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Recycling is extremely difficult for things built with more than one type of plastic. Michael Rivera and the Utility Research Lab team have developed a novel way to disassemble 3D-printed objects for easy recycling.
Laura Devendorf describes how wearable technologies like e-textiles can help people to gather insights into and reflect upon intimate moments rather than to modify or enhance them.
CU Boulder ranks number 11 among public university peers for its engineering graduate programs according to U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings for 2025-26.
At the ATLAS Institute, students tackle real-world challenges through design. Hacking the Apocalypse, a course led by Zack Weaver, teaches undergraduate and graduate students to apply design principles to address a surprising topic: apocalypse preparedness. Using Arduino-based electronics and fabrication techniques, students develop novel water collection and treatment systems.
ATLAS researchers developed press-on nails that are biodegradable, colorful and endlessly customizable with open-source technology and low-cost biomaterials for a more sustainable fashion moment.
E-textiles and smart textiles have sustainability challenges related to recycling and reuse. ATLAS researchers are investigating novel materials and techniques to simplify how we can separate and recover valuable materials from textile waste.
ATLAS assistant teaching professor, Anthony Pinter, researches breakup songs and how breakups affect our digital lives. He shares some top breakup songs and why they affect us.
The 2025 T9 Hacks hackathon empowers students to work together over 24 hours to tackle a pressing design challenge. This year’s event, sponsored by Medtronic and the ATLAS Institute, focuses on healthcare in three tracks: AI in health, cybersecurity, and patient safety. Open to all, T9 Hacks aims to expand the audience for hackathons and bring a broader set of creative minds together to solve problems.
Kate Starbird (ATLAS PhD) was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the U.S. government’s highest honor for early-career researchers. Now an associate professor at the University of Washington, Starbird’s groundbreaking research in crisis informatics and disinformation highlights the value of interdisciplinary engineering and design.
Selected artists will develop sonic works at The TANK, a transformative audio lab housed inside a massive decommissioned water tank in Rangley, Colorado, then present the works at the B2's Black Box Studio, which is equipped with an ambisonic sound array.