Research & Innovation Office eNews - April 2024

The 2024 New Venture Challenge (NVC) culminated in a final showcase on April 17 in front of a live audience cheering on the University of Colorado Boulder’s next big innovations. At an event filled with great ideas and even greater entrepreneurial spirit, five teams competed for $165,000 in prize money.

The business forecast report published annually by the Business Research Division (BRD) at the Leeds School of Business represents the Colorado business landscape in its entirety—from small, family-owned restaurants and farms to global corporations and every venture between.

Now in its 16th year, the Research & Innovation Seed Grant program stimulates new and exciting areas of research and creative work on campus. Awardees come from disciplines across the university—including ventures involving interdisciplinary work and disciplines not traditionally connected to sponsored research.

The Intermountain West innovation ecosystem came together at the sixth annual Destination Startup Investor Showcase hosted by Venture Partners at CU Boulder. In a highly competitive field, twenty-three select ventures from the region’s research institutions presented at the showcase.

World Quantum Day, celebrated on April 14, is a worldwide initiative to promote the public understanding of quantum science. Learn more about the tight-knit quantum research community centered at CU Boulder, NIST, JILA and the surrounding Front Range area, including established companies and startups.

According to the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings, numerous CU Boulder graduate-level programs are among the top 25 of their kind in the country. Environmental law, atomic/molecular/optical physics, geology and physical chemistry continue to be ranked within the top 10.

The New Venture Challenge (NVC) and Venture Partners at CU Boulder teamed up to present the NVC Deep Tech competition, awarding $53K to groundbreaking new ventures from CU Boulder, including innovative approaches to wastewater treatment, novel battery technology and dynamic pricing for hotels.

"Justin is a leader with whom CU Boulder’s power and promise resonates," said CU System President Todd Saliman. "He blends a strong appreciation for the liberal arts with a deep commitment to our research enterprise, and understands and embraces our mission to serve our students, our state and our society."