partnership

CU Boulder team to track methane leaks using lasers

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 07:00:00 +0000

CU Boulder team to track methane leaks using lasers Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/27/2017 - 00:00

Principal investigator Greg Rieker, center, in blue, discusses discusses the project with team members while atop their mobile laboratory in rural Colorado.

A team of researchers led by the �鶹��Ƶ has secured a $1.3 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy to take a closer look at emissions from natural gas storage facilities across the U.S.

Natural gas for power generation and heating is typically extracted and processed in remote areas before being transported closer to cities for storage. The gas is stored at high pressures in underground reservoirs and caverns. The location of storage sites near cities offers rapid on-demand delivery, but poses significant environmental, health and safety risks in the event of a blowout.

In 2015, the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility northwest of Los Angeles, California, experienced a blowout that released over 100,000 tons of natural gas into the atmosphere over the course of four months. The event led to the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents from their homes and a state of emergency declaration for the area.

Tracking Leaks

The CU Boulder researchers will team up with scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the University of California Davis and aircraft operator Scientific Aviation to measure emissions from natural gas storage facilities. Their efforts will represent the first field-based campaign of its kind.

“This is an incredible opportunity to bring together cutting edge technologies and researchers to answer an important, practical question. We aim to produce results that will enable sound policy decisions and business practices that keep everyone safe, and keep natural gas in the ground until we’re ready to use it,” says Greg Rieker, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at CU Boulder and the principal investigator of the study.

Finding Methane With Lasers

The CU and NIST teams will field a ground-based laser system based on Nobel-prize-winning frequency comb technology originally invented at CU and NIST. The system, which sends invisible, eye-safe laser beams through the atmosphere to distances well over one mile, was developed under a recent grant from the DOE’s Advanced Research Project Agency – Energy (ARPA-E).

The laser system is able to measure changes in methane concentrations in the air down to one part-per-billion, the equivalent of a single drop of water in an Olympic-size swimming pool. The information will be used to gain a better understanding of how emissions of methane come out of the ground, equipment, and abandoned well heads around storage facilities, and whether these emissions are steady through time or vary.

“The timing is ideal for this opportunity. The technology this team has worked on for several years is at the perfect place to solve this problem,” says Caroline Alden, a CU Boulder post-doctoral researcher on the project.

Partnerships

Meanwhile, the UC-Davis and Scientific Aviation teams will mount light aircraft flights around the storage facility where the ground system is deployed, as well as a large number of other facilities throughout the country. The aircraft is equipped with methane detection technology that will provide estimates of total emissions arising from storage facilities.

The team will share results of the study with the EPA for inclusion in its greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the U.S. In addition, the team believes the monitoring technology may serve a longer-term purpose as a continuous monitoring system for storage facilities.

“Any time we find a home for our technologies in the private sector is a big win for us and for the agencies that fund our research. We genuinely hope that will be the case here,” Rieker says.

January 27,2017 Original Article

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New CU Boulder-Ball Aerospace agreement to support research collaborations, talent pipeline

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 07:00:00 +0000

New CU Boulder-Ball Aerospace agreement to support research collaborations, talent pipeline Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/17/2017 - 00:00

Boulder and Ball Aerospace sign master research agreement

Bolstering its 60-year collaboration with Ball Aerospace, the �鶹��Ƶ today announced a new Master University Research Agreement between the two organizations. The agreement will facilitate and streamline opportunities for students and faculty to work with Ball to carry out sponsored research, contribute to Ball’s talent pipeline and partner on projects.

The five-year agreement will apply to a variety of activities, including government-sponsored research and development work, Ball-funded work, consulting services and university student design projects. Because the agreement sets in place a majority of the terms and conditions, the contracting process is significantly streamlined, expanding and enhancing collaboration opportunities between both parties.

“Our relationship with Ball is truly a special one and this agreement demonstrates our commitment to nurturing and growing this unique partnership,” said Terri Fiez, CU Boulder vice chancellor for Research & Innovation. “Our faculty, staff and students will reap the benefits of the greater ease of partnering on research and student projects, and we’ll continue to bring value to Ball and Colorado’s aerospace industry through our collaborative research outputs and contributions.”

Ball Aerospace, part of Ball Corporation, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2016-17 and was incorporated at the dawn of the space age as the Ball Brothers Research Corporation. Ed Ball’s collaboration with faculty and graduate students from CU’s Upper Air Laboratory (now known as Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics – LASP), or CU Rocket Project, resulted in the new company, which has been a part of Ball Corporation since its founding in 1956. Since the early days, Ball Aerospace and CU Boulder have enjoyed a strong partnership that has resulted in several historic firsts and helped to advance understanding of the solar system with the design and building of innovative spacecraft and instruments.

“This agreement allows us to efficiently build upon our long and storied heritage of working together, leveraging some of the nation’s best and brightest research and talent to develop critical technologies that go beyond, explore, discover and protect the nation,” said Michael Gazarik, vice president of engineering at Ball Aerospace.

Through its collaborations, CU Boulder and Ball Aerospace have together participated in a number of NASA contracts, including the recently announced NASA Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission to study black holes. One of the most successful collaborations is an instrument designed by CU Boulder scientists at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA) and built by Ball that is now on the Hubble Space Telescope. The instrument, called the Cosmic Origins Spectograph, is being used to look back in time to reconstruct the physical conditions of the early universe, probing the evolution of galaxies, stars and intergalactic matter by breaking down ultraviolet light.

Other notable research and mission operations services provided by CU researchers and students include the NASA QuickSCAT Satellite, KEPLER, Total solar irradiance Calibration Transfer Experiment Total Irradiance Monitor (TCTE TIM) and Mission Operations projects. Such programs demonstrate the mutual benefits of the relationship: providing cost-effective, competitive programs for Ball and valuable research opportunities for CU faculty and students.

Ball has been a regular collaborator with CU’s LASP, CASA and Department of Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences (APS), generating more than $100 million in shared NASA contracts. Ball regularly engages in research and development partnerships with CU faculty to remain on the cutting-edge of aerospace technology. Ball has been a consistent sponsor of a number of CU Boulder's engineering senior design courses, scholarships and diversity initiatives, and regularly taps CU Boulder students for internships and full-time employment.

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CU Boulder to lead operations for NASA black holes mission

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 07:00:00 +0000

CU Boulder to lead operations for NASA black holes mission Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/11/2017 - 00:00

�鶹��Ƶ students and professionals will operate an upcoming NASA mission that will investigate the mysterious aspects of some of the most extreme and exotic astronomical objects like stellar and supermassive black holes, neutron stars and pulsars.

Objects such as black holes can heat surrounding gases to more than a million degrees, causing high-energy emissions in the X-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The high-energy X-ray radiation from this gas can be polarized, which causes it to vibrate in a particular direction.

The NASA Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission will fly three space telescopes with cameras capable of measuring the polarization of cosmic X-rays, allowing astronomers to answer fundamental questions about such turbulent environments.

The mission, slated for launch in 2020, is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Students and professionals from CU Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) will perform mission operations through a contract with Ball Aerospace Technologies Corp. of Boulder, which is providing the spacecraft and mission integration.

The Italian Space Agency will contribute the polarization sensitive X-ray detectors, which were developed in Italy.

Students and professionals will operate the IXPE spacecraft from the LASP Space Technology Building on CU Boulder’s east campus, said Bill Possel, director of LASP’s Mission Operations and Data Systems division. The arrangement is similar to one in place between CU Boulder and Ball Aerospace in which LASP operates NASA’s wildly successful planet-hunting Kepler space telescope.

“We’re very excited to be part of this new mission,” Possel said. “Ball Aerospace is a fantastic partner and we have a long history of working mission operations for their NASA missions. Our students will play a major role in developing the operations procedures and eventually performing operations once the spacecraft is in orbit.”

LASP hires 10 to 15 undergraduates annually to train as satellite operators at the conclusion of their sophomore year. The students go through an intensive 10-week summer training program followed by practical and written tests leading to certification as satellite controllers by LASP.

Starting in the fall, the students will work 20 hours per week, including nights, holidays and during CU Boulder's winter and spring breaks. LASP currently provides operations for four NASA spacecraft (AIM, Kepler, QuikScat, and SORCE) and one CubeSat mission (MinXSS).

January 11, 2017 Original Article

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CU Boulder opens door to companies through concierge service

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 07:00:00 +0000

CU Boulder opens door to companies through concierge service Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/11/2017 - 00:00

Over 800 companies have connected to CU Boulder through its Office of Industry Collaboration (OIC). Businesses often utilize CU Boulder resources and expertise to meet their research, workforce, or other business objectives. At times, navigating the vast university ecosystem to find the right resource proves challenging.

“The Office of Industry Collaboration ‘opens the door’ into the Boulder campus for companies interested in working with CU Boulder,” states OIC Director Caroline Himes. OIC staff consults with individual companies to evaluate their needs and capabilities to better connect and develop relationships according to the company’s specific objectives. Qualified program and project managers bridge businesses with research, workforce development, and unique industry needs. Since its inception in 2013, OIC has logged over 800 support cases of which more than 575 were with 360 individual companies

“Companies also look to our office to broaden their connection to the campus,” Himes explains. “For example, a company may already recruit students but be interested in working more directly with faculty in a specific field of study to address a technical question. After understanding more about the need and available budget, we identify appropriate faculty and make the connection. Should work proceed, we support the project definition and setup.”

Thousands of companies have traditionally engaged with CU Boulder through one point of engagement such as recruiting or research. “Nearly 10,000 companies work with CU Boulder. Yet only a small fraction of those companies engage directly with our academic units and personnel. Growing these connections benefits the company, students, faculty, and community,” Himes clarifies.

The office serves as a resource, not only to individual businesses, but also to organizations that exist to support business growth and prosperity such as the Boulder Economic Council (BEC). Clif Harald, Executive Director of BEC, has found CU Boulder’s industry office useful as a main point of contact to connect their business constituents to the university. “The ability of local businesses to partner with CU Boulder has become much more streamlined with the creation of the concierge function on campus. Being able to refer companies to CU Boulder’s Office of Industry Collaboration has been a great advantage for the Boulder Economic Council in connecting businesses in our key industries to the assets of the university,” Harald explains.

OIC, part of CU Boulder’s Research & Innovation Office (RIO), focuses on the industry aspect of RIO’s mission to support campus-wide progress in research, creative works, partnerships, strategic initiatives, and commercialization. “Strategic industry engagement is essential to our education and research goals,” details Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation Terri Fiez. “OIC successfully develops relationship opportunities between companies and researchers, supporting industry needs. Understanding a company’s goals related to CU capabilities, especially for major partners, has created connections with faculty and identified broad areas of engagement that provide enhanced value to the company. The OIC team has also been highly influential in identifying new efficient processes and strategies that simplify and improve company and university interactions. The Office of Industry Collaboration plays an important role in our research and innovation mission.”

Connect with OIC by submitting and inquiry form, email industry@colorado.edu, or call 303-492-0800. The door is always open.

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Top 16 in 2016

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Top 16 in 2016 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/15/2016 - 00:00

In 2016, we again celebrated a campus community that brings innovation and positive impacts to Colorado and the nation. We marked new discoveries, faculty achievements, Olympic medalists and a resurgent football program while welcoming high-profile visitors to campus and sending satellites throughout our solar system. Enjoy this recap of an outstanding year.

See the Top 16 list here

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9 News: CU space mission to study upper atmosphere

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 07:00:00 +0000

9 News: CU space mission to study upper atmosphere Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/14/2016 - 00:00

Maya Rodriguez

The GOLD Mission Principal Investigator. (Photo: Courtesy: CU/LASP)

KUSA - Inside CU's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, there's GOLD.

The GOLD instrument to be precise.

"I've dreamed about it for decades and I know a lot of other people have," said Richard Eastes, the GOLD Mission Principal Investigator.

GOLD stands for Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk. It’s a $64-million project that will study the interaction of the Earth and Sun in a region known as the upper atmosphere – about 90 miles above us. It's a tricky place to operate in.

December 14, 2016 Full Article

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Daily Mail: Revealed: 'Natural thermostat' that cools the air in Earth's atmosphere during violent solar storms

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Daily Mail: Revealed: 'Natural thermostat' that cools the air in Earth's atmosphere during violent solar storms Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/14/2016 - 00:00

Libby Plummer

Researchers have pinpointed the 'natural thermostat' that cools the air in Earth's upper atmosphere after violent solar storms. This activity includes solar flares and coronal mass ejections or CMEs (illustrated) - which release electrically charged plasma from the sun

Researchers have pinpointed the 'natural thermostat' that cools the air in Earth's upper atmosphere after violent solar storms.

This activity includes solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) - which release electrically charged plasma from the sun.

It is known to damage satellites, cause power outages back on Earth, and even disrupt GPS navigation services.

December 14, 2016 Full Article

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Professor named to NASA transition team for new administration

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Professor named to NASA transition team for new administration Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/09/2016 - 00:00

CU Boulder Professor Jack Burns has been appointed to the NASA transition team by the incoming Trump administration.

Burns, a professor in the Department of Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences, has longstanding ties with NASA. He served on the NASA Advisory Council from 2008-10, including a stint as chair of the council’s Science Committee in 2009 and 2010.

Transition, or landing teams, typically are named for each federal department or agency by incoming presidential administrations. Such teams review the activities and portfolios of specific departments or agencies to identify major issues.

Burns also directed the Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR), a consortium of top research institutions funded by a $6.5 million NASA grant to conduct astrophysics from the moon, including the use of radio telescopes. He also is a fellow at CU Boulder’s Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy.

Burns currently is the principal investigator of a $250 million NASA Explorer Mission concept proposal called the “Dark Ages Radio Explorer” (DARE). DARE is designed to orbit the moon and look back in time by making observations of the early universe from above the moon’s far side, when it is shielded from Earth and the sun.

Burns, who currently serves as senior vice president of the American Astronomical Society, was vice president for Academic Affairs and Research for the CU system from 2001-05. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society. In 2010 he received NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Medal.

December 9, 2016 Original Article

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CU researchers' pollutant-tracking system wins gold at World IoT Expo

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:00:00 +0000

CU researchers' pollutant-tracking system wins gold at World IoT Expo Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/09/2016 - 00:00

An urban pollutant-tracking system created by architectural engineering researchers at CU Boulder recently received a gold award at the 2016 World Internet of Things (IoT) Exposition in Wuxi, China. The project was one of 10 new technologies to win.

Professor John Zhai and former PhD student Yu Xue, now a faculty member at Dalian University of Technology in China, originally developed the system to detect contaminant sources inside buildings using a limited number of sensors. By taking into account the aerodynamics of the building’s heating, cooling and ventilation, the system was able to accurately pinpoint the source of a bacterial infection in a Hong Kong hospital.

The two decided to adapt the system to outdoor environments after Zhai began getting requests from cities in China to help them identify causes of their air-quality issues.

“People believed it was combustion for heating, but it was happening before winter,” he said, adding that cities would sometimes take steps like shutting down factories, only to find it did not solve the air-quality issues.

Using the system outside requires two steps. First, they use data from existing weather and air-quality monitoring stations to narrow down the area of the city where the pollutants originated from. Then, they make three stops in that area with a set of vehicle-mounted sensors to determine the exact source locations.

Zhai explained the placement of buildings can cause pollutants to get trapped in a vortex, which means their tracking system can be used to help with effective urban planning.

“The technology matches the needs in China so well,” he said. “We’re applying for the patent and working with companies that can already see the market.”

The World IoT Expo was jointly hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government. More than 2,000 politicians, business leaders and experts from more than 20 countries and regions shared practices on topics such as smart manufacturing, smart environmental protection, smart health care, information security, big data and finance.

December 9, 2016 Original Article

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Reinvigorated Technology Transfer Office translates campus innovations into impact

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Reinvigorated Technology Transfer Office translates campus innovations into impact Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/14/2016 - 00:00

With a renewed focus on the CU Boulder campus and a host of new initiatives aimed at streamlining the path from science to commercialization, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is poised to provide even greater support for faculty in translating their innovations into external impact.

The TTO connects campus researchers with a variety of university and community commercialization programs while providing expertise in patents, copyrights and licensing.

13 licensing deals so far this year

In the first quarter of this year, the TTO closed 13 licensing deals, putting it on pace to complete more licenses than in any year since the figure was first tracked 16 years ago. Recent success stories like those of ReVision Solutions, which recycles waste products from eyeglass production, and reusable carbon fiber company Mallinda reflect how TTO is accelerating the innovation lifecycle from idea to impact. The team is also launching new initiatives like expedited licensing, streamlined startup, consulting, and partnering resources to support easy access to and commercialization of CU Boulder technology.

This summer, TTO reorganized from a CU system office to a Boulder campus office to more closely align with the campus’s vision and strategy. The TTO is now housed within the Research & Innovation Office (RIO), formerly the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.

Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation Terri Fiez sees the integration of the TTO as a logical addition to the CU Boulder campus and RIO.

"The campus focus keeps the TTO in daily contact with our faculty and others within RIO positioned to help faculty – including the Office of Industry Collaboration, AeroSpace Ventures, Grand Challenge and Innovation & Entrepreneurship – who regularly interact with the same external partners," Fiez said. "This allows us to more effectively connect our faculty and students with external resources and partners."

Fiez said the transition is part of a broader reassessment of how to best serve the faculty and the campus's commercialization partners.

"We want to make the process easy and open doors so that more faculty innovations are commercialized.”

New team of subject matter experts

Augmenting the structural enhancements, TTO Director Brynmor Rees is joined by a team of functional and subject-matter experts to effectively support the campus. Licensing staff Kala Majeti, Stephanie Villano, and Marta Zgagacz offer expertise in physical sciences and engineering, and a biosciences specialist is being added this month. Joe Davidek, patent administrator, Lynn Pae, license administrator, Angie Skovira, administrative and financial coordinator, and Nathan Chen, database administrator, support the TTO operation.

“Several elements have come together quickly here,” Rees explains. “We’re assembling a very strong team, we have a new home within RIO and we are creating alignment between our vision and that of the campus. When we then fold in the constants – our creative faculty and students, and the unique community we have here in Boulder – the possibilities are extraordinary.”

With a more singular focus and a robust team in place, CU Boulder’s TTO is now ideally positioned to leverage the campus’s focus on exploring innovation through its world-class physics, biosciences, aerospace and engineering programs.

Learn more about the CU Boulder TTO.

November 14, 2016 Original Article

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