2017 Issue

The Brooke Owens Fellowship Program is a highly competitive, paid internship and mentorship program designed to honor the memory of Brooke Owens, a space industry pioneer and accomplished pilot. Owens’ career took her to NASA, the X-Prize Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the White House. Her enthusiasm and passion...

Computer scientist envisions a world where robots have that human touch Just mention the words “drone” or “robot” and some will conjure unsettling visions of a future in which computers threaten to take over the world. Dan Szafir, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and ATLAS Institute, envisions...

A new era in space exploration What does it take to create a satellite and send it to space? A lot of work, and until very recently, a decadelong time frame and $100 million or more. That’s all changing, and to say it’s been a radical shift almost understates the...

Academics, athletics, administration commingle in 42-year career When Professor Dave Clough retires after 42 years in chemical and biological engineering,his stat sheet will show successes in triplicate. The admired educator spent six years as associate dean and serves as CU Boulder’s faculty athletics representative. Though peers were sometimes skeptical of...

Far above Earth, a curious colony of spacefarers is sharing close quarters on the International Space Station as part of research that could one day help lead us to Mars. These are no ordinary astronauts, they are mice, and their journey could be key to solving a problem that vexes...

'Ninja Car' autonomous technology has potential for space exploration Self-driving cars may be in their infancy, but they’re already better drivers than humans in many ways, says Chris Heckman, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science. They don’t become overconfident, they are always focused and they’re much better...

Cracking the code on the least understood sense How do chemical messages rising from a piece of rotting food signal a mouse to turn left to find it? How does the shape and movement of that mouse’s odor plume alert a hungry predator that it’s getting close? And precisely what...

Tiny gadget captures every whoosh, thump and gurgle inside the body It looks like a small Band-Aid, but it’s powerful enough to allow a doctor to monitor the heart rate of a patient remotely or to enable someone to control a robot with voice commands. The “tiny, wearable stethoscope” was...

Robert H. Davis steps down as engineering dean, returns to teaching After more than 14 successful years as dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, Robert H. Davis returned to the chemical and biological engineering faculty in January 2017. With the conclusion of his tenure as dean, the...

Europa space probe wins international recognition As solar system destinations go, Europa is as tantalizing as it is inhospitable. The smallest of Jupiter’s four moons is encased by a miles-thick icy shell and bombarded with radiation levels fatal to any human. But scientists also believe that a vast liquid ocean...

Susie Gomez-Burgos inspires the next generation of engineers Outside of the silver screen, heroes don’t wear capes and leap tall buildings in a single bound. Instead, they’re everyday people doing extraordinary things with little fanfare. Take Susie Gomez-Burgos, a senior in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, majoring in...

Where would Shrek be without Donkey? Mr. Peabody without Sherman? Or Po the Kung Fu Panda without his trusty mentor, Master Shifu? At DreamWorks Animation, bringing those beloved duos to life requires collaborations of another kind. As manager of strategic alliances, CU Engineering alumnus Rob Sherwood cultivates partnerships with technology...