Arts and Sciences

After wildfires in California in 2008, Colleen Reid, an associate professor of geography at CU Boulder, began studies to understand how wildfire smoke affects population health. Recently, she has been collecting data to understand how wildfire smoke gets into homes and schools and may affect children’s health in the Denver metro area. Reid hopes school districts can use the findings from her work to protect children from future high air pollution events, such as wildfires. Her work demonstrates the importance of careers in public health.

Starting in the fall of 2025, CU students will have the opportunity to pursue similar lines of work through the new public health major (BA) — a discipline focused on protecting and improving the health and well-being of communities and people. The field examines the underlying determinants of health within populations. For this new major at CU, students will learn about public health through courses within many different disciplines, including biology, statistics, geography, physiology, sociology, psychology and more.

“Public health goes beyond just individual bodies,” said Reid. “Seat belts are public health. Parks are public health. Climate change policy is public health. Food safety inspections at restaurants are public health.”

CU’s public health program plans to equip students with the tools to address the needs of today’s world — making strides to not only solve health problems, but also prevent them.

Biomedical Engineering (BS, MS, PhD)

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Earlier this year, a CU Boulder-led team made strides in the quest to develop naturalistic materials that can repair and replace human tissue. Their breakthrough focused on creating a “Band-Aid for the heart,” and the process consisted of 3D printing adhesive, elastic materials that are strong enough to support tissue mechanically.

This work, which can lead to revolutionary uses such as internal bandages and cartilage patches, demonstrates the innovative possibilities in biomedical engineering. By connecting engineering principles to the fields of medicine and biology, professionals in this discipline create enhancements to health care.

“A biomedical engineer on a team can form a crucial bridge between the clinicians and the engineers,” said Jessica McLaughlin, a teaching assistant professor in CU’s biomedical engineering (BME) department. “It’s critical to have someone at the table who can speak both languages.”

Since 2020, students at CU Boulder have had this professional pathway open to them through undergraduate and graduate biomedical engineering degrees. The multidisciplinary major teaches students how to create technology to address complex health problems.

“Anyone who cares about human health should be interested in this,” said Corey Nue, a biomedical professor at CU Boulder. “As engineers, we’re really uniquely positioned to impact the field through new devices, diagnostics and therapeutics.”

Robotics (MA, PhD)

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Perhaps the most futuristic major on the list is CU’s new graduate program in robotics, which kicked off in the fall of 2023. The program combines coursework and research from a variety of engineering fields, bridging the gaps between science, engineering and artificial intelligence.

“Robotics takes everything from computer science to mechanical engineering to electrical engineering,” said Sean Humbert, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Robotics Program at CU Boulder. “These are the types of students we want to be getting — folks that want this multidisciplinary background to solve all sorts of problems.”

From agriculture and health care to security and defense, the applications of a robotics degree are endless. Students enrolled in the program can choose from more than 40 different courses taught by experts in areas like field robotics, reasoning and assurance, smart materials, human-centered robotics and biomedical robotics.

When leading the charge to bring the robotics program to life, Humbert envisioned a department built on flexibility and an eye for developing trends.

“It’s a rapidly changing field, and our terrific faculty span all of these different bins of research,” said Humbert. “We’ll be able to educate students and develop new classes as the new tools appear. It’s really exciting.”

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Illustrations by Israel Vargas

Take a peek at five new undergraduate and graduate degree paths CU Boulder has unveiled over the past four years.

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The Making of Colorado’s Quantum Valley

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:42:06 +0000

The Making of Colorado’s Quantum Valley Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:42

Dan Strain

Qizhong Liang (PhDPhys’25) squeezes around a worktable tucked into the back corner of a CU physics lab. Spread out in front of him is an intricate arrangement of mirrors, lenses and tubes. But what draws Liang’s attention is what seems to be an empty plastic bag.

“Want to guess what it is?” asks Liang, a doctoral student at JILA, a joint research institute between CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The bag isn’t, in fact, empty but contains something almost precious: breath. Researchers at Children’s Hospital Colorado collected the sample from a child hospitalized with pneumonia. Liang’s tabletop apparatus will generate a powerful laser, known as a frequency comb, to scan the breath sample and identify the unique chemical fingerprints of the molecules floating inside.

Ultimately, Liang and his colleagues hope the laser can serve as a tool to diagnose children with asthma and pneumonia.

But he and his advisor, Jun Ye (PhDPhys’97), aren’t medical professionals. They’re researchers working at the forefront of a field called quantum physics, or the study of matter and energy at its most fundamental level, which deals in the bizarre behavior of things like atoms and electrons.

“This is brand new stuff,” said Liang. He notes that transforming such fundamental science into new technologies is thrilling, but also lonely. “You don’t have many [other experts] to talk to,” he said.

Yet the discipline may soon be a lot less lonely. Across the country, and particularly in Colorado, the momentum around quantum physics is gathering speed. Scientists and engineers are channeling their understanding of the field into technologies that could improve people’s lives.

“It’s a natural progression of the revolution that’s been ongoing since the 1960s,” said Ye, a JILA and NIST fellow and a professor adjoint of physics. “We are just getting faster.”

In Colorado alone, quantum technology companies employ roughly 3,000 people, a number that may jump to more than 10,000 across the Mountain West over the next decade, according to one estimate. Sitting at the center of this revolution is CU Boulder, where researchers have spent decades trying to lasso the quantum realm — earning four Nobel Prizes in physics in the process. The university has launched a suite of programs to turn quantum advancements into real-world technologies. CU is also nearly unmatched among public universities when it comes to training students to become the next generation of quantum workers.

“The reason the state of Colorado has been so successful in quantum has been CU Boulder,” said Heather Lewandowski (PhDPhys’02), a JILA fellow and professor in the Department of Physics. “It goes back to our foundational research and to our training and preparation of students.”

Colorado’s quantum future

This year marked a milestone for CU Boulder and the Mountain West in the global race for quantum innovation and leadership. In July, the coalition Elevate Quantum unlocked more than $127 million in federal and state funding for quantum advancements.

Elevate Quantum is a consortium of 120 organizations across Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming (CU Boulder is the powerhouse partner), with the mission of growing the Mountain West’s prowess as a global leader in the quantum industry.

After applying to the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Tech Hubs program, the coalition gained its official Tech Hub designation in 2023. Only 31 out of nearly 200 consortia were awarded the designation and could proceed to the program’s second phase: competing for implementation grants. In July, the federal government named Elevate Quantum one of the 12 Tech Hubs that would be awarded funding.

“It’s been a wild year,” said Scott Sternberg, executive director of the CUbit Quantum Initiative, which “convenes, coordinates and catalyzes” the quantum activities on campus. “The challenge is now to continue the fundamental discovery while also engineering quantum products and solutions for economic gain.”

The potential applications are vast. Ye, for example, leads a $25 million effort funded by the National Science Foundation called Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering (Q-SEnSE). The bread and butter of his lab are atomic clocks — devices that tell time not with gears and hands, but by tracking the natural behavior of electrons. They’re so precise they can measure the change in gravity if you lift them up by just a fraction of a millimeter. One day, he envisions that scientists could use similar quantum devices to, for example, track magma flow deep below Yellowstone National Park, the site of a supervolcano.

Recently, he and his colleagues made groundbreaking work on a type of atomic clock known as a nuclear clock. It uses lasers to trigger, then measure, extremely small shifts in energy occurring within the nuclei of thorium atoms.

Another team of engineers at CU is using frequency comb lasers, similar to those in Ye’s lab, to detect methane leaks above oil and gas operations. Still others are using quantum sensors to map out the activity of the human brain and even search for elusive dark matter — the seemingly invisible substance that binds the universe together.

Quantum work is now expanding on CU Boulder’s East Campus as well, in an initiative funded by the NSF and led by CU’s Scott Diddams, professor of electrical, computer and energy engineering. The $20 million grant will launch a new facility, the National Quantum Nanofab, where researchers and quantum specialists from Colorado and around the country can prototype and build new quantum technology.

The university is also helping to bring something else to Colorado: the next generation of quantum experts.

Quantum leaders of tomorrow

Denali Jah (EngrPhys’25), a senior studying engineering physics and applied math, found his way to physics in high school. He was having a hard time at home, and his physics teacher noticed and made a point of showing Jah how exciting science could be.

“I really appreciated his approach to life in general — it was one of curiosity,” Jah said.

In 2023, Jah joined the university’s first-ever cohort of Quantum Scholars, one of several CU programs encouraging students to take an interest in quantum physics. As part of that program, Jah and fellow undergrad Annaliese Cabra (Math’23) helped to organize the university’s first Quantum Hackathon, in which teams of students compete against each other to solve tricky problems in quantum computing.

Another CU experience, the Quantum Forge, is a year-long course offered through the university’s Department of Physics. It partners students with real quantum businesses in Colorado. Over the span of a year, the students lead a hands-on project for those businesses, such as designing components for an advanced cooling machine known as a “dilution refrigerator.”

Lewandowski, a member of the university’s Physics Education Research Group, noted that the quantum industry is in its infancy — companies are still trying to get a handle on what kind of employees they’ll need. CU Boulder, she said, trains students to be flexible in the field.

“Students can still have their core engineering or physics degree, but you supplement that with a few quantum technology courses, and that can make you very employable,” said Lewandowski.

Jah, for his part, wants to use his new skills to study quantum loop gravity, a trippy theory that seeks to explain how gravity works. He said that quantum physics takes a lot of work, but it’s a path that anyone can follow — as long as they have enough wonder.

“I hope other people can engage in this exploratory process of: How does the world work? Let’s see,” Jah said.

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Illustrations by Brian Stauffer

CU Boulder and Elevate Quantum partners are ready for $127M regional quantum boost. Here’s how it’s all coming together.

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How Michael Washington is Uncovering Nature in L.A.

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

How Michael Washington is Uncovering Nature in L.A. Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/16/2024 - 00:00

Kiara Demare

A decade after graduating, Michael Washington (Jour’12) longed for the outdoor community he had found at CU Boulder. In 2022, he left his career in the music industry to become founder and CEO of Usal, a community-based program helping Los Angeles residents participate in unique outdoor activities, workshops and trips. Usal hosts about 20 to 30 events per month, including woodturning, astronomy, fly-fishing, foraging, surfing and cooking.

How did you come up with the idea for Usal?

I felt there was a missing link between people who wanted to get into outdoor hobbies and activities, and a place for them to go. A group setting didn’t exist that felt safe, accessible and approachable, while also providing resources and education on how to learn to do those types of outdoor activities and experiences.

Where does the name come from?

It’s a place near and dear to my heart: Usal Beach is a dispersed beach campground at the southern tip of the coast in Northern California that I would go to from time to time. It inspired me a lot, especially when trying to figure out my next career move.

How did your time in Boulder influence Usal’s creation?

Having those four years in Boulder was crucial. I was given the opportunity to explore and be curious — both in a social sense with meeting new people, and also adventuring in the foothills of the mountains. As I grew my career in Los Angeles, I began to lose my connection to nature. Thankfully, I made a point to find it again when I realized how important it was to me.

Where do you see Usal in five years?

The obvious thing I think about is growth. Growth to me is being able to offer what we do to more people and taking what we do here in Los Angeles and bringing that to another location.

Any final thoughts?

Before anything and everything else, this endeavor feels very true to the person I am and the person who I want to continue to be. I think stumbling over the past 10 years — coming out of college and trying to understand what that means — were important steps to feeling competent and learning what interests me, what excites me and what fulfills me. All those steps led me to eventually leave the music industry to start Usal at age 32. It’s finally coming together.

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Photo courtesy Usal Project

A decade after graduating, Michael Washington (Jour’12) longed for the outdoor community he had found at CU Boulder. In 2022, he left his career in the music industry to become founder and CEO of Usal, a community-based program helping Los Angeles residents participate in unique outdoor activities, workshops and trips.

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Jamie Seward on Recycling Flowers & Spreading Joy

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Jamie Seward on Recycling Flowers & Spreading Joy Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/16/2024 - 00:00

Tom Kertscher

Flowers have the power to improve your physical and mental well-being — even more so if they are fragrant, according to peer-reviewed research. That’s part of what Jamie Seward (PolSci’97) was after when, late last year, she revived Repeat Roses, a zero-waste solution for event florals that closed its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Past clients include the Super Bowl and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle.

Mainly located in Southern California, Arizona and on the East Coast, Repeat Roses transports flowers from events such as weddings and corporate events, rearranges them into smaller bouquets and delivers them to nonprofits like homeless shelters, hospitals or nursing homes. Later, a team picks up the flowers for composting and her clients receive a receipt for their charitable donation.

Seward, a Navy veteran and former attorney, also serves as senior associate director of alumni relations for Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

What inspired you to take over Repeat Roses?

I have a passion for people, I have a passion for the planet and I want to leave the world a little better than I found it.

What’s the status of your business?

It’s what I like to call a ‘restart-up’ — it was a start-up and we’ve restarted it. We are up and running, we can operate anywhere in the U.S., and we’re hoping to get the word out. It takes time for word to spread that we’re back in business.

What’s it like when you deliver flowers?

There’s nothing quite like seeing the faces of the people in a homeless shelter, both the staff and the residents, and the joy on their faces when they see flowers — which are considered a luxury — brighten up their space. They’re worried about the basics, and to have something beautiful and joyful, it elevates everyone’s mood, it makes everyone feel better and it brightens up their environment.

Why do you compost the flowers?

It’s more advantageous for the environment for flowers to decompose naturally, versus putting them in a plastic bag in a landfill.

Did anything from your CU Boulder experience guide you into doing this type of work?

I was in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at CU, and there was often a philanthropic aspect to our activities. So, it was ingrained in me very early that helping people is something I wanted to do in as many aspects of my life as possible.

Learn more about Repeat Roses at @RepeatRoses on social media or at repeatroses.com.

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Photo courtesy Jamie Seward

In Southern California, Jamie Seward (PolSci’97) leads Repeat Roses, a zero-waste solution for event florals. Past clients include the Super Bowl and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle.

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