Robot Stuffies, Hypersonic Flight and Dinosaurs

Outdoor Exposure Benefits During Pandemic 

Those with exposure to green spaces during 2020 reported lower depression and anxiety levels than those with fewer green spaces in their neighborhoods, according to a CU study published in March 2022. Researchers also found that a third of people spent more time outdoors than they did pre-pandemic. “This research shows how critical it is to keep parks and green spaces open in times of crisis,” said senior author Colleen Reid, geography assistant professor in the Institute for Behavioral Science. 

Robot Stuffies for Storytelling

Ordinary stuffed animals enhanced with human-computer interaction technology can help young children’s storytelling, according to scientist Layne Hubbard (CompSci’15; PhD’21). Hubbard and CU Boulder researchers found that many children aged four to five were comfortable telling a detailed story to a toy animal that asked them questions. Hubbard hopes to eventually partner with toy companies to create more educational products. “There’s no denying that our human-human interactions will always be the most important,” Hubbard told CU Boulder Today. “But toys let us do different things. They allow us to get messy with our ideas.” 

Advancing Hypersonic Flight 

A five-year, $7.5 million grant from the Department of Defense will help CU Boulder advance hypersonic flight research. Aerospace engineering professor Iain Boyd — also director of CU’s Center for National Security Initiatives — is leading the effort on campus. The grant will go toward investigating an unknown-but-disruptive plasma that forms when suborbital vehicles travel at hypersonic speeds. 

Heard Around Campus 

“​​Just the other day I saw a little kid, probably in preschool, walk up to that dinosaur and her mouth just fell open.”

— Jaelyn Eberle, CU Museum of Natural History curator of fossil vertebrates, when discussing the final days visitors could visit the Triceratops skull on campus. The fossil moved back to its permanent home at the Smithsonian in May after more than 40 years at CU.