student opportunities

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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Stolen backpack spawns creation of student venture Mµ tag

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Stolen backpack spawns creation of student venture Mµ tag Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/12/2016 - 00:00

Catalyze CU grads invent tiny tracker for your valuables

For anyone who has lost a backpack or purse, Lang Mei feels your pain. After a thief stole his backpack from a coffee shop in Paris last year, the business administration senior began thinking about how to prevent that from happening again.

Mei had placed his bag on the floor next to the table leg. The next time he looked down, his bag was missing. Gone were his laptop, money, passport and school papers. Mei, who spoke little French, had a frustrating conversation with a French policeman who couldn’t speak English. Mei never got his bag or belongings back.

From that experience, informµ was born.

"Informµ is the simplest way to keeping belongings safe," said Mei, who is majoring in information management with a certificate in entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business. "Informµ is revolutionizing how we keep track of our most important things. By utilizing IoT technology, informµ eliminates the stress, expense and wasted time associated with losing your valuables."

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices that can transfer data over a network.

After returning to CU Boulder, Mei began working on a small tracking tag that could be attached to any item. Mei collaborated with Rishabh Berlia, an electrical and electronics engineering major who had a similar experience when he lost his backpack containing not just his end-of-semester lab report, but two of his friend’s lab reports. The two became informµ co-creators.

Mµ tag uses Bluetooth technology and an app to track belongings quickly. A tag smaller than a quarter links to a smart phone or a wearable device like an Apple Watch. When people move away from their belongings, with an adjustable range up to 100 feet, a notification pops up on their phones or devices and a map shows the location their property.

For example, if you are at a restaurant and are about to leave without your wallet, the quick notification function will notify you on your phone or wearable device right away. It informs you that you’re out of range of your belongings.

Mei and Berlia prepared for their project by participating in Catalyze CU, an eight-week summer startup accelerator designed for CU students, alumni and faculty. Catalyze CU combines mentorship and equity-free grants to help the most promising ideas and technologies succeed.

After gathering a team to work on the innovative tracking device, informµ was founded in September 2015 and officially registered in Colorado in 2016. Team members include Prayash Thapa, computer science, and Raza Qazi, PhD, electrical, computer and energy engineering.

Crowdfunding the next prototype

The informµ team developed a device that can help people keep track of their important items. They are trying to crowdfund the creation of their next prototype and to help move the project forward. Prototypes will be distributed within the community once they have the money to purchase enough components. Find out more by reading the informµ crowdfunding page.

Mµ tag features

Prevention: It solves the core problem of lost or forgotten items by preventing people from forgetting their belongings or having them stolen, rather than finding out later, often when it’s too late to recover them.
Battery saving: Using Bluetooth saves battery life, both on the phone and the tag.
Works even with application closed: Users are notified of the loss even if they accidently killed the app, a feature competitors don’t have.
Smart device with no false notifications: A learning algorithm is being developed that helps identify patterns in the way people interact with their belongings, ensuring a user is notified only when necessary.
Wearable advantage: Mµ tag integrates with wearable devices that are proven to be more effective than just mobile phone notifications, reducing the risk of missing the notification.
Form factor: Mµ tag is 70 percent smaller than some other products. It comes with a rechargeable and replaceable battery, which enables it to last longer than other products on the market.

December 12, 2016 Original Article

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Colorado entrepreneur brings a world of experience to the classroom

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Colorado entrepreneur brings a world of experience to the classroom Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/30/2016 - 00:00

Cynthia Banks didn’t have the opportunity to study abroad as a student. The summer after graduating in 1989, she helped a marketing professor take a group of undergraduates to Australia to study at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. The experience was so successful she was asked to take more students back to Australia.

That led the Colorado native to launch an international education organization a year later that would eventually send 30,000 students to 27 countries and offer 150 programs worldwide. Today, Banks is sharing her entrepreneurial insights with CU Boulder students as an instructor in the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business.

“I found out there was a huge market for international education,” Banks said. “Starting a business like this when I was 24—had no money and people didn’t believe I could do it—despite all the noise that goes on around you, the best advice I ever received was to trust myself and stay the course. That has provided so beneficial throughout my life.”

Banks founded AustraLearn in 1990, which took students to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The company expanded to become GlobaLinks Learning Abroad and provided worldwide internships and semester and summer programs across all majors.

The logistics of getting an international business up and running in 1990 were challenging. With no internet or email at the time, Banks used fax machines and made international phone calls at $10 a minute to communicate with people in other parts of the world. Getting forms signed and mailed added days of delays.

Other considerations she had to focus on when sending students overseas included ensuring their health and safety, making it an affordable and meaningful experience, and having a reliable support system in place.

Banks discovered a rising demand for international internships that offer transcendent career experiences for students. Internships were facilitated in such far-flung locations as Shanghai, Argentina and New Zealand, and became wildly popular for both students and businesses.

“Students loved getting work experience abroad and receiving academic credit,” Banks said. “Companies would take students in and give them real work. For instance, in China, our students were viewed as extremely capable and were often given large projects within a few days of arrival. The overseas company would just say, ‘You’re now in charge of marketing for the entire project.’

“Students really had to step up, think on their feet and practice the skills they had learned in their classes,” she said. “Some students received full job offers at those companies after they graduated.”

Living and studying abroad can be a challenging experience as students learn to navigate different academic and social environments, often in a second language. Stepping outside their comfort zone serves as a catalyst for increased self-confidence and helps them to be respectful of other cultures and political systems.

“That first-hand experience of living and studying in another country affects their career choices and their worldview,” she said. “Our students need to be prepared for a diverse workforce and to engage in meaningful problem solving. Studying abroad is a real-life road test for those skills.”

This is Banks’ first semester teaching entrepreneurship classes at CU’s Leeds School of Business. The entrepreneurship program aspires to make CU Boulder the leading public university in entrepreneurship. This comes about from their desire to help all CU students learn about entrepreneurship regardless of their major. The business school and its faculty want to empower students to think in an entrepreneurial way, as an exploratory thought process of entrepreneurship that does not just live in the world of business, but can be infused into many aspects of their lives.

“It’s about being willing to go through the process of thinking and problem solving,” she said. “It’s being willing to pivot and try new things until you get something to work.”

She already sees the impact of this in her students and looks forward to contributing to the global and innovative entrepreneurship program at CU.

Banks, who has a master’s degree in management and an entrepreneurial certificate from CU Denver, shares her knowledge and expertise in a variety of advisory roles, including recent
board service with NAFSA: Association for International Educators and has stated a new entrepreneurial adventure for women’s leadership called the Global Leadership League.

“I want to help other people figure out their journeys and make sure they get the opportunities I was given,” she said.

In 2014, after 24 years at the helm, Banks sold the company, an exit strategy giving her freedom to now teach at CU and give back to the community.

She feels so strongly about the benefits of an international experience that in 2011, Banks, her husband and their two kids moved to a tiny town in north Queensland, Australia, where they lived for a year.

“It was a great experience for all of us,” Banks said. “It was the best thing I could have done for our son and daughter (now 18 and 15). They developed their own sense of resiliency that I think has helped them with high school. It is never too late to study abroad, live abroad or just travel. A global perspective is good for ourselves and our communities, and that just never goes out of style.”

November 30, 2016 Original Article

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Again top in state for sending, receiving students internationally

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Again top in state for sending, receiving students internationally Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/18/2016 - 00:00

“Many people do not know the coasts of Egypt have some of the best scuba diving in the world," said Erin Neale, a CU Boulder student who studied in Egypt. "Many people do not know the Egyptian beaches are some of the more gorgeous landscapes in the world; where the jetting sand rock meets crystal blue waters.”

CU Boulder maintained its top spot in the state for international exchange, both for the number of international students coming to the university and for student participation in study abroad programs.

The university enrolled more international students during the 2015-16 academic year and sent more students abroad during the 2014-15 academic year than any other higher education institution in Colorado, according to data released Monday by the Institute of International Education’s annual Open Doors Report.

CU Boulder has held the No. 1 spot in Colorado for sending and receiving international students for 14 of the past 15 years, according to CU Boulder’s Office of International Education.

“CU Boulder is committed to bringing in international students, faculty, visiting scholars and staff who pursue some of the greatest academic, research and service activities around the world,” said Mary Kraus, CU Boulder vice provost and associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education. “In addition to receiving a high quality academic experience, these students add great value to our community, our institution and beyond.”

By the numbers:

2,951 international students studied at CU Boulder during the 2015-16 school year, up from 2,614 in 2014-15.
1,592 students studied abroad during the 2014-15 school year, up from 1,541 in 2013-14.
CU Boulder also ranked 7th in the nation in 2014-15 among higher education institutions of its type for study abroad participation in semester-long programs.
Nationwide, CU Boulder ranked No. 34 in 2014-15 for overall study abroad participation among higher education institutions that offer doctoral programs.
For the first time, the number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities across the nation surpassed one million during the 2015-16 academic year—an increase of 7 percent from the previous year to a new high of nearly 1,044,000, representing 5 percent of the total student population at U.S. institutions.

The Open Doors Report on the flow of students to and from the United States is released annually in conjunction with International Education Week, which ends today. The week of celebration is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. Learn about CU Boulder study abroad programs and read more about the Institute of International Education and the Open Doors Report.

All photos courtesy of the annual photo competition sponsored by the Office of International Education.

November 18, 2016 Original Article

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Offering new degrees in elementary education, leadership and community engagement

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Offering new degrees in elementary education, leadership and community engagement Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/09/2016 - 00:00

Beginning in the 2017 school year, entering freshmen at the �鶹��Ƶ will have two new degree options for pursuing transformative careers in education and leadership — a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a bachelor’s degree in leadership and community engagement, both conferred by the School of Education.

The new majors are designed to offer desirable pathways for students interested in serving high-needs communities and working with youth.

“We are strongly committed to the preparation of educational leaders—in the classroom and outside of schools—who will work to provide educational opportunities for all children and youth,” said Kathy Schultz, dean of the School of Education. “These majors are another step toward that goal.”

As Colorado and the nation continue to face growing teacher shortages —particularly among teachers prepared to work with diverse populations and English language learners — the elementary education students will earn their degrees in conjunction with the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education endorsement, a state-approved added endorsement to teacher licensure. The degree is designed to prepare teachers qualified to teach culturally diverse students.

The new degree program is in addition to the university’s existing teacher licensure program in which students interested in elementary education (grades K-6) or secondary education (grades 7-12) can combine a degree in another area with teacher licensure.

The new leadership and community engagement degree is also designed to be completed with a second complementary major or minor. It was created in response to societal needs for ethical, skilled leaders who can bridge differences and contribute to public work addressing complex challenges in Colorado and beyond.

At CU Boulder and nationally, millennial students have expressed interest in nonprofit and community sector work, and this degree will prepare them for rewarding careers in higher education, international development, urban planning, social work or government, for example.

CU Boulder is part of a small number of institutions nationwide to offer these emerging and attractive interdisciplinary degrees.

To learn more about the new degrees visit http://www.colorado.edu/education/.

November 9, 2016 Original Article

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CU Boulder to lead $15.3 million initiative for sustainable water and sanitation for development

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 19:15:26 +0000

CU Boulder to lead $15.3 million initiative for sustainable water and sanitation for development Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/03/2016 - 13:15

Photo: Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering / �鶹��Ƶ

The �鶹��Ƶ has been selected by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to lead a $15.3 million effort to better understand how to improve the sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in the developing world. Globally, more than 2.4 billion people lack access to improved sanitation facilities, and 660 million people are without access to safe drinking water.

Over the course of the five-year cooperative agreement, Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities co-director Karl Linden, associate director for research Amy Javernick-Will and associate director for outreach Rita Klees will coordinate the efforts of seven organizations in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia.

The Sustainable WASH Systems Initiative aims to develop, test and document high-potential approaches to engaging local WASH systems across multiple countries and contexts. The goal is to test different approaches leading to WASH interventions that are sustained by local stakeholders beyond the life of the project, and inform the design of future development assistance efforts in this sector.

CU Boulder and learning partner Environmental Incentives will coordinate the efforts of three project teams:

IRC Netherlands, Tetra Tech and LINC will work in two countries in Africa to develop and test a replicable approach to engaging with, understanding and strengthening decentralized local systems for water and sanitation.
WaterSHED and LINC will develop a locally led platform to coordinate WASH sector (particularly donor-financed) activities in the implementation of national strategies and action plans.
Whave in Uganda and UNICEF in Kenya will test, revise and scale up public-private partnership models that improve rural WASH service delivery.

Javernick-Will explained that CU Boulder will coordinate the program, ensuring that lessons are learned across the three projects to address systemic problems and facilitate sustainable solutions.

The group wants to ensure that water or sanitation services financed by government or donor investments maintain results and deliver results in the long term. For instance, over the past 20 years, failed hand pumps in Africa represent a total lost investment of between $1.2 and $1.5 billion; 30-40 percent of rural water systems have failed prematurely; and more than half of all subsidized toilets unused, misused or abandoned.

In addition to coordinating research efforts, CU Boulder will also drive the project’s educational components by partnering with local universities, providing overall analysis of the groups’ efforts, and publishing papers and other learning products on their findings.

Javernick-Will said she is excited about the learning opportunities the program provides for CU Boulder students, and about the ability of the Mortenson Center to help create sustainable water and sanitation systems in communities.

“Students will be able to work with these groundbreaking organizations, get hands-on exposure to international development and help to solve sanitation and water problems,” she said. “I’m excited that CU will be able to bring cutting edge research and analytical techniques to strengthen the USAID sustainable WASH program and improve WASH interventions globally.”

“The opportunity for our students and faculty to work with the partners on this program, in the international spotlight, is tremendous and we are very excited to get our students in the field and put into practice what they’ve studied through classes and outreach activities,” Linden added. “These types of opportunities for research are core to the mission of the Mortenson Center’s students and faculty focus on creating sustainable development solutions.”

�鶹��Ƶ USAID
The U.S. Agency for International Development is leading the U.S. Government's efforts to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies. Learn more at www.usaid.gov.

�鶹��Ƶ the Mortenson Center
The Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities is part of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the �鶹��Ƶ. The center combines education, research and outreach to provide sustainable and appropriate solutions to the endemic problems faced by the people who are most in need. They train engineers to recognize the issues at the core of development challenges, and collaborate with partners across the CU Boulder campus and the world to create sustainable, scalable, evidence-based and multidisciplinary solutions to international development problems. Learn more at colorado.edu/mcedc.

November 3, 2016 Original Article

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New partnership with Lockheed Martin forges research, career opportunities for students

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 00:40:22 +0000

New partnership with Lockheed Martin forges research, career opportunities for students Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/25/2016 - 18:40

Paige Anderson Arthur got hooked on science fiction and the prospect of space travel when she started watching Star Trek at age 13. Now, the Denver native is immersed in aerospace engineering at CU Boulder, which is why she joined in the celebration Thursday as a new $3 million partnership with global aerospace industry leader Lockheed Martin was announced.

The partnership -- one of many between Lockheed Martin and CU -- establishes new academic programs aimed at cultivating the next generation of space engineers.

The Lockheed Martin Radio Frequency (RF) Space Systems Research Center will boost engineering expertise at the college and create new curriculum to fill in-demand skills in the space sector. Spread over four years, the sponsorship will establish new academic programs focused on radio frequency (RF) systems. RF fields address commercial, civil and military needs for communications, radar and photonics. Engineers in this field will develop innovative approaches for tracking, navigation and spacecraft control as well as next-generation global navigation technologies.

For Anderson Arthur, a senior, it means more opportunities and connections. Already, she has worked at the Colorado Space Grant Consortium on a balloon payload project called HELIOS and on a small project called PropSat, a propulsion module for a cubesat. During her junior year, she worked at BioServe Space Technologies, an on-campus center that engineers biological experiments for the International Space Station. This past summer, Anderson Arthur worked at Lockheed Martin on a lunar cubesat called SkyFire, and this year she will be working on a Lockheed Martin-sponsored senior project at CU.

"This is an amazing opportunity," Anderson Arthur said. "I didn't expect to do this much hands-on stuff this early. It's really cool to apply what I learn before I even graduate."

Radio frequency everywhere
Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin’s chief technology officer, announced the partnership during a day of meetings, presentations and tours of campus research laboratories.

"Each person depends on RF technology in one way or another, from television and radio, to phone communications, to GPS navigation," Jackson said. "As the complexity of our satellite systems and national security solutions grows, so does our demand for world-class talent. This partnership ensures that University of Colorado graduates have the skills they need to build the systems of the future while also advancing Lockheed Martin’s ability to develop revolutionary and relevant innovation."

Terri Fiez, vice chancellor for research, and Robert Davis, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, also made remarks.

"We're really kindred spirits in being about innovation and having innovation in our DNA," Fiez said. "CU Boulder is really doubling down on innovation and entrpreneurship...This partnership is really going to reinforce that."

The partnership creates:

A new master's of science in electrical engineering with an RF focus.
A new established path for bachelor’s degree students in Aerospace Engineering Sciences to obtain a master’s degree in electrical engineering. Similarly, those pursuing an electrical engineering bachelor’s degree will have a path to obtain a master’s degree in aerospace engineering sciences.
A Lockheed Martin Chair of RF Engineering, a faculty position dedicated to RF teaching and research.
A Lockheed Martin Faculty Fellow, a professor supporting research and academic activities of a key faculty member in the new educational programs.
Lockheed Martin Graduate Fellowships, consisting of graduate students working at Lockheed Martin or on projects relevant to the company.
Students and graduates will be able to take advantage of the RF Payload Center of Excellence at Lockheed Martin’s Waterton Canyon site, which is the company’s hub for RF space technology development. The program has created the opportunity for six students thus far to learn the intricacies of satellite radio development.

Real-world experience
Andrew Wylde, a concurrent bachelor’s/master’s student specializing in RF and analog design as part of the RF Academy Co-Op program developed in partnership with Lockheed Martin, said the new agreement equals even more opportunity.

"There's a lot you can get your hands on and involved with in terms of hardware," said Wylde, whose interest in radio and how things work may have started when he dismantled and -- at his mother's urging -- reassembled a VCR as a kid.

Lockheed Martin employees will also benefit from the new relationship. For example, the new RF-focused degree programs will offer unique skills training for employees who want to take advantage of opportunities in the RF Payload Center of Excellence, which has added over 60 jobs in the past six months.

The CU research center continues a strong partnership between the university and Lockheed Martin, a relationship that funds joint research programs, supports student design projects and facilitated a cubesat mission. Lockheed Martin has sponsored nearly $7 million in research at CU and is working to start new projects totaling $650,000 by the end of the year. In 2015 Lockheed Martin hired graduates from 15 CU majors. The corporation employs more than 500 alumni working in its Space Systems division alone.

August 25, 2016 Original Article

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ATLAS Expo Spring 2016: A showcase of creative invention and design

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 18:16:55 +0000

ATLAS Expo Spring 2016: A showcase of creative invention and design Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/25/2016 - 12:16

Throughout the spring semester, hundreds of ATLAS students have hacked, designed and prototyped their creative visions into reality, and now they are ready to share their work for ATLAS Expo Spring 2016, which takes place this Wednesday, April 27, 5 to 6:30 p.m. From automated drum kits, to musical gloves, a responsive art canvas, wearable tech, big data and choose-your-own adventure websites, the depth and breadth of student projects is impressive.

If you’ve heard about ATLAS, but you aren’t quite sure what happens there, you aren’t alone. Students come to ATLAS from just about every department in the University: some to join the Technology, Arts and Media (TAM) program; others to gain specific expertise in web or 3D modeling; and still others to earn a PhD studying a unique, interdisciplinary, technology-related topic that doesn’t have a natural home elsewhere. Whatever their goals, ATLAS enables students to pursue multidisciplinary objectives in a technology-rich community.

And it will all be on display this Wednesday.

One Expo presenter, Chris Koski, was inspired by the automated, acoustic music of ATLAS PhD candidate Jiffer Harriman (see photo), so he built his own electronically controlled drum kit. Rather than recorded or synthesized samples generated electronically, his drum kit is controlled digitally but it creates sound acoustically.

Reflecting on Expo, Koski says he’s excited to present, but even more excited to see what others have made: “There’s a really nice culture of creativity in ATLAS. You’re doing what you want to do, nobody else is doing it, and you get to look over and say, ‘Hey! That’s pretty cool!’... but you don’t worry about competing with people!”

In addition to viewing student work, Expo visitors will be able to drop in on the newly launched ATLAS Laboratory for Playful Computer and the ATLAS Interactive Robotics and Novel Technologies Lab, both hosting their first open houses since launching in January.

“We’ve got an unbelievable number of projects,” said ATLAS Director Mark Gross. “We’ve had a very dynamic year and tons to share and celebrate.”

April 25, 2016 Original Article

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