About
What is the Grand Challenge?
Grand Challenges are ambitious but achievable goals that harness science, technology, and innovation to solve important national or global problems and that have the potential to capture the public’s imagination.ÌýOn April 2, 2013, President ObamaÌýÌýcompanies, research universities, foundationsÌýand philanthropists to join him in identifying and pursuing the Grand Challenges of the 21stÌý³¦±ð²Ô³Ù³Ü°ù²â.
Our world is facing significant issues with a changing environment, increasing populations and limited resources. The intersection of people, resources and our planet is where CU Boulder can use its expertise in space-based observation and exploration to address our world’s most pressing problems.Ìý
How will CU Boulder address this challenge?
Our Space. Our Future. fuses CU Boulder’s unique strengths in Earth, space and social sciences with new technologies and partners to address the pace and pattern of changes for our environment, our resources and ourÌýplanet.
We will:
- Develop pathways to connect critical earth andÌýspace science knowledge to stakeholders and decision makers through the incorporation of social science and education with earth and space science efforts.
- Create an environment within which academia, industry and government work collaboratively to solve problems of national and international importance.
- Build new infrastructure and capabilities that support CU Boulder's Earth and space science effortsÌýwhile increasing CU Boulder’s stature nationally and internationally.
- Create new ways for education and training of students to meet national needs in the emerging Earth and space exploration sectors.
- Increase the number ofÌýfederal and commercial partners engaged in CU Boulder earth and space exploration efforts, allowing CU Boulder to successfully compete for both traditional and nontraditional funding opportunities.
April 2, 2013
President Obama callsÌýonÌýcompanies, research universities, foundationsÌýand philanthropists to join him in identifying and pursuing the Grand Challenges of the 21stÌý³¦±ð²Ô³Ù³Ü°ù²â.
September 14, 2015
The University of Colorado Boulder announces a campus-wide Grand ChallengeÌýcommitted to transforming the landscape of space exploration and finding pathways to address significant issues our planet faces.
Two initiatives are introduced into the Our Space. Our Future. portfolio upon lanch:
May 4, 2016
The 2016ÌýÌýgrants, awarded by the Offices of the Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation, introduce new and promising research into the already vibrant mix of Grand Challenge projects, enhancing directions already underway and expanding into new and exciting areas of opportunity.
August 30, 2016
CU Boulder launches a brand new program for undergraduate students as part of the growing Grand Challenge portfolio.
September 19, 2016
CU Boulder's Grand Challenge continues to gain momentum asÌýthe university andÌýÌýannounce a partnership to provide with access to DigitalGlobe’s industry-leading high-resolution satellite imagery, dataÌýand analytics tools in orderÌýto advance earth and space science research.
March 6, 2017
A unique Grand Challenge project in its inclusiveness, the multi-disciplinaryÌýcenter is primed to investigate an under-appreciated but important issue: the diversity, nature and justification of theories about the past, and how they inform our understanding of both the present and the future.
June 1, 2017
TheÌýGrand ChallengeÌýinitiative announces a new call for proposalsÌýfor the 2017ÌýGrand Challenge, with the goal of buildingÌýon and expanding the accomplishments of current programs and efforts.
September 19, 2017
Grand Challenge expands portfolio with three new projects
The cross-campusÌýGrand ChallengeÌýinitiative announces the selection of three new additions to the Grand Challenge portfolio: the Space Weather Technology, Research and Education Center (SWx TREC); theÌý; and the MagneticÌýCubeSat Constellation for Advanced Navigational Models project.Ìý