CU Boulder serves as a catalyst for technology, creative works and startup businesses and is a primary source of Colorado’s highly skilled workforce. Our talented faculty, students and alumni are leading the way for the next generation by inspiring innovative, humanitarian and social enterprises.
CU Discoveries
Business
Produces the longest running forecast of the Colorado economy, now in its 51st year, which analyzes changes in industry sectors and predicts employment trends
Alternative Energy
Manipulating the microbe E. coli to produce biofuels and create an efficient and inexpensive process for manfacturing gasoline
Biological Engineering
Created a degradable gel-like scaffolding that can stimulate the growth of new human tissues to replace those lost by injuries and disease
Geology
Showed that dust settling on snow in the Colorado Rockies causes the snow to melt early, decreasing flows in the Colorado River
Physics
Created the Bose-Einstein condensate, a new form of matter that occurs when gas is chilled to just above absolute zero
Climate Science
Determined that two-thirds of the Earth's permafrost will likely melt by 2200, unleashing vast amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
Biology
Produced an inhalable measles vaccine, eliminating the need for needles and syringes
Biochemistry
Developed techniques for the chemical synthesis of DNA and RNA, the foundation for the so-called "gene machines"
Anthropology
Discovered the best-preserved prehistoric farming village in Latin America, which was buried under 12 feet of volcanic ash
Neuroscience
Uncovered the role glial cells play in enhancing pain, opening the door to treatment of chronic pain and blocking addiction to some painkillers
Ecology
Discovered that frog deformities widely observed in the mid-1990s were caused by a parasitic infection made worse by declining amphibian biodiversity
Behavioral Science
Created an online tool to help communities identify scientifically proven programs that battle bullying, violence, obesity and depression among children