Published: Dec. 7, 2021

Looking back, 2021 has proven to be a year of strength and resilience. Even with the听challenges COVID has presented, our community has continued 鈥撎齛nd will continue 鈥撎齮o break barriers, prevail against all odds, and more importantly, excel in what we do best: engineering.听

We gathered our top 10 engineering moments to wrap up 2021.
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#1

12 NSF CAREER award winners in 2021

Twelve faculty members within the College of Engineering and Applied Science have received CAREER Awards from the National Science Foundation. The total shows an impressive trend with the college earning five awards in 2019 and seven in 2020, said Associate Dean for Research Massimo Ruzzene.

#2

College's record-breaking听research funding totals听$150 million

The College of Engineering and Applied Science received more than $150 million in research funding in 2021. Award money at the college comes from a variety of sources, including NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense and industry.

#3

New $15M NASA Space Tech Research Institute

The听Advanced Computational Center for Entry System Simulation (ACCESS) institute announced by NASA听will focus on thermal protection systems, which shield spacecraft from the aerodynamic heating experienced during hypersonic entry of the atmosphere.

#4

Students win first place in 2021 Solar Decathlon Build Challenge

An engineering team from the听麻豆视频 won first place in the 2021 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Build Challenge, the third time CU Boulder has placed first in the highly competitive event.

#5

New $25 million research center to study the radio frequency spectrum

Researchers at CU Boulder will take part in a $25 million effort to study a natural resource that's becoming increasingly in demand: the radio frequency spectrum. The project is known as SpectrumX and听will bring together experts from 29 organizations to transform the landscape of spectrum research, education, collaboration and management.

#6

Faculty collaboration earns $2M NSF award for post-consumer plastic waste research

Single use plastics represent an environmental challenge that researchers at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering hope to address.

#7

Scott Diddams joins growing quantum expertise within CU Boulder engineering

Professor Scott Diddams joined CU Engineering as a visiting professor in听fall 2021 and will become a full professor in 2022. He will also serve in a leadership role in the newly formed Quantum Engineering Initiative 鈥� a significant and strategic investment into translational quantum engineering research by the college that includes educational components, faculty hiring efforts, and dedicated lab space for collaboration.

#8

CU Boulder spinoff company develops technology that could treat COVID-19 complications

Respirogen, a company whose research is led by Biomedical Engineering Program Director听Mark Borden听and founded by Borden鈥檚 former student,听Paul Mountford听(PhDMechEngr鈥�15), has developed microbubbles that can deliver oxygen to the blood stream independent of the lungs.

#9

Ben Capeloto brings engineering perspective to student government

For the first time in at least two decades 鈥� and possibly ever 鈥撎鼵U Boulder鈥檚 Student Government听(CUSG) is being led by an aerospace engineer.

#10

Origami comes to life with new shape-changing materials

Imagine opening up a book of nature photos only to see a kaleidoscope of graceful butterflies flutter out from the page.听Such fanciful storybooks might soon be possible thanks to the work of a team of designers and engineers at CU Boulder鈥檚听ATLAS Institute.

Annalise Hildebrand: Engineering & Heritage