Research

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe in 2020, musicians around the world were desperate for the answers to two pressing questions: Can playing musical instruments transmit COVID-19? And if so, what can be done? Now, halfway through 2021, the first official research results are in—and it’s good news: The...

Banner Image: A view of the Fourmile Canyon Fire burning west of Boulder from an overlook in Louisville, Colorado on Sept. 6, 2010. (Credit: Glenn Asakawa/University of Colorado) Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have been awarded $1.1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for two projects...

Assistant Professor Marina Vance uses her passion for drawing to educate and inspire by creating animated science videos that share her research in aerosol particle transformation in easily accessible ways. As a recent NSF CAREER Award recipient , Vance will continue her research at the University of Colorado Boulder while...

In 2020, Colorado battled the four largest wildfires in its history, leaving residents anxious for another intense wildfire season this year. But last week, fires weren’t the issue—it was their aftermath. When heavy rains fell over the burn scar from the 2020 Cameron Peak fire, they triggered flash flooding and...

A new paper published by University of Colorado researchers found that female engineers are more likely to ask questions to gain more information, and they’re likely to ask those questions of other women. While not surprising, the findings reflect a disadvantage for women when it comes to professional growth in...

Map showing distribution of viral contigs. A University of Colorado Boulder team is part of a major international effort to sample surfaces and the air on mass transit vehicles. Two major international journals have published articles on the research, which included teams from CU Boulder engineering gathering samples on RTD...

School may be out for summer, but cleaner indoor air may be here to stay in some Colorado classrooms. With support from the heating and ventilation company Carrier Global, Intel and the Colorado-based Ryan Innovation Group, engineers at CU Boulder have installed hundreds of air quality monitors in K-12 classrooms...

La Jara is a small, rural town in southern Colorado. In 2014, an engineering team came in to redesign the town’s water piping infrastructure. Unfortunately, the town is now having major issues with water pressure, especially when the fire station is using water. These issues affect all members of the...

“If you have a water need, there’s a creative answer that we can find.” Sherri Cook is researching solutions for better wastewater treatment and reuse. An assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, Cook is focused on water and sanitation...

Irrigated agriculture is the planet's largest consumer of freshwater and ultimately produces more than 40% of food worldwide. Yet the exact amounts of water actually being used in irrigation remains largely unknown. Answering that question would provide insight into the global water balance – the flow of water in and...