Science & Technology

<p>When this year’s iGEM team at the University of Colorado Boulder began meeting early this year, they wanted to take what they knew about biology, and use it to build something entirely new. iGEM, or International Genetically Engineered Machine, is the top synthetic biology competition in the world and after a foundation-building first year, the CU-Boulder team wanted to make an impact in 2013.</p>

<p>Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have successfully added a fourth dimension to their printing technology, opening up exciting possibilities for the creation and use of adaptive, composite materials in manufacturing, packaging and biomedical applications.</p>

<p>A California walking stick insect that has evolved to produce individuals with two distinct appearances—an all-green form that camouflages well with broader leaves and a form with a white stripe running down its back that blends better with needle-like leaves—can markedly affect its broader ecological community when the appearance of the bug is mismatched with the plant it’s living on.</p>
<p>The new findings, based on research carried out at the University of Colorado Boulder, illustrate the ability of rapid evolution to cause a cascade of ecological impacts.</p>

<p>Experts from global companies such as Facebook, Disney, Activision and major U.S. advertising agencies will be at the University of Colorado Boulder Oct. 24-25 for “Cultural Caffeine,” a series of public panels and events centering on the explosion of innovation in the creative industries.</p>

<p>Former University of Colorado President Alexander E. “Sandy” Bracken knows a few things about the role that effective leadership plays in career success and life in general.</p>
<p>As the Newton Leadership Chair at CU-Boulder, Bracken has the task – and desire – to bring more leadership training and development opportunities to students across all academic disciplines. One of the major components of this goal is the creation of the Newton Leadership Studies Minor, which will launch in the spring 2014 semester along with a new class (LEAD 1000) titled “Becoming a Leader.”</p>

<p>Engineering students at the University of Colorado Boulder will host the annual College Egg Drop competition Oct. 18 as part of Engineering Days. “E-Days” is an annual tradition during which students celebrate the engineering profession with fun and challenging competitions and social events. The event is organized by the University of Colorado Engineering Council (UCEC) and various student honor societies.</p>
<p>The egg drop, which starts at 1 p.m. on the west side of the Engineering Center, challenges students to create a contraption that will protect a raw egg when dropped from the eighth floor of the Engineering Center’s office tower.</p>

<p class="p1">Sky gazers will be better immersed in spectacular views at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium since the dome’s nearly 40-year-old analog projector was replaced with a new digital “star ball” in a project completed this week.</p>
<p class="p1">The modernized Fiske, which now can show a wider range of media including ultra high-definition movies, will reopen to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12.</p>

<p>Scott Carpenter, a University of Colorado Boulder alumnus and a famed NASA Mercury astronaut who became only the second American to orbit Earth, died Thursday.  He was 88.</p>
<p>Carpenter, a Boulder native, entered CU-Boulder’s astronautical engineering program in 1945, eventually earning a bachelor of science degree. He orbited Earth three times on May 24, 1962, in NASA’s Aurora 7 capsule before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.</p>

<p>A new University of Colorado Boulder study indicates drought high in the northern Colorado mountains is the primary trigger of a massive spruce beetle outbreak that is tied to long-term changes in sea-surface temperatures from the Northern Atlantic Ocean, a trend that is expected to continue for decades.</p>

<p>Electrical currents born from thunderstorms are able to flow through the atmosphere and around the globe, causing a detectable electrification of the air even in places with no thunderstorm activity.</p>