CU Engineering News 2023

Program name change reflects degree evolution

An Integrated Design Engineering program student in class. The Engineering Plus (鈥渆+鈥�) program is now Integrated Design Engineering.

The newly named program aligns more closely with comparable engineering degrees and will be better understood by employers, giving students a stronger presence in a competitive job market.

鈥淭he new name better reflects our current degree, which is part of the broader movement in engineering focusing on a cross-disciplinary holistic engineering education that brings professional skills into a technical context,鈥� said IDE Director Angela Bielefeldt.

The Engineering Plus program launched in 2017 as an evolution of the General Engineering program. Known for its project-based approach, smaller courses and ability to create a custom learning plan with cross-disciplinary focus and ABET accreditation, it attracts students seeking a more flexible and diverse engineering education experience.

Industry alliance explores construction safety research

The (CSRA) hosted its third annual Safety Summit in November, bringing together over 200 construction industry safety professionals from across North America.

Due to high demand, the event was also live-streamed, with participants joining online from across the world.

The CSRA is a unique research organization, funded by industry membership and focused on transformative construction safety research co-created by industry leaders and experienced scientists. Its mission is to eliminate serious incidents and fatalities in the construction industry through robust research.

Matthew Hallowell, associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, leads research activities for the CSRA. From small beginnings, the alliance has grown to a membership of over 80 companies from the U.S. and Canada.

CSRA sign

Grant will facilitate new community college pathways

A $10.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense will support five Denver-metro community colleges and two universities in an initiative to increase the number of community college students who pursue engineering careers 鈥� particularly those who come from underrepresented populations.

Nick Stites

Led by CU Boulder, the grant will develop a multi-year, year-round pathway for underrepresented students in the metro area to go from high school to community college and then to a four-year university, ultimately entering the STEM workforce.

The initial consortium includes CU Boulder, CU Denver and the Community Colleges of Aurora and Denver, as well as local industry partners, including Lockheed Martin. In three years, Front Range, Red Rocks and Arapahoe community colleges will join.

Nick Stites, lead on the grant and director of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program at CU Boulder, said the grant will focus on removing barriers that prevent students from entering STEM careers. The first cohort of students already began in fall 2022 at the Community College of Aurora, while recruitment at the high school level will begin this spring.

Alumnus wins 2022 MacArthur 鈥榞enius鈥� award

Astrodynamicist and space environmentalist Moriba Jah (MAeroEngr鈥�01, PhD鈥�05) is among the prestigious cohort of the 2022 MacArthur Fellows Program.

The MacArthur Foundation selects individuals for the fellowship who demonstrate exceptional creativity and have a history of significant achievements that are on the precipice of great discovery or a game-changing idea. Past recipients have included scientists, historians, poets and novelists, artists and composers, and people working in public service, but many work outside of conventional disciplinary categories.

Jah earned the fellowship for his work laying the foundation for a safe, prosperous and sustainable near-Earth space environment. His research also extends to policy guidance and public education about how to improve collaboration across space-faring nations and entities.

Argrow, Popovic elected to National Academy of Engineering

Brian Argrow, left, and Zoya Popovic

Brian Argrow, left, and听Zoya Popovic

Professor Brian Argrow and Distinguished Professor Zoya Popovic have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions granted to engineers in academia and industry.

Argrow, who has been a faculty member in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences since 1992, was recognized 鈥渇or contributions to unmanned aerial systems capable of penetrating severe storms and leadership in their application to scientific observation.鈥�

Popovic was honored 鈥渇or developing high-efficiency microwave transmitters and active antenna arrays for wireless communication systems and for engineering education.鈥� She has been a faculty member in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering since 1990.

Wyatt Shields' lab

Packard Fellowship caps big year for researcher

Wyatt Shields

In a banner year that has included receiving five distinguished research awards, Wyatt Shields, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, has been awarded one of the nation鈥檚 largest and most prestigious awards for young investigators: a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

The award honors the Shields Lab鈥檚 research to develop tiny particles that address large medical challenges, such as drug delivery and disease monitoring. Shields鈥� team builds microrobots 鈥� too small to be seen by the human eye 鈥� to create systems that perform these sophisticated tasks with relative ease.

This year Shields received four other prestigious awards: A National Science Foundation CAREER award, Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program award, Pew Biomedical Scholars award, and an NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators鈥� Research award.

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COVID research earns computer scientist a top honor

The National Science Foundation awarded Dan Larremore of computer science and the BioFrontiers Institute with the Alan T. Waterman Award, the nation鈥檚 highest honor for early career scientists.

Larremore was recognized for research that has been instrumental in informing how COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed and helping convince policymakers to prioritize rapid testing. Check out page 20 for more on Larremore鈥檚 work as part of the CU Boulder Pandemic Scientific Steering Committee and Science Team.

At 38, he is one of only three U.S. scientists to receive this year鈥檚 award and the third CU Boulder faculty to ever receive it (following Nobel Laureate Eric Cornell in 1997 and Professor Kristi Anseth in 2004). It comes with a five-year, $1 million grant.

Dan Larremore

CU Engineering faculty receive university鈥檚 top honor

Rob Davis and Laysia Palen
Rob Davis, left, and Laysia Palen

Robert H. Davis and Leysia Palen have been named CU Boulder Distinguished Professors, the highest recognition granted to University of Colorado tenured faculty across the university鈥檚 four campuses. Including this year鈥檚 honorees, only 136 Distinguished Professors have been named since the title was first given in 1977.

Davis is the Tisone Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, as well as a former chair of the department. He served as dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science from 2002 to 2017.

Palen is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and founding chair of the Department of Information Science in the College of Media, Communication and Information.

Distinguished professors are tenured faculty members who demonstrate exemplary performance in research or creative work; a record of excellence in promoting learning and student attainment of knowledge and skills; and outstanding service to the profession, the university and its affiliates.

Grant will support 12 incoming underrepresented doctoral students

An interdisciplinary team at CU Boulder has received a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to establish an听LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate program.

Graduation hat The program will provide support for 12 incoming computer science, chemical and biological engineering, and physics PhD candidates from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM. It will also create a close-knit cohort model with faculty and staff support and valuable research connections and workshops.

Terri Wright, program director and the assistant dean for access, inclusion and student programs in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, said the goal of the initiative is to improve the PhD experience and retention during the first two years, when students are most likely to struggle and leave for other opportunities.

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