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Sarah Spaulding talks with students during a hike to sample diatoms in Rocky Mountain streams.

2023 Elizabeth Jester Fellows Award recipient Sarah Spaulding (NALMS)

May 2, 2023

Sarah Spaulding has been honored by the North American Lake Management Society for their extensive contributions to the aquatic sciences. These represent a career-long dedication and vision to improve science through coordination of research, unparalleled teaching and mentorship, and accessibility and engagement of all.

Photo of Keith Musselman

Keith Musselman joins the Department of Geography as Assistant Professor (Geography)

April 20, 2023

INSTAAR Fellow Keith Musselman has joined the Department of Geography. He studies how mountain snowpack supports sustainable ecosystems and water supply for people, wildlife, and agriculture.

Julio Sepulveda speaks about ocean microbes and how we can protect our ecosystems to a packed house at the Dairy Center.

The secret stories of ocean microbes (Research & Innovation Community Talk on YouTube)

Feb. 23, 2023

As part of CU Boulder's annual Research & Innovation Week (October 17–21, 2022), the 2022 Faculty Fellows gave short TED-style talks in the Gordon Gamm Theater at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder. In this talk, Dr. Julio Sepúlveda describes the microbes that fill our oceans, the impact of climate change on the ecosystems that depend on those microbes, and his research group’s work to better understand how we can all contribute to protecting our oceans and our planet.

Maddie Sanders, one of the CASE Fellows, works on a large mural

Announcing the Colorado Art Science Environment Fellows and Colorado State Capitol Exhibition (CU Boulder Community Outreach and Engagement)

Dec. 19, 2022

The Office for Outreach and Engagement announces the CASE Fellows program. The program pairs Colorado artists with CU Boulder scientists to produce art that will be exhibited at the Colorado State Capitol in an exhibition about how Coloradans are experiencing interrelated challenges of fire, drought, and water and air quality. Lisa Schwartz from OOE is leading the program in partnership with Shelly Sommer at INSTAAR, Boulder County Arts Alliance and with exhibition and curatorial support from Amy Hoagland.

Researcher Chad Wolak prepares NOAA air samples for carbon-14 measurement. Photo by Scott Lehman.

Climatologist Pieter Tans joins INSTAAR

Dec. 1, 2022

Renowned climatologist Pieter Tans has joined INSTAAR as a Fellow Emeritus. Tans will be working with colleagues at INSTAAR to continue investigations of atmospheric carbon and climate change.

Mike Gooseff rows a raft on the Colorado River during field work.

2022 Alumni Awards: Michael Gooseff - MCivEngr’98; PhD’01 (YouTube)

Nov. 22, 2022

Presentation on Michael Gooseff, winner of the 2022 Robert L. Stearns Award, profiles his career as a polar science researcher and educator. Gooseff leads the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research project, chairs the Water Quality Control Commission for the State of Colorado, and was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board on Water Body Connectivity for the Environmental Protection Agency among other leadership and teaching roles.

Scott Taylor

Research & Innovation Office names newest Faculty Fellow cohort (RIO)

Nov. 15, 2022

Scott Taylor (INSTAAR & EBIO) is one 17 CU Boulder faculty members selected by the Research and Innovation Office as their 2023 RIO Faculty Fellows cohort. The program supports faculty in achieving their research/innovation goals and promotes collaboration, all through tailored training, experiential learning and leadership development opportunities. Taylor and his cohort kick off 2023 with an intensive three-day retreat in January, followed by several more focused retreats and a variety of informal networking activities.

Randall Duncan on a research site near Crested Butte, Colorado, investigating how beavers influence hydrology. Photo by Katharine Lininger.

GEO-VETS initiative funds military veteran’s research project (CU Boulder Arts & Sciences)

Nov. 11, 2022

Randall Duncan is an undergraduate student who is also a U.S. Army veteran. He is pursuing dual degrees in geology and geography while working with Holly Barnard on hydrology research in the critical zone. Duncan is investigating how beavers influence rivers and floodplains near Crested Butte, Colorado, funded by the NSF GEO-VETS (Geosciences-Veterans Education and Training) initiative.

Warren Sconiers at one of his research sites on Niwot Ridge.

Warren Sconiers: A winding path of discovery through research and teaching (British Ecological Society)

Oct. 25, 2022

Warren Sconiers—an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder interested in plant-insect interactions, insect ecology, and climate change—shares his story as part of Black History Month.

Cover of the Living Landscape book, showing a girl in a red shirt in a meadow

New children’s book explores The Living Landscape

Oct. 10, 2022

A new children’s book is centered in the Critical Zone, the thin outer layer of Earth’s surface from the tops of the trees down to bedrock where life exists and interacts with rock, soil, water, and air. Designed for 8 to 12-year olds, the book is by INSTAARs Eric Parrish and Suzanne Anderson and is published by Muddy Boots Books.

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