Letter from the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation 2017-18

Colleagues and friends, 

I’m delighted to share with you highlights from the University of Colorado Boulder’s 2017–18 research and creative work. 

Our research enterprise has again attracted record external research funding—more than $511 million this year—a fitting indication of the impact our campus is having on the wider world. 

Thousands of campus contributors—faculty, researchers, staff, postdocs and undergraduate and graduate students—play crucial roles in the university’s impact. Add in the contributions of our many collaborators, including partners in industry and federal labs, government, the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the local community and others, and you have something special that can happen only in Boulder. 

The first Research & Innovation Office Faculty Fellows leadership cohort, which includes faculty from religious studies to engineering and everything in between, is just as distinctive and shaping up to be a cornerstone of our future. The Fellows, featured throughout this report, are uniquely committed to excellence in their fields, collaborative approaches and a growth mindset. Over the next five years, 75 faculty will complete the program, creating a critical mass of innovative leaders unrivaled by any university in the world. 

By that time you’ll likely be experiencing the effects of the efforts covered in this report, in news of a space launch; increased safety from natural disasters; planning health and wellness approaches; or the energy that powers your car. I hope you enjoy a glimpse into that future.

Warm regards,

Terri Fiez
Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation
Research & Innovation Office