CEAS Outcomes

New endowed professorship in space policy and law to expand frontiers of global collaboration

Hanna Nordwall — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 15:40:29 +0000

New endowed professorship in space policy and law to expand frontiers of global collaboration Hanna Nordwall Mon, 08/11/2025 - 09:40

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Transforming the journey

Hanna Nordwall — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 16:09:50 +0000

Transforming the journey Hanna Nordwall Fri, 06/06/2025 - 10:09

Charles Ferrer

For engineering students, the path to a degree is more than just solving equations or finishing projects — it’s a journey to find belonging, overcome challenges, and build a foundation for a successful future.

Initiatives like Engineering Connections and the Lattice Scholars Program are transforming the college journey for CU Engineering students, fostering a culture of support, empowerment and resilience that helps them thrive.

A firm foundation

Transitioning to college can be daunting for first-year engineering students. Now in its second year, the Engineering Connections residential community in Williams Village was designed to ease the transition by combining academic support with community-building activities.

The results speak for themselves: Ninety percent of the fall 2023 cohort returned for their sophomore year, the highest-ever second-fall retention rate in the college’s history.

Engineering Connections integrates academic support through a first-year seminar course, peer mentoring and collaborative study spaces. These resources ensure students start their college careers on solid ground, blending faculty expertise with personalized guidance.

Plus, with events like Foodie Tuesdays, talent shows and excursions to sporting and arts events, it offers students a space to feel at home.

“Engineering Connections goes beyond academics and was incredibly helpful in making friends and finding my place in college,” said Tana McCoy, a second-year chemical engineering student who moved to Colorado from the East Coast.

Breaking barriers

The Lattice Scholars Program launched in 2023 to support Colorado residents who are the first in their families to go to college and demonstrate high financial need. At its core, the program seeks to remove financial and other barriers that might hinder a promising engineering career.

Like Engineering Connections, Lattice is off to an impressive start. Ninety-five percent of the first cohort returned to CU Engineering for their sophomore year. Program managers are conducting research to share their model with other institutions, demonstrating how this holistic support can empower students to excel.

For Abdirahman Abdi, a second-year computer science major, the program has been life-changing.

“Lattice is where I found my first core friend group,” he said. “We met during the first week of school and connected over classes, homework and shared experiences. That sense of community has made a huge difference.”

Abdi, who dreams of a career in artificial intelligence and machine learning, credits the program with teaching him financial literacy and exposing him to professional opportunities. Lattice also provides workshops on mental health and career exploration to help scholars navigate college and beyond.

Engineering Connections residential community, Lattice Scholars Program are having a big impact on student retention.

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BOLD students shine with spring 2025 undergraduate awards

Charles Ferrer — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 17:09:13 +0000

BOLD students shine with spring 2025 undergraduate awards Charles Ferrer Mon, 04/21/2025 - 11:09

Congratulations to our BOLD community members who have earned spring 2025 graduating awards through the college!

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Four with ties to CU elected to 2025 class of National Academy of Engineering

Emily Adams — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 20:06:09 +0000

Four with ties to CU elected to 2025 class of National Academy of Engineering Emily Adams Tue, 02/25/2025 - 13:06

Two ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty members, a former faculty member and a distinguished alumnus are among 128 new members elected to the National Academy of Engineering for 2025.

According to NAE, "election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions in at least one of the following categories: 'engineering practice, research, or education,' 'pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or development/implementation of innovative approaches to engineering education' or 'engineering leadership of one or more major endeavors.'"

The four will be formally inducted during the NAE's Annual Meeting in October.

Scott Diddams

For contributions to optical frequency combs and their applications

Electrical engineer and physicist Scott Diddams holds the Robert H. Davis Endowed Chair. He carries out experimental research in the fields of precision spectroscopy and quantum metrology, nonlinear optics, microwave photonics and ultrafast lasers. Diddams earned his PhD degree from the University of New Mexico and previously served as a research physicist, group leader and fellow the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In 2022, he joined the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty, where he is also the faculty director of the Quantum Engineering Initiative in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. As a postdoc, Diddams built the first optical frequency combs in the lab of Nobel Prize laureate John Hall, and throughout his career, he has pioneered the use of these powerful tools for optical clocks, tests of fundamental physics, novel spectroscopy and astronomy.

Related reading:

Hanspeter Schaub

For contributions to the control of satellite formations and relative orientations utilizing natural forces, including the use of electrostatics

A distinguished professor and chair of the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, Hanspeter Schaub has made pioneering research advances in spacecraft formation flying, space debris mitigation, attitude dynamics, autonomous spacecraft tasking and charged astrodynamics. His work has been instrumental in high-profile space projects, including the development of key components for the UAE Hope mission to Mars and the creation of the widely used Basilisk software for spacecraft mission simulation. He has been recognized multiple times for excellence in research and education, including the 2024 American Astronautical Society Dirk Brouwer Award for transformational research. He is a Fellow of both AIAA and AAS. Schaub has been a member of the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� aerospace faculty since 2007 and holds a bachelor's, master's and PhD in aerospace engineering, all from Texas A&M University.

Related reading:

Dan Frangopol

For contributions to life-cycle civil engineering and leadership in its global development and adoption

Dan Frangopol is a distinguished ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� professor emeritus with a significant career in the university’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. He joined ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty as an associate professor in March 1983. He was promoted to full professor in 1988 and became an emeritus professor in 2006. Renowned as an expert in structural reliability, optimization and life-cycle engineering, Frangopol earned the title "Father of Life-Cycle Analysis" from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). In November 2023, the ASCE board of directors established the Dan M. Frangopol Medal for Life-Cycle Engineering of Civil Structures in honor of Frangopol. Frangopol, currently a professor at Lehigh University, holds Lehigh’s inaugural Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture. Frangopol received his diploma in engineering from the Institute of Civil Engineering, Bucharest, Romania, in 1969 and his doctorate of applied sciences from the University of Liège, Belgium, in 1976.

Related reading:

Civil engineering society establishes medal to honor Frangopol

Charles W. Hull (EngrPhys’61) and President Biden

Charles W. Hull

For the invention of 3D printing and the subsequent development of the additive manufacturing industry

After Chuck Hull (EngPhys'61) completed his degree, he worked with a DuPont subsidiary before going on to invent the solid imaging process known as stereolithography. This became the basis of the first commercial 3D printing technology, which spurred the dawning of a dynamic industry in the United States. Upon securing a stereolithography patent in 1986, Hull then founded 3D Systems Corp. Hull initiated the 3D printing industry and remains involved in the corporation’s day-to-day operations through a range of innovative applications, including state-of-the art production of 3D printers to the first home-certified 3D printer, the award-winning Cube. A member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Hull is credited as the inventor on more than 90 U.S. patents in the field of ion optics and 3D printing. As a strong advocate for education and training of youth in all aspects of this rapidly growing technology, Hull received an honorary degree from the University of Colorado Board of Regents in 2016.

Related reading:

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� alum’s invention of 3D printing recognized by President Biden

Two ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty members, a former faculty member and a distinguished alumnus will be among 128 new members inducted into the academy in October.

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CU Engineering ranked as a top 5 aerospace program, top 20 overall

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 22:12:58 +0000

CU Engineering ranked as a top 5 aerospace program, top 20 overall Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/23/2024 - 16:12

Learn more

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� College of Engineering and Applied Science maintained a top 20 spot in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs rankings, coming in at No. 17 among its public institution peers for the third year in a row.

The most notable change in the engineering specialty rankings was in the aerospace / aeronautical / astronautical category, where ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� aerospace engineering sciences degree jumped to No. 5 from No. 8 among public university peers.

The college’s Environmental Engineering Program also earned a top 10 public ranking, coming it at No. 9.

Five other programs were ranked in the top 20 among public peers:

Chemical engineering: No 11, up three spots from last year
Mechanical engineering: No. 17, up three spots from last year
Civil engineering: No. 15
Computer science: No. 16 (ranked in Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs)
Electrical engineering: No. 16

The rankings were released on the U.S. News and World Report website on Sept. 24. Undergraduate rankings are based solely on the judgments of deans and senior faculty at peer institutions who participated in a peer assessment survey. Read more about the methodology.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� College of Engineering and Applied Science maintained a top 20 spot in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Undergraduate Engineering rankings, coming in at No. 17 among its public institution peers for the third year in a row.

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CU Engineering welcomes largest doctoral class in college history

Caroline Harrah — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 19:29:26 +0000

CU Engineering welcomes largest doctoral class in college history Caroline Harrah Thu, 09/19/2024 - 13:29

Caroline Harrah

College tops 1,100 PhDs with most diverse class

The College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder is celebrating a milestone, welcoming its largest-ever cohort of doctoral students. With a 25% rise in PhD enrollment year-over-year, CU Engineering continues to solidify its reputation as a leader in graduate education, particularly among women and students from minoritized communities.

“CU Engineering is dedicated to becoming a top destination for the brightest minds across engineering fields, where novel research and innovation have the potential to impact everyday lives,” said Keith Molenaar, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. “Our growth in PhD enrollment is a testament to the success of this strategy, and our strong enrollment of women and students from diverse backgrounds reflects the inclusive and supportive environment we seek to cultivate.”

The incoming class includes a record percentage of female doctoral students, with women making up 37% of new PhD enrollees, surpassing the national average of 29%, according to data from the American Society for Engineering Education. ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� stands as the top large public institution for the percentage of women doctoral students enrolled—among institutions with more than 1,000 PhD students—holding a lead over peer institutions.

The overall PhD enrollment at CU Engineering now has 10% of its students from minoritized communities, higher than the national average of 7%. These gains are part of the college’s broader efforts to attract and support a more diverse student body through targeted recruitment and funding opportunities.

Among the incoming and continuing doctoral students, 18 have been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, putting ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� in the top 15 for NSF GRFP recipients nationwide across all disciplines and the College of Engineering and Applied Science at No. 7 nationwide in engineering disciplines. This recognition, which supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, further proves the academic excellence found within ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Engineering’s doctoral programs.

Doctoral Program Strengths and Expanding Opportunities

The college’s growth extends beyond traditional engineering fields, in line with its strategy to continuously innovate a portfolio of programs that address emergent needs and opportunities in climate, space, health and quantum.

Newer programs, such as engineering education, biomedical engineering and robotics, have attracted significant interest from prospective students. These interdisciplinary programs are designed to meet the evolving needs of the workforce and offer doctoral students cutting-edge research opportunities in emerging fields.

"Exploring physics during my bachelor’s and master’s studies sparked a deep curiosity about how complex systems function and their potential to drive innovation, and encountering Kaushik Jayaram’s research at CU Engineering introduced me to the fascinating world of bio-inspired robotics," said Mija Jovchevska, incoming PhD student and ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Chancellor Scholar. "At first, I wasn't sure how my background would fit, but after meeting Jayaram and Nicole Xu, I knew ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� was the right choice. Their pioneering work in bio-inspired robotics and biohybrid systems, along with CU’s interdisciplinary approach, supportive community, and Boulder lifestyle, made it the perfect place to bridge my physics background into this exciting, emerging field of research."

CU Engineering’s doctoral programs continue to gain national recognition, with recent rankings placing the college at No. 12 among public institutions and in the top 25 overall for graduate engineering education, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Boulder: A Top Destination for Graduate Students

In addition to academic prestige, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� location in the heart of Boulder, Colorado, offers doctoral students an unparalleled quality of life. Boulder is consistently ranked among the best places to live in the United States, known for its access to outdoor recreation, vibrant cultural scene and innovative tech ecosystem.

The region’s proximity to national laboratories and leading technology companies also provides CU Engineering students opportunities to collaborate on research and internships, further enhancing their graduate experience.

As the College of Engineering and Applied Science continues to grow, it remains dedicated to providing students with the resources, mentorship, and opportunities they need to excel in their fields and become leaders in research and innovation. With a record-breaking doctoral class and strong enrollment gains in female students and students from historically underrepresented communities and minoritized identities, CU Engineering is well-positioned to continue its upward trajectory.

Prospective students interested in joining CU Engineering’s growing doctoral programs can learn more and apply online.

For more information on the college and programs, visit our main engineering program page.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��'s College of Engineering and Applied Science welcomed its largest-ever cohort of doctoral students in 2024. With a 25% rise in PhD enrollment year-over-year, CU Engineering continues to solidify its reputation as a leader in graduate education, particularly among women and students from minoritized communities.

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