Evan Thomas stands next to one of his filtration devices in Africa

CEAE and other teams awarded $160M NSF-funded effort to promote climate resilience

Feb. 1, 2024

Professor Evan Thomas is leading a CEAE team that along with others has won a $160 million, 10-year NSF Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine (CO-WY Engine) in the inaugural Regional Innovation Engines program at NSF. This program is for development and commercialization of climate-resilient and sustainable technologies that will help communities across the region and the country monitor, mitigate and adapt to climate impacts.

Carlo Salvinelli and Kat Demaree reviewing equipment with a representative from Armenia.

CU Boulder water quality expertise goes international in Armenia

Aug. 7, 2023

University of Colorado Boulder researchers are advancing water resource management in the South Caucasus through a partnership with Deloitte Consulting. Associate Professor Evan Thomas, director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience, is the principal investigator on the contract.

Children getting water from a Virridy thermos in Africa.

CU Boulder spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co.

June 2, 2023

Mortenson Center Director Evan Thomas leads Virridy, which is working to connect the global carbon credit market to water treatment.

Evan Thomas receives AEESP Award for Global Outreach

April 5, 2023

Evan Thomas , professor of civil engineering and director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience , received the 2023 Steven K. Dentel AEESP Award for Global Outreach . The award, given annually by the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, recognizes outstanding contributions and leadership by...

Evan Thomas stands next to one of his filtration devices in Africa

Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it?

March 29, 2023

Professor Evan Thomas discussed CU Boulder’s work to bring climate finance solutions to water quality challenges in the American West and East Africa at TedXCU on April 7 in Macky Auditorium.

Evan Thomas

Drought is a global health crisis — capitalism could be a surprising solution

Aug. 2, 2022

Evan Thomas discusses the possibilities of using carbon offset markets to address water scarcity in a new column in Harvard Public Health. Thomas, an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and director the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering, is an expert in water and air...

Researchers work on a project to develop a blockchain and sensor platform for groundwater conservation in California.

CU Boulder, Deloitte launch Climate Innovation Collaboratory to accelerate action on climate crisis

April 19, 2022

Deloitte and the University of Colorado Boulder on Tuesday launched a new Climate Innovation Collaboratory to translate cutting-edge climate research and data into meaningful climate solutions for federal, state and local government agencies and communities. Researchers work on a project to develop a blockchain and sensor platform for groundwater conservation...

An engineering looking at graphics

Newly published paper revolutionizes global engineering curriculum

March 28, 2022

A new publication headed by the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering seeks to create better alignment among academic programs and sector needs when it comes to training engineers in global development. The publication comes after the center hosted over 100 participants from universities, donors, government agencies and industry partners for...

Evan Thomas

Podcast: Evan Thomas on how to tackle global poverty

April 19, 2021

Meet Dr. Evan Thomas, a professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and Aerospace Engineering Sciences, and Director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering. In this episode, Dr. Thomas shares how his family’s interests in journalism, engineering and entrepreneurship, as well as his experiences with Engineering Without Borders, inspired...

Evan Thomas

Keeping a dry eye on drought in East Africa

Feb. 4, 2021

As rainfall is increasingly scarce in East Africa, existing groundwater supplies become the main source of water for people, livestock and agriculture. Maintaining access to this life-sustaining resource requires an extensive network of wells and pumps. Earth observations from NASA satellites can indicate that a drought might be on the...