Science & Technology
- <p>Six members of the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education faculty were recognized in the 鈥淓du-Scholar Public Influence Rankings鈥 released today as being among the nation鈥檚 top 200 researchers whose scholarship bridges academic and public audiences.</p>
<p>Building on years of collaboration using unmanned aircraft to fly into the storms that create the massive tornadoes that rip across the Midwest, scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have formed a new research consortium.</p>
<p>Early discoveries by NASA鈥檚 newest Mars orbiter are starting to reveal key features about the loss of the planet鈥檚 atmosphere to space over time.<br /><br />
The findings are among the first returns from NASA鈥檚 Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, which achieved orbit Sept. 21 and entered its science phase on Nov. 16. The observations reveal a new process by which the solar wind -- an intense stream of hot, high-energy particles blowing off the sun at more than 1 million mph -- can penetrate deep into a planetary atmosphere.</p>
<p>The annual Geminid meteor shower could be a fun show this weekend for Coloradans weather permitting, according to a University of Colorado Boulder astronomer.</p>
<p>The University of Colorado Boulder will fly state-of-the-art hardware on the commercial SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launching to the International Space Station (ISS) Dec. 19 to support experiments designed to better understand why the virulence of some pathogens increases in the low gravity of space.</p>
<p class="p1">Using prefabricated elements in the construction of the new Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver 鈥 scheduled to open Dec. 13 鈥 cut 72 workdays off the construction schedule and resulted in $4.3 million in savings, according to a study by University of Colorado Boulder engineers.</p>
<p class="p1">The study, by Matthew Morris and doctoral student Eric Antillon, both of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, is one of the first to try and quantify the full costs and benefits of using prefabricated elements in a large-scale construction project.聽</p>
<p class="p1">When NASA鈥檚 napping New Horizon鈥檚 spacecraft awakens later this week in preparation for its July 2015 encounter with Pluto, a University of Colorado Boulder student instrument onboard already will have been up for years.</p>- Statement from Chancellor Philip DiStefano on the death of alumnus Air Force Capt. William H. Dubois<p class="p1"><b>"</b>Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Capt. William Dubois,鈥 said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip. P. DiStefano. 鈥淐apt. Dubois served<b> </b>in the United States Air Force and represented our nation, the state of Colorado, and this university with honor and distinction. His sacrifice, and the sacrifices of the other CU men and women in uniform, are honored by our entire campus community."</p>
<p class="p1">A team led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered an invisible shield some 7,200 miles above Earth that blocks so-called 鈥渒iller electrons,鈥 which whip around the planet at near-light speed and have been known to threaten astronauts, fry satellites and degrade space systems during intense solar storms.</p>- <p class="p1">Learning-related brain activity in Parkinson鈥檚 patients improves as much in response to a placebo treatment as to real medication, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and Columbia University.</p>