Summer 2016 Edition

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Dean's Letter
The class of 2016 both survived and thrived

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Features

Prof’s class examines the sociology of yoga

Prof’s class examines the sociology of yoga

Professor Lori M. Hunter has spent a semester prompting students to grapple with questions about the intersection of society and yoga. The course, which she believes is the first of its kind, is an upper-division class designed to hone students’ critical-thinking skills.

Bear with book

Kids weave tales of snakes and eagles and bears

Two first graders walk into a class. They open a science book they wrote together. They read it aloud to college students, who clap and ask questions. This is no joke. It’s a joint effort of a science-writing class at CU-Boulder and a first-grade class at Bear Creek Elementary School.

Caution: Caffeine

Adolescent caffeine use may raise anxiety-disorder risk

Many have felt the jitters of too much caffeine, but new evidence suggests that such consumption puts adolescents at risk of suffering those symptoms on a daily basis, even after discontinuing use, according to a University of Colorado Boulder study published in the February edition of the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

Female researcher

In science, many are blinded by gender stereotype

Feminine and ‘attractive’ women deemed less likely to be scientists In her leading role for the 1993 blockbuster science-fiction movie, “Jurassic Park,” actor Laura Dern played a brilliant paleobotanist who looked as you might expect for someone who pokes through steaming piles of dinosaur poop — hiking boots, khaki shorts,...

News

Biblical scholar explores the power of Babel

Biblical scholar explores the power of Babel

Modern readers of the Holy Bible often say that context is critical. Samuel Boyd, assistant professor of religious studies, heartily agrees. And he should know. He has no fewer than 23 ancient NearEast tongues at his disposal.

When regulators rule, are citizens fully apprised?

When regulators rule, are citizens fully apprised?

When politicians actively seek to gum up or slow down the legislative works in an effort to throw up obstacles to governors or presidents, they often increase the power of executive-branch bureaucracies or courts to make the rules. The result can be a less-informed citizenry, researchers find.

CU Café seminars percolate diversity in research

CU Café seminars percolate diversity in research

A group called CU CafĂ© (the group initially began meeting over coffee), offers a student-run seminar series that brings in minority scholars from other institutions to talk about their research and give their perspectives about succeeding in the academic environment. “It’s small, but it’s powerful,” one participant says.

History of Coyote Valley zeroes in on RMNP ecology

History of Coyote Valley zeroes in on RMNP ecology

Andrews’ ‘accidental’ book paints history of little known corner of Colorado’s high country When Ben Bobowski, chief of resource stewardship at Rocky Mountain National Park, went looking for someone to write a detailed report of the Kawuneeche, or Coyote, Valley, in the less-visited western reaches of the park, Thomas G...

Much ado about something, four centuries later

Much ado about something, four centuries later

On the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death this year, the campus is staging two significant Shakespearean events. In its 59th season, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival will move closer to performing all of Shakespeare’s canon for the second time—a feat most companies have yet to achieve once. And the famous published edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays, printed in 1623, will be exhibited on campus.

CU-Boulder heads off Shakespeare fear...with fun

CU-Boulder heads off Shakespeare fear...with fun

Does your stomach experience toil and trouble at the memory of a pinched and scolding high-school English teacher peddling Bardic cod-liver oil? Does the idea of seeing a Shakespeare play threaten to put you to sleep, perchance to dream? Well, “You haven’t seen ‘Hamlet’ until you’ve seen a 10-year-old do ‘Hamlet.’”

Donors

SEEC positions CU as global hub for Earth research

SEEC positions CU as global hub for Earth research

The newly completed Sustainability, Energy and Environment Complex “establishes CU-Boulder as the epicenter for environmental sciences and geosciences research nationally and perhaps worldwide,” says Provost Russ Moore. The center was officially dedicated this month.

Alum’s unplanned paths led to prosperity and pandas

Alum’s unplanned paths led to prosperity and pandas

Take a pinch of serendipity, add a dash of coincidence and top it with a smidgen of good fortune, and you have the recipe for Janet Romberg Pollack’s life. The University of Colorado Boulder alumna and donor is now a narrator at the giant panda exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. But how she got there is a tale of unexpected twists and surprising turns.

Alumni

Rising-star scientist got her start at CU-Boulder

Rising-star scientist got her start at CU-Boulder

Disbelief still lingers in Allison Cleary’s voice months after winning the grand prize in the 2015 SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists.

Horsing around is serious business for this alum

Horsing around is serious business for this alum

What can you do with a liberal-arts degree? Beth Cross, who graduated from CU-Boulder in 1986 with a BA in political science, has an answer: Become an entrepreneur. She did this in a big way, co-founding Ariat International, a company that specializes in high-performance equestrian footwear and apparel.

Water-expert alumnus swims into current affairs

Water-expert alumnus swims into current affairs

Think of Robert R. “Bob” Crifasi as a kind of Zelig or Forrest Gump when it comes to water in Boulder, Denver and northern Colorado—he spent a quarter century getting his hands wet, both literally and figuratively, in countless ways. Crifasi, who earned bachelor’s degrees in geology and chemistry and master’s degrees in geology and environmental science from CU-Boulder, has served on the boards of—and often, pitchforked weeds, trash and the occasional dead skunk for—11 Boulder County ditch companies.

Bilingual pediatrician is medical ‘historian’ for patients

Bilingual pediatrician is medical ‘historian’ for patients

Alumnus and pediatrician Mike Nelson uses his degrees every day and credits a passionate professor with helping him get into medical school. Nelson followed his passions, Spanish and history, which in turn led him to medicine. Having traveled in Latin America with Amigos de las Americas, a program connecting volunteers to community-health programs, Nelson quickly learned what he could accomplish with a medical background.

Kudos

Dance prof Ellsworth wins Guggenheim Fellowship

Dance prof Ellsworth wins Guggenheim Fellowship

CU-Boulder dance Professor Michelle Ellsworth is among a diverse group of 178 scholars, artists and scientists from the U.S. and Canada to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship this year.

Experts at CU to mull next 50 years of local open space

Experts at CU to mull next 50 years of local open space

Boulder’s public open-space system was launched 50 years ago, and an event at CU-Boulder will bring together experts who will discuss the lay of the land in the next half-century.