Campus News

Rise of the BOLDERBoulder

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:29:05 +0000

Rise of the BOLDERBoulder Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:29

Julia MacLean

Olympian Frank Shorter winning the 1981 BOLDERBoulder.

When the BOLDERBoulder race debuted in May 1979 with 2,200 finishers, it was already one of the largest 10Ks in the Rocky Mountain Region. Within a year, participation more than doubled. Impressed by the race’s momentum, then-CU System president Arnold Weber and then-��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� athletic director Eddie Crowder invited race founder Steve Bosley (RelEst’68) to bring the finish line to campus.

In 1981, over 8,500 runners charged towards the finish at Folsom Field. In the decades since, over 1.5 million racers have crossed the finish line on Memorial Day at the iconic ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� stadium.

While the race course has changed frequently, with a dozen differing routes since 1979, every version has weaved through Boulder’s neighborhoods, business districts and the CU campus.

The BOLDERBoulder stands out not just for its size but also for its lively bystanders. From the race’s early years, local residents have lined the streets with sprinklers and speakers, adding encouragement and fun through public Slip ’N Slides, backyard BBQs and costumed characters.

Even with the entertainment, though, the race is a serious competition — at altitude — and its International Team Challenge attracts top athletes from around the world.

“We coined the phrase ‘Sea Level is for Slackers,’” said current race director Cliff Bosley.

Over 105 Olympians have competed over the years, including race co-founder Frank Shorter. In 2010, Runner’s World named the race “America’s All-Time Best 10K.”

In 2025, over 46,000 people participated in the race, ranging in age from 5 to 98, making it the third-largest road race in the nation.

Did you race in the BOLDERBoulder while you were at CU? We want to hear your memories! Email us at editor@colorado.edu.

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Photos courtesy BOLDERBoulder

When the race debuted in May 1979 with 2,200 finishers, it was already one of the largest 10Ks in the Rocky Mountain Region.

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The History of Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:24:05 +0000

The History of Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:24

Sarah Kuta

For years, North Denver residents complained about bad smells wafting through their neighborhoods, but nothing ever seemed to change. Then, they got in touch with Shelly Miller, a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� professor emerita of mechanical engineering who studies urban air quality.

Miller took their concerns seriously and sprang into action. Working in collaboration with residents and local community organizations, she conducted research to identify the sources of the odors and determine whether and how they might be affecting air quality. As suspected, the pungent aromas were coming from nearby industrial facilities, including a pet food factory, an oil refinery, a roofing plant and an animal rendering plant. Miller’s research also detected higher-than-normal concentrations of air pollutants during stinky periods.

In 2016, as a result of her findings, and with continued lobbying from residents, the City of Denver strengthened its odor ordinance. The new rules didn’t completely solve the problem, but they were a step in the right direction — one that helped make North Denver residents feel seen and heard.

Miller’s efforts are an example of public and community-engaged scholarship, or research that connects with and involves individuals beyond the university and, often, contributes to public conversations and policies.

“A lot of my projects up to that point had been lab-based or more controlled setups,” said Miller. “I started thinking about my contributions to science, and I realized I really wanted to impact people’s lives today.”

For ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, this kind of research has been crucial to the university’s ethos since its inception 150 years ago. It continues today with innovative scholars like Miller, who are committed to studying and solving real-world problems — everything from reducing wildfire risk to bridging the political divide.

“It’s really essential to our identity as Colorado’s public flagship university,” said David Meens, executive director of the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES), which has helped fund Miller’s air quality work. “The spirit of service is so strong, and it really comes from the ground up. People here want the scholarship they’re producing to be of value to people.”

PACES can involve community members directly in research projects

Engagement with the community was seen as essential for any public institution to be viable.

— David Meens, executive director of the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES)

Engagement Origins

In 1861, Colorado’s first territorial legislature passed a bill to establish the university, though the plans took more than a decade to materialize in Boulder. These lawmakers commissioned the university to educate students, but they also had a much broader goal in mind: serving every resident of Colorado. That charge was later stipulated in a federal land grant and enshrined in the state’s constitution.

“Engagement with the community was seen as essential for any public institution to be viable,” said Meens. “It would take an understanding of its value and buy-in from really diverse communities — geographically, demographically — because its authorizing charge was really about supporting public life in Colorado.”

In 1912, the university established a new extension office to help bring that vision to life. The unit’s first director, Loran D. Osborn, felt the university’s resources were so valuable they should be made available to “individuals who cannot come within the college walls and communities which are seeking information and guidance in solution of the complex problems of modern life,” he wrote in the first University Extension Bulletin in February 1912.

In the ensuing decades, the unit greatly expanded ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� footprint throughout Colorado, with offerings like correspondence courses, public lectures, citizenship programs, radio broadcasts and clinics throughout the state. By the 1970s, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� had become a major national research institution, an identity shift that also broadened its community engagement focus. ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� researchers began pursuing national and international projects, in addition to those closer to home.

That same ethos has carried through to the modern era. In 2001, the university created a new hub to support its community engagement activities, both in Colorado and beyond — the Office for University Outreach, which is now PACES.

Over the last 2.5 decades, PACES has awarded more than $8 million to various projects, from dance programs in rural Colorado communities to clean water initiatives in Africa — a project that ultimately gave rise to Engineers Without Borders USA, now a well-known and longstanding nonprofit.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scholars have also taken a stand against bullying using live theater, worked to make classrooms more inclusive for all students, and helped Rocky Mountain National Park develop new Indigenous history exhibits and programs. They’ve taught underrepresented youth how to code, helped rural communities maintain their historic water distribution philosophies, and delivered free fossil kits to schools around the state.

“We’re really interested in hearing from people directly and listening to the issues they have,” said Meens. “We want to know what’s going on so we can identify resources and folks on campus who might be able to help. We bridge that gap and put those pieces together.”

In addition to addressing the needs of Colorado communities, this type of work benefits ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� students, faculty and staff.

“Engaging in real-world contexts makes research better and more interesting,” said Meens. “Students who participate in these types of experiences learn more, and they have a more positive experience overall. Really, community-engaged scholarship is a tremendous value-add across all of the university’s core activities.”

Force for Good

In November 2025, Chancellor Justin Schwartz moved PACES into the newly formed Outreach and Community Engagement unit within his office — a move that elevates and reaffirms the university’s commitment to public and community-engaged research, teaching and creative work for the years to come.

Externally, PACES will continue fostering authentic relationships across Colorado and beyond. At a time when public confidence in higher education is waning and communities are facing numerous challenges, Meens believes public and community-engaged research will remain a force for good.

“We have a real opportunity,” he said. “We’re in a moment where folks understand the value of collaboration and working to achieve bigger things in ways that are beneficial to everyone. There’s so much more we can achieve.”

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Photos courtesy Shelly Miller

Research involving the community has been crucial to the university’s ethos since its inception 150 years ago.

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CU Researchers Study Potential Links Between Hearing Loss and Dementia

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:19:01 +0000

CU Researchers Study Potential Links Between Hearing Loss and Dementia Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:19

Lisa Marshall

Can hearing loss cause dementia?

Professor Anu Sharma gets this question a lot. As an auditory neuroscientist in CU’s Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Sharma has spent much of her career in a soundproof room on the Boulder campus, spying on volunteers’ brain activities as headphones pipe sound into their ears. Her small yet high-tech studies have produced some of the most detailed evidence that hearing loss, even in early, mild stages, reorganizes the way the brain responds to sound and other stimuli.

The findings complement a growing body of large public health studies linking presbycusis, also known as age-related hearing loss, and cognitive decline.

A seminal 2011 study from Johns Hopkins University found that, over the course of 12 years, people with mild hearing loss were twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia, while those with moderate to severe hearing loss were three to five times as likely. In 2017, the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention identified hearing loss as the “single largest potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia.”

Such studies have sparked worrying headlines, emboldened some hearing aid companies to claim their products can “prevent Alzheimer’s disease,” and prompted older patients to ask their audiologists about cognitive health.

“Ten years ago, almost nobody would come into the clinic asking about brain health,” said Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah, director of audiology at CU Anschutz. Now, it happens all the time.

Sharma and Manchaiah still respond cautiously.

“There’s a lot of fear-mongering going on, and that worries me,” Sharma said. While ample evidence shows that hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline, it’s still not clear whether it causes it — and if so, how and what can be done.

That’s where Sharma’s lab comes in. By studying the brain activity of adults in various stages of hearing loss, she hopes to shed light not only on what, precisely, presbycusis does to the brain, but also whether hearing aids can undo the damage.

Professor Anu Sharma

Rewiring the Circuit

Seated in her office, images of brain scans glowing red and yellow on her computer monitor, Sharma explains the concept that has inspired much of her 20-year career: cross-modal plasticity.

“One of the most remarkable aspects of our brain is its ability to adapt to change,” she said. “A basic tenet of this ability is that the brain will reorganize itself following sensory deprivation.”

She first saw this in children born deaf. Sharma found that because their auditory cortex (the brain region earmarked for sound processing) was deprived of sound, their brains repurposed that valuable real estate to assist other senses, like vision and touch, instead.

This elegant rewiring has its upsides.

For instance, studies have shown that, with multiple parts of their brains weighing in to process what they see and feel, some deaf individuals are better at recognizing faces and have a heightened sense of touch.

“It is a dynamic and elegant plasticity,” said Sharma. “And for a long time we had only seen it in children that were born deaf or adults that were profoundly deaf.”

In 2011, after reading the first news stories associating hearing loss with cognitive decline, she wondered: Could such rewiring occur in earlier, milder stages of hearing loss?

She and her students recruited dozens of people with hearing loss, along with age-matched participants with normal hearing. As flashing objects marched across a monitor or vibrations tickled their fingertips, an EEG (electroencephalogram) cap with 128 electrodes measured electrical activity in their brains.

When the first results came in, “I was shocked,” recalled Sharma.

Even among those with mild hearing loss, the brain had already begun to rewire itself, leveraging parts of its sound processing center to help make sense of sights and sensations.

But of greater concern was what happened when they tried to make sense of sound.

When the repeated sound “ba” was played for those with hearing loss, it prompted only limited activation in the auditory cortex. Meanwhile, brain regions responsible for working memory and other cognitive functions crackled with activity.

“Even as early as mild hearing loss, listening becomes effortful,” Sharma explained. “As a result, you do two things: You rely more heavily on other modalities, like vision, and you use parts of your brain designed for cognition.”

Some have theorized that this extra load on the brain’s memory centers eats up “cognitive reserve,” boosting risk of decline later in life.

And Sharma’s own studies show that those with untreated age-related hearing loss tend to perform worse on cognitive tasks.

“Anu has done some landmark research showing that, even with mild hearing loss, you can have changes in the brain,” said Manchaiah. “The big question now is: Can you do something about it?”

Hearing Loss by the Numbers

30%

Adults over age 50 who have age-related hearing loss

15%

Adults who could benefit from hearing aids in the U.S. and use them

7-10 years

Adults typically wait this long to seek treatment for hearing loss

$2,000 to $7,000

Average cost of prescription hearing aids

$1,000 to $2,000

Average cost of OTC hearing aids

Can Hearing Aids Prevent Cognitive Decline?

In 2020, Sharma published the results of a small but groundbreaking study.

Her lab found that when 21 adults with untreated, mild to moderate age-related hearing loss wore hearing aids for six months, their brains began to look more like those of people with normal hearing again. In essence, that cross-modal plasticity had reversed.

Most also scored better on cognitive tests than they had prior to getting hearing aids.

The study, while promising, came with caveats and prompted more questions.

For instance, participants were professionally fitted with state-of-the-art hearing aids and wore them for an average of 10 hours a day. Would people experience beneficial brain changes and cognitive improvements with less expensive hearing aids? How much does fit matter? And how long do they need to be worn?

Larger studies elsewhere have yielded mixed results.

One randomized controlled trial, published in 2023, showed that hearing aids did not reduce the risk of cognitive decline on a population-wide level, but they did in specific subgroups, including people with cardiovascular disease.

All this makes it hard for doctors to give patients a straight answer, said Manchaiah.

So, he and Sharma are working to fill the research gap.

In 2025, armed with a $3.5 million National Institutes of Health grant, they launched an ambitious five-year study.

The randomized controlled trial plans to recruit 280 people with early, untreated hearing loss and divide them into four groups: prescription hearing aids with professional fit; over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids with in-person support from an audiologist; OTC hearing aids with online support from an audiologist; and OTC self-fit groups.

All study participants will receive free hearing aids (to keep) and undergo EEG, cognitive and behavioral testing before and after use. They will complete questionnaires and surveys throughout the study.

“This is one of the largest hearing aid studies ever done, in terms of the number of different things we are measuring,” said Machaiah, who is leading the study along with Sharma. “There are many unanswered questions, but in a few years we will have a lot more answers.”

In the meantime, Sharma said there are many other reasons to seek treatment for age-related hearing loss, as research has shown it can contribute to social isolation and depression.

“Regardless of the cognitive issues, if you have hearing loss, it’s really smart to get hearing aids,” said Sharma. “They will enhance your quality of life.”

To inquire about participating in the study, email eeglab@colorado.edu.

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Illustrations by Petre Péterffy

A ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� lab is exploring how age-related hearing loss rewires the brain — and whether hearing aids can undo the damage.

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Celebrating 150 Years of CU People

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:16:07 +0000

Celebrating 150 Years of CU People Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:16

Julia MacLean

Over 150 years, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� has been shaped by the vision, courage and tenacity of many students, faculty, staff and alumni. These Buffs have spurred change for the university and left an imprint on the legacy that propels it forward.

Joseph Sewall

1877 — Became CU’s first president

A 19th-century American physician, scientist and educator, Joseph Sewall served as ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� first president from 1877 to 1887. Before he arrived in Colorado, he trained in medicine and natural science and taught as a professor of chemistry at Illinois State Normal University. When CU opened on Sept. 5, 1877, there was only a single building — Old Main — which contained classrooms, a library, a chapel and the living quarters for the Sewall family.

Today, Sewall is remembered as the man “in at the birth” of CU, who directed its first steps and helped lay the foundation for what the university would become. In 1935, the university built Sewall Hall in his honor, which is the oldest continuously used residence hall on campus.

Mary Rippon in 1882.

Mary Rippon

1878 — Appointed CU’s first female professor

Mary Rippon’s distinguished career at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� spanned over 30 years. Besides making history as the first female professor at CU, she is also believed to be one of the first women in the United States to teach at a state university. Beloved by students, Rippon taught language and literature, eventually earning a position as head of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literature. She is honored today by the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre on CU’s campus. Rippon also lived a fascinating hidden life — in 1888, she secretly married a CU student, Will Housel, and gave birth to their daughter, Miriam Housel. She concealed this truth for decades to retain her position and support her family.

Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Jones (Ger’1918)

1918 — Graduated from CU

Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Jones was an educator and the first known Black woman to graduate from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��. Born to parents who had been enslaved, she grew up in the Barnum subdivision of Denver, where her family became the area’s first Black property owners. Before attending CU, she broke barriers by becoming the first Black graduate to earn a two-year teaching degree from what is now the University of Northern Colorado. In 1918, she earned a bachelor’s degree in German from CU — however, due to racial prejudice, she was not allowed to walk across the stage at commencement or appear in the yearbook. Her diploma was handed to her off-stage, an act that led her to vow that she would never return to campus. Nearly 100 years after her graduation, CU formally recognized Buchanan’s achievement, and during the 2018 commencement ceremony, a diploma was symbolically accepted on her behalf by CMDI associate professor Polly McLean.

George Norlin

1919 — Appointed president of CU

George Norlin joined CU as a classics professor in 1899, became acting president in 1917 and began serving as permanent president in 1919, where he remained until 1939. Under his transformative leadership, CU underwent a dramatic period of expansion, despite the Great Depression: the student body more than tripled, several university buildings were constructed and architect Charles Klauder redesigned the campus in the Tuscan vernacular style. Norlin left a lasting moral and cultural legacy at the university. He is famous for resisting pressure from the legislature (influenced by the Ku Klux Klan), refusing to dismiss all Catholic and Jewish faculty. He also wrote The Norlin Charge, first read at the 1935 commencement ceremony, which remains a part of CU tradition today.

Byron White (Econ’38)

1935 — Earned the Buffaloes national attention

Byron “Whizzer” White is among the most celebrated student-athletes in the history of Colorado Buffaloes football. His senior year, he led the Buffaloes through a successful season, earning national attention and helping elevate the profile of the program. He was later inducted into the Buffaloes’ Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of his elite play and impact on CU athletics. After his athletic career, White distinguished himself in public service, eventually serving as a justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Peggy Coppom (A&S ex’46) and Betty Hoover (A&S ex’46)

1940 — Began cheering on the Buffs

The “CU Twins” earned legendary status on campus through decades of unwavering devotion to CU athletics. The sisters first began cheering for the Buffs as Boulder High School students. They were loyal season ticket holders for CU football (beginning in the late 1950s) and basketball (late 1970s). Wearing matching goldenrod CU sweatshirts and waving pom-poms, Peggy and Betty became a fixture in the stands and remain one of the most iconic fan duos in school history. After Betty’s death in 2020, Peggy’s dedication to CU has remained as strong as ever. In recognition of her lifelong commitment, Peggy was honored with the 2025 Chancellor’s Impact Award.

David Bolen (Mktg; MBA’50)

1948 — Competed in the Olympic Games

After David Bolen served in the Army Air Force for two years during World War II, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� track and field coach Frank Potts recruited him to the university. He then earned All-America honors. At 25, Bolen became the first CU student to qualify for the 1948 U.S. Olympic Team, where he placed fourth in the 400m race at the London games. After graduating, Bolen began a distinguished diplomatic career, serving as U.S. Ambassador to Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland beginning in 1974, and to East Germany beginning in 1977. He also was the first Black ambassador to a nation behind the Iron Curtain.

Billy Kidd

1964 — Won an Olympic alpine skiing medal

In February 1964, at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Billy Kidd became the first U.S. man to win an Olympic alpine skiing medal, a silver in the slalom. Over the next several years, he captured gold in the combined event at the 1970 World Championships in Val Gardena and became the first American man to win a world alpine title. He then went professional, claiming the pro world championship that same year. After graduating from CU, Kidd remained in Colorado and became the long-time director of skiing at Steamboat Ski Resort in 1970. Beyond instruction, he helped initiate ski-based outreach and inclusion efforts, supporting Special Olympics athletes, wounded veterans and Native American youth through ski camps and mentorship programs.

“Ralph”

1966 — Folsom Field debut

The first official Ralphie mascot, “Ralph” was the live buffalo that launched one of the most beloved traditions at the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��. In 1965, CU freshman Bill Lowery was determined to bring a live buffalo to Buffs football games instead of a costumed mascot. With the help of his rancher father, he successfully brought a buffalo calf from northeastern Colorado to Boulder. Ralph made her debut at Folsom Field on Oct. 1, 1966, charging onto the field with Lowery and a few of his fellow students flailing alongside her in cowboy boots.

Juan Espinosa (Jour’74)

1972 — Launched the newspaper El Diario de la Gente

As a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� student, Espinosa launched the bilingual newspaper El Diario de la Gente in 1972 as a member of the United Mexican American Students, a campus group aimed at bringing cultural awareness to Boulder’s Chicano community. The Vietnam War veteran later moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where he co-founded the alternative community newspaper La Cucaracha and worked for 22 years at The Pueblo Chieftain.

Tom Cech

1989 — Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

A distinguished professor of chemistry at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, Thomas Cech is a renowned biochemist whose work has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of molecular biology. After earning his doctorate degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1975 and completing postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined the faculty of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� in 1978. In 1982, he and his research group made a groundbreaking discovery that RNA molecules, specifically from the pond organism Tetrahymena thermophila, could splice themselves, acting as enzymes in cellular reactions without proteins. In recognition of this paradigm-shifting work, Cech was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989. Cech continues to lead research and education at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� as the founding director of the BioFrontiers Institute.

Ceal Barry

2018 — Inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame

As head coach for over 22 seasons, Ceal Barry left an undeniable mark on ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� women’s basketball. In her time as coach, she accumulated a record of 427-242, the most wins by any head coach in CU sports history. Under her leadership, the program flourished. She had 13 seasons with 20 or more wins, 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the Elite Eight. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 in recognition of her impact and achievements. After stepping down as coach, Barry served for 15 years in CU Athletics administration, including a year as interim athletic director in 2013. The university unveiled Ceal Barry Plaza in her honor in January 2026.

Joe Neguse (Econ, PolSci’05; Law’09)

2018 — Elected to Congress

At ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Joe Neguse was involved in student government, served as co-student body president under the “tri-executive” system and worked on issues like diversity, affordability and higher-education finance. After graduating, he went on to serve on the CU Board of Regents, co-founded a nonprofit aimed at youth civic engagement and worked in Colorado politics. In 2018, Neguse was elected to represent Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first Black Coloradan elected to Congress. During his time in office, he has focused on priorities like public-lands protection, affordable higher education, consumer protection and government accountability.

Wei Wu (MMus’13)

2019 — Awarded a Grammy Award

A bass singer from Beijing, Wei Wu has built a remarkable career in opera, earning international acclaim. Upon arriving in the U.S. in 2007, he auditioned for graduate work at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� College of Music, officially enrolling in 2008. During his time at CU, he honed and perfected the vocal technique, diction and stage presence that became instrumental to his professional success. Wu received his big break after performing the role of Kôbun Chino Otogawa in the world premiere of “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” at Santa Fe Opera. The recording won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.

David Ellsworth (Art’71; MFA’73)

2021 — Honored with the Smithsonian Visionary Award

David Ellsworth helped elevate wood turning from a utilitarian craft to fine art. While studying sculpture at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, he developed his signature approach, “blind turning,” a method using a set of bent tools that enables woodturners to hollow out wood into elegant, thin-walled vessels. Ellsworth taught his strategies at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and Anderson Ranch Arts Center, going on to found his own Ellsworth School of Woodturning. In 2021, he was honored with the Smithsonian Visionary Award by the Smithsonian Institution in recognition of his “ground-breaking, innovative and transformative career in wood art.”

Sarah Gillis (AeroEngr’17)

2024 — Played the violin in space

Sarah Gillis made history on Sept. 13, 2024 when she became the first person to play the violin in space, performing “Rey’s Theme” from Star Wars: The Force Awakens aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft more than 870 miles above Earth. Her crewmates captured her performance, which took place in zero gravity conditions during the Polaris Dawn mission, and sent to Earth via Starlink. Gillis first developed an interest in space in high school and went on to study aerospace engineering at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��. After internships and work at SpaceX, she joined the Polaris Dawn crew as a mission specialist, where she became the youngest astronaut to participate in a spacewalk.

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Photo credits: In order of appearance: Courtesy Carnegie Library for Local History/Museum of Boulder Collection (Mary Rippon); CU Heritage Center (Joseph Sewall); CU Heritage Center (George Norlin); Glenn Asakawa (Peggy Coppom and Betty Hoover); Courtesy the Buchanan Archives (Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Jones); Courtesy Tom Cech; Glenn Asakawa (Tom Cech); Polaris Dawn crew (Sarah Gillis); Soloman Howard (Wei Wu); Courtesy Juan Espinosa; CU Heritage Center (David Bolen); CU Heritage Center (Byron White); CU Athletics (Ceal Barry); Courtesy Joe Neguse; Roshni Gorur/Courtesy of Anderson Ranch (David Ellsworth); Courtesy Billy Kidd; Coloradan archives (Ralphie)

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� has been shaped by the vision, courage and tenacity of many students, faculty, staff and alumni since 1876.

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Rundown and Scores Spring 2026

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:13:58 +0000

Rundown and Scores Spring 2026 Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:13

Andrew Daigle

Fernando Lovo, CU's new athletic director.

Buff Bits

Fernando Lovo was named Director of Athletics (AD) on Dec. 29, becoming Colorado’s seventh full-time AD in school history.

Volleyball (23-9, 12-6 Big 12) reached the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Buffs defeated American University on Dec. 4 before falling to Indiana University the next day.

Track and field’s Isaiah Givens (EnvSt’26) ran the mile in 3:57.52 on Jan. 17 at the Potts Invitational in Boulder, recording the fastest mile on Colorado soil.

All-American defensive back Chris Hudson (Mktg’94) was selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Hudson is the 12th Buffalo to join the Hall.

All-American goalkeeper Jordan Nytes (Soc’25; MOrgLead’26) signed a professional contract with Denver Summit FC, joining the team for its inaugural season in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Coach Talk

“Our athletes showed real growth this season, and we are only scratching the surface of what this group can become.”

— Sean Carlson, CU men’s and women’s cross-country and track and field director, after the 2025 Cross Country National Championships in November.

Scores

1st

→

Honoree for women’s basketball Wall of Honor, Jaylyn Sherrod (Soc’22; MSOL’23; MCJ’24), was recognized in November.

→

Louison Accambray’s (PolSci’26) consecutive giant slalom wins at the Colorado Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational in Aspen.

10-1

→

Men’s basketball’s record through the first 11 games of the 2025-26 season, the Buffs’ best start since 2015–16.

13th

→

Women’s cross-country final 2025 NCAA ranking.

→

Former and current Buffs competed in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

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Photos courtesy CU Athletics

A new ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Director of Athletics, plus Buffs showing up in volleyball, track and field and soccer.

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Cyborg Jellyfish at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:12:40 +0000

Cyborg Jellyfish at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:12

Julia MacLean

It’s not uncommon for people to frequently stop in front of assistant professor Nicole Xu’s mechanical engineering lab, mesmerized by the giant aquarium of drifting moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita). Inside, Xu’s team has created “cyborg” jellies, fitting them with tiny microelectronic devices that steer their movements with pacemaker-like pulses. The technology could transform deep-sea exploration by offering an energy-efficient way to gather climate data in remote waters — and inspire the next generation of ultra-efficient underwater vehicles.

500 million+ years

evolutionarily unchanged

20 years

captive lifespan

2 years

wild lifespan

Data Divers

Energy-efficient

Most efficient swimmers on earth.

Future upgrades

Sensors for temperature, pH, salinity.

Health and safety

of the jellies are prioritized.

Small cameras

enable the study of animals in their natural environments.

Data collection

Information can be collected by swarms of jellyfish at higher spatial and temporal resolutions.

Biohybrid Robots

Moon jellyfish fitted with tiny electronic devices.

Control and steering

Devices simulate swimming muscles like a pacemaker.

Safe

Stinging cells can’t penetrate human skin.

Small sensors

measure changes in the ocean to track climate change.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Program

Part of a Denver Aquarium partnership, which includes well-being checks on the jellies by aquarists.

Goal is affordable, sustainable ocean monitoring.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Aurelia Aurita (Moon Jellyfish)

Size

As small as one centimeter (half of a penny) or larger than a dinner plate.

Environments

Found in a wide variety of ocean habitats around the world.

Diet

Zooplankton, crustacean larvae, small fish.

Anatomy

No brain, but sensory nerves for movement.

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Photos by Glenn Asakawa

Pioneering research helps us understand more about our oceans.

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Buffalo Statues of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:09:03 +0000

Buffalo Statues of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:09

Some stand framed by the Flatirons; others are tucked into campus corners. A few are carved from marble; many are cast in bronze.

Several have horns smoothed by thousands of hopeful hands, rubbed for luck, for courage, for something just ahead. Each one holds a piece of someone’s ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� story.

Scattered across the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� campus, buffalo statues are abundant. They stand as enduring symbols of strength, resilience and a united spirit for all who pass by.

Do you have a favorite? Email your photos to editor@colorado.edu.

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Photos by Casey A. Cass, Glenn Asakawa and Patrick Campbell

Where do the buffalo roam on campus?

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The Partnership that Shaped Boulder

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:07:57 +0000

The Partnership that Shaped Boulder Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:07

Thomas Andrews

As a Boulder-born Fairview High School graduate and one of just a few second-generation faculty members at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, it is nearly impossible for me to imagine either the town or the university in isolation. Looking back at CU’s first 50 years as we approach its sesquicentennial anniversary, however, it’s clear that nothing was inevitable about this marriage.

As Boulder postmaster and former newspaper owner Amos Bixby put it in 1880, the city’s founders understood that making the fledgling town the university’s home “would bring here the best class of citizens — the intellectual, the cultured, the moral, coming both for the education of their children and for the sake of the society that clusters about prosperous seats of learning.” Realizing this prescient vision, though, took time.

CU remained relatively small, underfunded and isolated through its early decades, though it did provide Boulder with its first high school, known as the “preparatory department.” Together with agriculture, mining and commercial development, CU also helped to fuel Boulder’s growth from 3,000 inhabitants in 1880 to more than 6,150 by 1900. By the turn of the century, the university boasted a faculty of 92, a student body of 850, and a full slate of athletic, artistic and social offerings. Perhaps the clearest illustration of CU’s significance to Boulderites, though, came in 1899. After a deep economic depression caused property values and tax revenues to nosedive statewide, local citizens raised $20,000 to keep CU afloat.

CU had already become Boulder’s main claim to fame. It also fueled development near its growing campus, particularly after the founding of the Texas-Colorado Chautauqua in 1898. Boulder’s first streetcar line connected town and gown. By 1905, enough people had moved to the area west of Broadway to support the construction of University Hill school for 1st through 8th grades; and by the 1920s, The Hill was assuming familiar form as a hub of student-centered businesses. Boulder and the university had grown together to such an extent that 50 years after CU’s founding, it was no longer possible to imagine the one without the other — much as it is today.

Thomas Andrews is director of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Center of the American West and professor of history.

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Photo courtesy CU Heritage Center

How ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��'s early beginnings shaped the city of Boulder.

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Allergy Busters, Preserving Language and a Rare Dinosaur Tree

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:05:18 +0000

Allergy Busters, Preserving Language and a Rare Dinosaur Tree Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:05

UV Allergen Busters

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� researchers have discovered that low-intensity ultraviolet light can disable common airborne allergens such as pet dander, dust mites, mold and pollen. The light alters the structure of the allergen proteins so the immune system no longer recognizes them. Using 222-nanometer-wavelength UV lights in a controlled chamber, the team found that allergen immunorecognition dropped significantly within 30 to 40 minutes. Because allergens persist indoors long after their sources are gone, this approach could offer a simple, fast and portable way to reduce allergy and asthma triggers in indoor environments.

Preserving Language

CU researchers hope that digital tools will protect and revitalize Arapaho, a language native to the Boulder area. Andrew Cowell, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� linguistics professor and faculty director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies, along with students, community partners and native Arapaho speakers, have created two online databases (one lexical, the other for in-depth text) to help these efforts. The free lexical database functions like a living dictionary with more than 20,000 entries, according to the Arts and Sciences magazine. The text database, not publicly released to avoid online exploitation, contains more than 100,000 sentences of spoken Arapaho, including natural conversations and stories recorded over decades.

Space Policy and Law

As space activity worldwide increases, CU will become a hub for connecting technical expertise with governance, highlighted by the creation of the Hatfield Endowed Professor in Space Policy & Law, which is held by Marcus Holzinger (PhDAeroEngr’11). Alongside the launch of the Colorado Space Policy Center, the university is fostering collaboration across academia, industry and government. These efforts aim to prepare students to apply technical knowledge to policy challenges and shape the future legal and regulatory frameworks for space exploration.

Campus Talk

“I can’t wait to lock arms, get to work, have some fun and build the future of Colorado Athletics.”

— Fernando Lovo, the new ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� director of athletics, after being introduced Jan. 5, 2026. Lovo comes to CU from the University of New Mexico. His predecessor Rick George will step into an advisory role and serve as director of athletics emeritus on campus in June.

Digits

Dinosaur Tree

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� is home to one of the oldest and rarest trees in the world

2025

Year Judy (PE’76; MEdu’06) and Rod McKeever (ChemEngr’76) gifted CU a Wollemi pine

30th

Street location of the Boulder greenhouse where the pine, “Wally,” lives

1994

Year the Wollemi pine was rediscovered in Australia after it was previously thought to be extinct

91M

the pine fossil’s records date back, in years

200M

age of Wally’s plant family

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Photos by Patrick Campbell (researcher) and Rachel Sauer (wollemi pine)

News and research from the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� campus.

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Reisher Scholars Program To Begin at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� This Fall

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:04:02 +0000

Reisher Scholars Program To Begin at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� This Fall Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:04

Emily Wirtz

This fall, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� will begin offering Reisher Scholarships, thanks to a new $4.2 million partnership with The Denver Foundation and the Reisher Family Foundation to launch the program over the next three years. With this milestone, the university joins one of the largest scholarship programs in Colorado.

The Reisher Scholars Program supports Colorado students after their first year by helping them fund the remainder of their undergraduate degrees. Each selected student may qualify for up to $22,000 per year to cover their cost of attendance, as well as access to free mental health support.

“This investment directly addresses students’ real challenges to help them stay on track, graduate and thrive,” said Chancellor Justin Schwartz. “The Reisher Scholars Program strengthens ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� commitment to student success and ensures that more Buffs can finish college ready to achieve their next steps.”

Margaret and Roger Reisher (Acct’50) started the Reisher Scholars Program at The Denver Foundation in 2001 because, as first-generation college students, they wanted other students to have the opportunity to earn a college degree.

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Campus News

Rise of the BOLDERBoulder

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The History of Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������

Engagement Origins

Force for Good

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CU Researchers Study Potential Links Between Hearing Loss and Dementia

Rewiring the Circuit

Can Hearing Aids Prevent Cognitive Decline?

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Celebrating 150 Years of CU People

Joseph Sewall

Mary Rippon

Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Jones (Ger’1918)

George Norlin

Byron White (Econ’38)

Peggy Coppom (A&S ex’46) and Betty Hoover (A&S ex’46)

David Bolen (Mktg; MBA’50)

Billy Kidd

“Ralph”

Juan Espinosa (Jour’74)

Tom Cech

Ceal Barry

Joe Neguse (Econ, PolSci’05; Law’09)

Wei Wu (MMus’13)

David Ellsworth (Art’71; MFA’73)

Sarah Gillis (AeroEngr’17)

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Rundown and Scores Spring 2026

Buff Bits

Coach Talk

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Cyborg Jellyfish at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������

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Buffalo Statues of ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������

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The Partnership that Shaped Boulder

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Allergy Busters, Preserving Language and a Rare Dinosaur Tree

UV Allergen Busters

Preserving Language

Space Policy and Law

Campus Talk

Digits

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Reisher Scholars Program To Begin at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ This Fall

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The History of Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��

Cyborg Jellyfish at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��

Buffalo Statues of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��

Reisher Scholars Program To Begin at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� This Fall