University of Colorado at Boulder

Quick Facts

Carl Wieman and Eric Cornell, who in 1995 created a new form of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate, were awarded the 2000 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics from the Franklin Institute. Both are professors of physics at JILA.

Eight CU-Boulder professors received prestigious Packard Fellowships (worth $625,000 each in 1999) given to young faculty who are among "the most promising science and engineering researchers at universities in the United States."

Gilbert F. White, distinguished professor emeritus of geography, won the National Medal of Science for 2000, the nation's highest scientific honor.

Four CU-Boulder doctoral programs were ranked among the top 15 in the nation in 1995, the most recent ranking by the National Research Council: astrophysics and astronomy, geography, biochemistry and molecular biology and aerospace engineering.

Margaret Murnane, a CU-Boulder physics professor, was awarded a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship in 2000, also known as the "genius grant."

Discoveries and Accomplishments

Many discoveries made by CU-Boulder researchers will improve the quality of life for citizens of Colorado and beyond. CU-Boulder students involved in research activities gain an enriched experience that helps them move into productive careers in academia, industry, and the public sector.

Faculty and student researchers:

Spearheaded the discovery of the human gene for an enzyme known as telomerase, a key to the uncontrolled growth of cells. The new finding could lead to improved cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Created a new form of matter called the Bose-Einstein condensate, predicted by Albert Einstein and Satyendra Bose in 1924. The condensate occurs when individual atoms meld into a "superatom," behaving as a single entity at frigid temperatures. The achievement may lead to the creation of precise measuring devices and lasers that could dispense beams of atoms for micro-assembly purposes.
Found the Indian Ocean has El Nino-like climate signals, indicating Australia, India, and Malaysia could benefit greatly from a sophisticated observing system capable of predicting changes in regional rainfall months in advance, and positively impacting the lives of almost two-thirds of the world's population.

Discovered warmer summer surface temperatures on Antarctic ice shelves in recent years have caused more ice to melt into standing water ponds, leaking into cracks and speeding up ice shelf disintegration. Surface water filling cracks and crevasses can break away ice shelves, causing portions to float away and eventually melt.
Found evidence for the presence of liquid water at or near the Earth's surface 4.3 billion years ago by analyzing Australian rocks, hinting that environments for life may have emerged on Earth roughly 400 million years earlier than previously thought.
Designed and developed a powerful X-ray telescope prototype that is expected to exceed the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope by 300,000 times, allowing astrophysicists to peer into voracious black holes. The telescope should be able to resolve an object the size of a Frisbee on the sun.
Planned and built a $9 million spectrograph for the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Observer, an orbiting NASA observatory launched in 1999 that is expected to shed light on the birth of galaxies and stars, and provide new information on quasars, black holes, and interstellar space.
Led a five-year national study that concluded the cost of U.S. natural hazards has averaged about $1 billion per week, and is expected to keep rising. The team of 132 experts from around the country reported that steps taken to reduce the impact of natural hazards sometimes make the situation even worse.
Provided more than 100 students, primarily undergraduates, the opportunity to design and build a satellite to collect data on Earth's atmosphere. Launched in 1998, the SNOE satellite is controlled by students and faculty 24 hours a day Ñ the only satellite in the world to be built and controlled on a university campus.
Followed a detailed study of a pivotal fault in Tennessee, and determined that the potential for a large earthquake along the New Madrid seismic zone in the central Mississippi Valley should be considered a serious threat. Three earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.5 hit the region in 1811-1812, causing church bells to ring as far away as Boston.
Developed an acoustical device to inspect the fouling of membranes (less than one-tenth as thick as a human hair) that are used to purify drinking water. The researchers filed a patent on the process and are working with the U.S. Army to test the novel technology.
Discovered and excavated the best preserved prehistoric village in Latin America, revealing the everyday lives of farming people who lived 1,400 years ago in present-day El Salvador.
Operate the Mountain Research Station west of Boulder to support research by students and faculty in ecology, chemistry and geology. The station's study area is the only long-term ecological research site funded by the National Science Foundation that is located in an alpine environment.
Initiated discovery of a genetic link to dyslexia, a finding that could eventually lead to early remediation of the reading disorder.
Designed and built a $12 million instrument now speeding toward Saturn on NASA's Cassini mission. The instrument will probe the atmosphere, rings and moons of the planet upon its anticipated arrival in 2004.
Created a novel drinking water treatment process using natural bacteria that may help towns and cities worldwide treat high nitrate levels in groundwater.
Organized the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, a NASA-funded project that has allowed students at 16 higher education institutions statewide to design, build and launch three sounding rocket experiments and three space shuttle experiments.