Letter from the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation 2022-23

Colleagues and friends,

This year, the University of Colorado Boulder again attracted unprecedented investments in research that our faculty, researchers, students and staff are translating into discovery, innovation, creation and real-world solutions.

CU Boulder is committed to being the driving force behind a dynamic research and innovation ecosystem emanating from Colorado’s Front Range, with far-reaching impact on the state, the nation and beyond. And we’re creating impact through our strategic imperatives: Lead. Innovate. Impact.

We lead by purposefully reinforcing our core strengths, empowering ourselves to rise to the challenges of an ever-evolving world. We innovate through our focus on interdisciplinarity, for innovation flourishes at the intersections of ideas, disciplines and perspectives. We ensure impact by extending our vision beyond discovery, enriching communities worldwide and addressing pressing societal and environmental challenges. Embedded in our aspirations is a commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion to ensure our contributions are representative of the world we seek to shape.

The following stories embody these imperatives; advances in core strengths like space, biosciences and the environment; interdisciplinary combinations of artificial intelligence and education or filmmaking and chemistry; and broad impacts in areas like sustainable energy and community-strengthening creative work.

I’m pleased to share with you this selection of highlights from CU Boulder’s research, scholarship and creative work in 2022-23. I hope you enjoy these stories of the outstanding faculty, students and staff who continue to Lead. Innovate. Impact.

Best regards,

Massimo Ruzzene
Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation and Dean of the Institutes,
Research & Innovation Office