2015

Asteroids

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Asteroids Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/08/2017 - 00:00

The Key to Understanding our Solar System

Chunks of space rock hurtling towards Earth putting humanity in mortal danger makes an entertaining asteroid-inspired movie. While that scenario could actually happen someday, there are equally important reasons to study asteroids other than their potential to be threatening.

As the bits and pieces remaining from the process that formed the planets, asteroids represent both an enigma and a key to unlocking the secrets of the solar system.

In recognition of his contributions to the scientific understanding of the dynamical environment of asteroids, Professor Daniel Scheeres has been named a University of Colorado Distinguished Professor, the most prestigious honor for faculty across all four of CU’s campuses.

“Asteroids are leftovers from the early stages of the solar system when the planets were forming,” says Scheeres. “Understanding them can give us insight into the workings of the solar system and the evolutionary processes that have occurred over billions of years. They could help us understand the origin of life.”

Scheeres holds the A. Richard Seebass Endowed Chair in the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and is the associate chair for graduate studies. He is also a member of the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research.

An international leader in astrodynamics and celestial mechanics, Scheeres has published extensively in the fields of astrodynamics, dynamical astronomy and celestial mechanics. He is engaged in a number of research endeavors in both engineering and science, with a primary focus on topics where orbital mechanics and space science intersect.

Two of his biggest projects currently underway are related to the Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission and the Binary Asteroid in-situ Explorer (BASiX) Discovery mission proposal.

Scheeres is the radio science lead and co-investigator on OSIRIS-REx, an unmanned NASA mission to an asteroid. For the first time ever, samples will be collected and brought back to Earth to study.

Daniel Scheeres holds the A. Richard Seebass Endowed Chair

He is also the primary investigator on the BASiX mission proposal with the Jet Propulsion Lab and Ball Aerospace. Once NASA gives the green light on the proposal, an unmanned mission will be sent to a binary asteroid system to conduct geophysical experiments to understand how such two asteroid systems formed and how they evolved. The two asteroids spin around each other while whizzing through space, similar to the Earth-moon system. Pulling up to these asteroids and maintaining a stable orbit around them while trying to conduct research remotely will be a pioneering mission.

In addition to studying the evolution of asteroids and measuring their shape and spin, Scheeres is also involved in engineering-oriented research. Since multiple factors can affect a spacecraft’s trajectory, including solar radiation pressure and the attraction of other bodies in space, much of his research is focused on how to guide a craft’s approach to asteroids and maintaining a stable orbit around these unstable bodies.

“As a scientist, I can understand what a spacecraft should be doing that gives us insight into how it should be designed,” he says. “From an engineering perspective, I know what the limitations are, so I can use that knowledge to craft my scientific questions to make them more achievable.”

There are numerous additional reasons why missions to asteroids are important, according to Scheeres. Asteroids could be mined for their rich supply of raw materials and they would be useful as stepping stones for humanity’s expansion into the solar system.

An understanding of their composition will also provide information on how to deflect or destroy a potentially deadly Earth-bound asteroid. Just in case, in the future, we find one heading toward Earth.

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Computer Science Surge

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Computer Science Surge Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/07/2017 - 00:00

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Low-Stress Materials

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Low-Stress Materials Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/07/2017 - 00:00

GETTING STUCK IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. Hammering your thumb. Paper cuts. All things that are miserable, but none may be as universally despised as going to the dentist to get a cavity filled.

A new product developed by 3M ESPE—and based on technology invented by Christopher Bowman, distinguished professor of chemical and biological engineering—may be able to ease the experience. Filtek Bulk Fill Posterior Restorative can reduce the time you have to spend in the dentist’s chair.

A team of researchers led by Bowman developed a key component of the new cavity-filler, which allows the material to be “low stress.” This helps prevent cracking and shrinkage, which can break the seal where the filling meets the tooth and allow decay to creep in.

To moderate the stress that can build up using traditional dental polymers, dentists fill the cavity one layer at a time, curing each new coating with light before adding the next layer. Deep cavities currently require up to four layers.

“Stress causes significant problems for dental composites and can lead to premature failure,” Bowman says. “With this low-stress material, the dentist can fill the entire cavity in one layer.”

The technology was licensed to 3M, a diversified technology company based in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2013. They rolled out the new fill material on Oct. 1, 2014, with the tagline “one and done.”

Bowman’s research team, however, is not done. The possible applications for the polymer technology invented at CU-Boulder go well beyond simply filling cavities.

“Low-stress materials are important for a lot of applications,” says Bowman. In fact, being low stress is a desirable trait in nearly any coating because it can prevent warping of the underlying material and peeling off of the coating.

The way Bowman’s high-tech polymer is applied as a coating can affect the properties of the end product as well. By choosing different patterns and methods with which the coating is applied, the coating can be made more adhesive, or conversely, to be a nonstick surface.

Cavity filler device

The new cavity-filler...

Is resistant to wear and doesn't require an additional capping layer
Can fill a cavity up to 5mm deep in one application
Is made for use in the back teeth, where 70% of fillings are done
Is 24% faster to place than traditional fillers

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Subtle Heat

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Subtle Heat Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/06/2017 - 00:00

Infrared camera creates sharp focus from temperature changes

The air temperature in Victor Bright’s office is mild, maybe 70 degrees. There aren’t any obvious drafts or pockets of warm or cold air. All the books on the shelves, the papers on his desk and the pictures on the wall seem to be the same temperature.

So it’s a shock when a new ultrasensitive infrared camera, which creates images by measuring heat instead of visible light, is able to give a crisp picture of the room, delineating each piece of furniture, each wire leading into the computer and, of course, Bright himself.

Infrared cameras used to capture body temperature

“You would assume that objects in the room are the same temperature, but they’re not,” says Bright, a professor of mechanical engineering. “Different materials absorb and emit radiation at different rates. So at any instant in time, they are actually at different temperatures.”

Bright and two of his colleagues—Steven George, a professor with a joint appointment in chemistry and biochemistry as well as mechanical engineering, and Y.C. Lee, a professor of mechanical engineering—worked with George Skidmore at DRS Technologies to create the new camera, which is about 30 percent more sensitive to differences in heat and about 30 percent faster than current state-of-the-art infrared technology.

Unlike the pictures popularly associated with infrared cameras—glowing images that use oranges and reds to show heat and create blurry forms of people— the new CU-Boulder-DRS-built camera produces detailed images in black and white. The lighter the color, the warmer the object.

The improvement achieved by the new camera was made possible by a technology developed at CU-Boulder by George called atomic layer deposition, which Bright believes may allow them to create an infrared camera that’s as much as 10 times more sensitive than today’s best.

“It’s a way of depositing materials one atomic layer at a time,” Bright says. “It gives us perfect control over thickness. Using custom, in-house developed microfabrication techniques, we can use atomic layer deposition to build micro-scale pixels for the infrared camera.”

Infrared camera being used on campus

The new camera was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency with the goal of improving the military’s surveillance abilities—infrared cameras work as well in the pitch black of night as they do in the day, unlike night-vision equipment, which relies on having at least a small amount of reflected light.

But extremely sensitive infrared cameras have potential for an almost mind-boggling array of uses. DRS Technologies, which already produces military-grade infrared cameras, has put on a contest over the last couple of years to see what kinds of uses university students across the country could come up with for infrared cameras.

Some teams used infrared cameras to take pictures of irrigated fields. Since adding water to the soil changes the temperature of the land, the camera could detect any dry patches of dirt that still needed to be watered. The same principle allowed another team to detect water buildup underground, which could help predict the location of landslides.

Other uses ranged from an alternative to fingerprinting—infrared cameras can detect the unique pattern of sweat pores on your fingertip—to the “eyes” for a firefighting robot.

Bright has used the camera himself to peer into walls in search of studs, which are a different temperature from the surface drywall, and his students have used it to watch snow as it’s melted by the friction created by a skier, only to refreeze again. The ability to watch freeze and thaw could potentially have applications for people studying avalanches.

“The applications are abundant,” Bright says. “You just have to have imagination.”

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Bridging Course Work with Real-World Projects

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Bridging Course Work with Real-World Projects Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/06/2017 - 00:00

When a torrent of water ripped down Boulder Creek in September 2013 during historic flooding, a pedestrian bridge connecting the Boulder Creek Path with Folsom Field was one of the casualties.

For 50 civil engineering students, the bridge’s loss became an educational opportunity. During the 2014 fall semester, they took their education out of the classroom and down to the creek, where, for their civil engineering capstone project, they worked to design a replacement.

The annual civil engineering capstone project allows students to integrate and apply the theory and skills they’ve learned in their courses by working on realistic, immersive design projects.

The challenge for the pedestrian bridge project was not only to design a bridge to serve as a formal gateway to the north side of campus that accommodates daily use, game-day and special event traffic, but also to integrate it aesthetically into the design of the new athletic complex expansion currently underway.

�鶹��Ժ were divided into 10 teams of five students each. The teams included students from each of several civil engineering’s specialties: structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, water resources, and construction engineering and management.

From left to right: Matt Worthington, Rob Wolff, Cory Wagner, Joshua Hill

Julia Carroll (CivEngr ’14), from Lyons, Colorado, and Rob Sparks (CivEngr ’15), from Cañon City, Colorado, were both on the South Paw Engineering Team. Carroll’s emphasis was construction engineering and management, while Sparks brought a structural engineering emphasis.

“This project was exciting,” says Carroll, “because it gave us the opportunity to combine concepts from all of our course work, to think creatively and design a structure that has the potential to be built on our very own campus. We’re using skills learned in class to arrive at a solution for each component of the bridge.”

The students’ clients were the university and the design-build firms working on the athletic complex expansion—Populous Architects and Mortenson Construction.

Client-based projects are an integral part of the education at the College of Engineering and Applied Science, according to Matt Morris (CivEngr ’99, MS ’02), who serves as the course coordinator for the civil engineering capstone project.

“The purpose of this course is to integrate all the different civil engineering disciplines into one project,” says Morris. “The senior capstone project goes beyond just doing the engineering design, however. It gets into presentation skills and working as a team, which help prepare students for real-world projects.”

�鶹��Ժ met with Mortenson, Populous and the campus landscape architect multiple times at the site of the proposed bridge to ensure continuity of design and function with the athletic complex expansion. All of the designs were judged at the end of the fall semester. The winning design will be used as a basis for final design and construction of the new pedestrian bridge when funding is available.

“A final design like this involves providing solutions to dozens of problems and looking at details that include every weld, every connection,” says Sparks. “There’s a chance you might make a mistake at each step, so it’s not enough to have a good design. You have to be certain it’s right, regardless of complexity.”

And the winner is:

BMC Construction (above)
Team was chosen for overall solution
Design, cost, schedule, realistic approach, minimal impact to the environment, and team work were deciding factors
The students' design will be used as a basis for CU Boulder to solicit a professional design team

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The Perfect Launch Pad

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 06:00:00 +0000

The Perfect Launch Pad Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/05/2017 - 00:00

Four engineering students from CU-Boulder packed their bags and headed to Nicaragua during the semester break. But it wasn’t for the weather. It was strictly business for the founders of SolVia Solar.

The group visits a farming cooperative in Rivas to discuss sustainable initiatives

The group poses with villagers who have formed a community solar committee

Matthew Tabor, Emily Eggers and Myranda Prentiss talk to a tabacoo farmer about her new building and land

The young entrepreneurs had invented a solar collector designed to replace diesel pumps for irrigation in rural areas. Their startup project was one of six chosen in the inaugural year of Catalyze CU-Boulder, a business accelerator program (see article on next page).

For SolVia, the Nicaragua trip was a crucial next step in moving the business venture forward. Taylor Robert Scott (MechEng ’15), from Fort Collins; Emily Eggers (AeroEngr ’15), from Sycamore, Illinois; Kamron Medina (AeroEngr ’16), from Gunnison; and Myranda Prentiss (ApMath and GeoPhys ’15), from St. Paul, Minnesota, spoke to nearly two dozen potential customers and key stakeholders about the benefits of solar power, the initial costs and the environmental impact.

According to Scott, the journey was well worth it. “Our assumptions were validated. We have a lot of work to get done before May” with the business model and financing, Scott says. “The biggest tweak is a possible move to a franchise model.” He adds that the team is also considering moving to monthly payments from farmers instead of harvest-time payments.

SolVia Solar will undergo further product development and beta testing on a Colorado farm in March. The final product is expected to be ready this spring.

Eggers says the trip was the perfect way to execute their plan. She had reservations beforehand, but found it was the best way to understand the market.

Travel funds came from a variety of sources including family and friends, t-shirt sales, Engineering Advisory Council members, an Elevations Credit Union competition, Venture Well and a grant from CU’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.

The initial idea for SolVia Solar developed as part of an engineering and management class at CU-Boulder.“Greenpeace challenged experts to submit ideas” to improve the environment, Scott says. With that challenge in mind, he began to work on the solar concept. Because he grew up on a ranch and went on mission trips, Scott says he understands social responsibility. “The real-world impact is important to all of us.”

Prentiss agrees that improving the world for others is important to the team.

“We will be changing the way these family farmers work,” she says. “We will be helping and making farming more efficient.”

Catalyze CU-Boulder came at the perfect time for these four young engineers as they prepare to launch SolVia Solar.

Catalyze CU Boulder succeeds in its first year

Nearly 40 teams applied to Catalyze CU-Boulder last spring, and six were chosen. The selected teams developed concepts that ranged from glitzy clothes online to plastic polymer orthotics. The winning student groups were given mentors, grants and space at Spark Boulder, a co-working space. The ideas were then launched into entrepreneurial enterprises designed for success. The student-entrepreneurs spent eight weeks developing and clarifying their plans.

Doug Smith, assistant dean for programs and engagement in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, was excited with the participation in the first year. And it will only get better in the years to come.

Dean Robert H. Davis asked Smith to look into creating a startup accelerator program in February 2014. After researching other programs and working out a budget, they launched a website. “Within a few weeks, there were 35 applications,” says Smith. “By May 9, the six were selected.”

At the end of July, the students presented their business plans to businesses and friends.

“Their pitches were crisp and clear,” Smith says. “It was great to see how they had grown through the mentoring and the seminars with business leaders. The presentations were very polished.”

Ashley Tillman, a student programs coordinator in the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, says it was the right time and place for the accelerator. “There is incredible support,” she says. “The campus has a number of programs that have entrepreneurship components and capstone classes that support business development.”

“In addition to the chance to jump-start a business, Catalyze is a tool for personal growth,” Smith says. “We are in the education business.

We want students to have an enriched experience that they can take with them.”

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Life Hacks

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Life Hacks Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/05/2017 - 00:00

How the BTU Lab at the ATLAS Institute is creating the next generation of innovators

Hackers get a bad rap. Thanks to popular culture, mention “computer hacker” and people immediately think of Matthew Broderick in War Games, or any number of recent security breaches of data. In reality, hackers are not nefarious types who lurk in the shadows, stealing your personal information. They are creative, dedicated men and women who are using their minds and powers for good, not evil. They want to change not just the way we think of the term “hacker,” but to also change people’s lives through innovation.

In support of this mission, the ATLAS Institute is creating what it calls a “hacker space” in its BTU, or British Thermal Unit, Lab. Launched in September 2014, the BTU Lab+Hacker Space is a “physical location where people get together and tinker, create or hack,” says lab director Alicia Gibb. “Hacker spaces were created by communities who wanted camaraderie and a place to work together.”

For Jeffrey “Jiffer” Harriman, the Hacker Space provides an opportunity to blend his music and engineering backgrounds into new designs and new creations. Harriman is earning his doctorate in technology, media and society from the ATLAS Institute. He also earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from CU and his master’s degree in music, science and technology from Stanford University.

“What I’m doing right now is trying to create interfaces and software that are easy to work with for musicians and artists who are interested in technology but don’t necessarily have the chops,” Harriman said. “I want to make technology more accessible for people to express themselves in new ways.”

Harriman wants to bridge music and technology to educate and engage children in music and art while introducing them to technology and science.

“I’m working on a project called Modular-Muse,” Harriman said. “It’s a software library and hardware tool kit to make it easier to build instruments and engage kids who are interested in music but not in programming. It’s a way to spark their interest in this field.”

Jiffer’s Hacker Space creations are prime examples of what the BTU Lab hopes to get out of those who use it. While the innovations stem from the minds of hackers, the BTU Lab provides an array of tools that would make MacGyver excited. �鶹��Ժ have access to 3-D printers, laser cutters, a watercolor robot, sewing machine, performance space and much more. The ATLAS Institute does not stifle imagination.

For example, take ATLAS doctoral student HyunJoo Oh, who designs paper machines that move and react to stimuli. Paper mechatronics, in their terms, is an interdisciplinary medium that combines mechanisms, electronics and papercrafts. It allows people to learn the fundamental concepts and structures of physical computing and motivates them to imagine what it could be.

Drawing on the interdisciplinary nature of study at the ATLAS Institute, Oh combines art, technology and engineering into projects that take everyday materials like paper and cardboard and transform them into something that turns adults into wide-eyed children. And it all started with Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest, a large mechanical animal built out of polyvinyl chloride that can move on its own.

“I saw a YouTube video of a paper kit of his work and I loved it,” says Oh. “I thought, ‘I can build one of these’ and spent the next three to four days at the lab and built it. I spent a ridiculous amount of time and effort to make it despite my expertise as a designer. I wanted to make it more approachable to share with more people.”

Oh earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. She then received a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. At the suggestion of her advisor, Oh decided to make her paper mechatronics into something more than just art. She wanted to inspire others to create, so she developed a do-it-yourself method for her projects.

Oh uses familiar materials (paper and cardboard) and developed the tools that people need to cut it and build it themselves. Oh envisions it as “another concept of Lego play” that pushes people from simply viewing art to creating art.

“ATLAS allows students to use other resources around campus,” Oh says. “It helps us get access to computer science resources, art, education and more if we need it. For me, that is a very important aspect for my study.”

In keeping with innovation, creativity and technology, the College of Engineering and Applied Science is adding a new Bachelor of Science in Technology, Arts and Media degree program in fall 2015. It is a key component of the college’s 2020 strategic plan to grow and increase gender diversity. This degree will expand and intensify the existing technology, arts and media core courses of study as well as incorporate a curriculum grounded in engineering and computation disciplines.

Because when hackers, educators, artists and students collaborate, great things can happen.

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Microwave Technology

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Microwave Technology Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/05/2017 - 00:00

Throughout her career, Zoya Popovic's Radio Frequency (RF) and microwave engineering research has been focused on communications and defense, with projects for organizations including NASA and the Navy, and companies like Boeing.

The distinguished professor of electrical, computer and energy engineering designed a system that would use far-field beaming to take power from solar panels on the bright side of the moon to a research station on the dark side of the moon, enabling the station to extract water from rocks. Her research team has solved problems of inefficiency in amplifiers on cellphone and radar towers, allowing for huge savings in power consumption. She’s developed methods for recharging batteries wirelessly for things like mold sensors within walls.

So when she started getting requests to take on health care-related projects, Popovic was a little surprised. While she hadn’t pursued funding in that field, she said the projects caught her attention from a technical standpoint.

“They had new challenges because the body is so complex and has so many variations,” she says.

Over the past five years her research team has tackled several of these requests. For instance, a health care products company enlisted her to create the transmitter for a probe that would cauterize blood vessels and ablate tumors using radio microwaves, which have the benefit of not burning surrounding tissue.

She has experimented with a credit card-sized device—powered by low-power transmitters such as cellphones—that would be sewn into a pocket to monitor a patient’s movements in a hospital or assisted-living facility. If the patient fell or failed to get out of bed, that information would be transmitted wirelessly to nurses.

She also has a project in the works with a group at Harvard that is creating an MRI bore that would take higher resolution images than are currently available. “We’re redesigning excitation of the RF field for high magnetic field MRI and redesigning the bore to create a uniform field inside the body,” she says.

Closer to home, Popovic is working with CU-Boulder sleep researchers to get funding for a Band-Aid-like device that would accurately measure internal body temperature. Changes in internal body temperature and that of organs can signal serious health issues, but there is currently no noninvasive way to measure it.

“We’re using the natural radio emissions, or black body radiation, and measuring this power at low microwave frequencies,” she says. “We’ve already shown that we can measure it to a fraction of a degree.”

Popovic says her skills are in high demand right now because the number of researchers in her field has declined, even as industry and government are exploring new applications for microwave technology. So in addition to her many communications and health care research projects, Popovic also takes on as many graduate students as she can. She currently has 15 students in her lab, compared to the five or six found in other labs.

“I can guarantee my students jobs when they graduate,” she says. “There are so many applications for what we’re doing, and we need more people to do it.”

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Returning the Call

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 20:08:22 +0000

Returning the Call Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/02/2017 - 14:08

Diana Loucks was about to serve a year-long stint as chief of Space and Special Programs for Regional Command, South, in Afghanistan when she got a call. Would she be willing to get a doctorate and then become the first female academy professor in physics and nuclear engineering at West Point?

This was not a cold call. To recruit qualified personnel, the U.S. Military Academy in West Point regularly searches through Army officer records. Loucks, a previous West Point instructor of physics and astrophysics who was commissioned into the Army in 1996, fit the profile for what the physics department was looking for — a motivated officer with a background in math, physics and engineering, and a desire to pursue an advanced degree.

It didn’t take the Benbrook, Texas, native long to answer, or know where her next stop would be. West Point had already sent her to graduate school once — just after her first tour in Iraq in 2004–05 — so she could teach at the military academy. She graduated with a master’s in aerospace engineering from CU-Boulder in 2008.

“When I was searching online for universities with programs in aerospace engineering,” she says, “the top two universities that popped up were CU-Boulder and MIT. I chose CU thanks to the diversity of its programs and ability to absorb students with varied academic backgrounds.”

While earning her master’s degree she was on the original design team for the Drag and Atmospheric Neutral Density Explorer (DANDE) satellite, designed and built by CU-Boulder students, and she conducted the initial design work on its communications system as part of her thesis.

As a doctoral student, Loucks is working with her previous mentor, Professor Scott Palo, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, to compile data sets focusing on the ionospheric impacts on communications systems and remote sensing devices.

“Having a PhD from CU-Boulder will automatically set me apart,” she says, “and it’s in an extremely hard science. Aerospace is one of the most diverse—broad and deep—disciplines.”

After she receives her doctorate in 2017, Loucks will serve a one-year operational rotation, possibly at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs where her husband, LTC Gary Loucks Jr., is section chief for United States Northern Command. She will then serve as an academy professor at West Point for the duration of her Army career.

“I believe that I possess not only the appropriate qualities to teach,” she says, “but also the drive and motivation to do so. As such, I believe this, along with my academic and service credentials, was the primary reason I was selected to return.”

For Loucks, mentoring is key to teaching and her range of interests and perspectives on life—engineering, singing, a love of space, softball, being married to a fellow service member and being a Christian—helps her connect with students.

“I personally witnessed the power of having mentors that you can identify with,” says Loucks. “My husband and I still have former students we maintain contact with and mentor.”

DIANA LOUCKS WAS ABOUT TO SERVE A YEAR-LONG STINT as chief of Space and Special Programs for Regional Command, South, in Afghanistan when she got a call.

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Bridging the Global Resource Gap

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Jun 2015 06:00:00 +0000

Bridging the Global Resource Gap Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 06/07/2015 - 00:00

FOR MOST AMERICANS visiting the doctor’s office, shopping at the supermarket or going to work is a matter of hopping in a car and driving there. But the amenities of modern infrastructure in the United States—roads, bridges and sidewalks—are often absent in rural communities around the globe, separating people from food, medicine and potable water.

With this in mind, Avery Bang (MS CivEngr ’09) put her expertise to work developing modern solutions that change lives—and save lives. She started working with Bridges to Prosperity as a volunteer in 2008 and was named the organization’s CEO last year. Bridges to Prosperity, or B2P, was founded in 2001 and builds pedestrian bridges in rural, poor communities so people can reach much-needed resources.

As a student volunteer, Bang’s first experience with Bridges to Prosperity was a life-altering experience; what she refers to as her “Eureka!” moment.

“I first become involved with B2P after living in Fiji during a semester abroad, and I had the opportunity to visit the remote island of Taveuni, where the New Zealand government had recently built a bridge,” she says. “Community members living on the other side of the river were previously isolated from school nearly half of the year. Since the construction of the bridge, farmers had access to the weekly market, kids were able to go to school and the entire community now had access to the health care facility in town.”

As CEO, Bang has overseen the building of more than 170 bridges in 18 countries. In addition, Bang founded the Bridges to Prosperity University Program, which offers technical, cross-cultural and real-world building experience to students worldwide (including the CU-Boulder chapter).

“In the next year, this program will engage more than 150 students in bridge projects in multiple countries,” she says. “We are proud to play a part in developing the next generation of engineers into global citizens.”

Bang’s work with B2P earned her recognition as one of Engineering News-Record’s Top 25 Newsmakers of 2012. She also was named one of ENR Mountain Region’s Top 20 Under 40 in 2013, and one of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Fresh Faces in 2011. Last year the CU-Boulder Alumni Association named Bang the 2014 recipient of the Kalpana Chawla Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.

In addition to her work with B2P, Bang continues to work as a teacher and learner in the Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities. She is also a member of the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) board. She points to her CU education as one of the primary factors in her success.

“My time at CU was incredibly formative in developing my skills as an engineer, but more so in developing my understanding of the role engineers can play to benefit communities, both here in the States and around the world,” says Bang. “Since joining the B2P team in 2008—while still finishing my thesis at CU—I realized the importance of the connections and support network that I developed while studying.”

While Bang and B2P continue to change lives in communities around the world, she hopes her work inspires other college students to follow her path and work to build bridges, figuratively and otherwise.

For most Americans visiting the doctor’s office, shopping at the supermarket or going to work is a matter of hopping in a car and driving there.

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