News | People | Research Staff

People Spotlights are news stories centered on an INSTAAR member or group, rather than a science result or a community event. In many cases, the spotlight will focus on a person's latest award or special accomplishment.

Bruce Vaughn presents Sylvia Michel with the Outstanding PRA Award.

Sylvia Michel receives INSTAAR’s first Outstanding PRA Award

May 24, 2023

INSTAAR is pleased to announce that Sylvia Michel is the first recipient of its Outstanding PRA Award. This new award recognizes a professional research assistant (PRA) who has demonstrated excellence in their role and within the larger communities of INSTAAR and the University.

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.

Rolf Kihl, with thick glasses, works in the Sed Lab while wearing his cherished CU Buffs sweater.

In memoriam: Rolf Kihl

March 4, 2021

Rolf Kihl, a meticulous and inventive scientist who established INSTAAR’s Sedimentology Lab and ran it for decades, passed away on January 19, 2021. The INSTAAR community mourns his loss.