Letter from the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation 2020-21
Colleagues and friends,
Resilience, collaboration and impact come to mind when reflecting on University of Colorado Boulder research, scholarship and creative works in 2020–21.
In a year of unpredictability—clear wins, followed by pauses, reversals, and then progress again—our campus continues to lean into excellence, innovation and teamwork. Record-breaking sponsored research funding—headlined by $634 million in total gifts and awards, $481 million of which was awarded by federal agencies—provides measurable evidence of the resilience of our researchers, faculty, students and staff.
The spirit of teamwork that has bolstered our campus culture is also on display in our most significant research efforts, several of which appear in the following pages. Collaborations like the Emirates Mars Mission, the Odor2Action project and the ASPIRE transportation center are generating buzz globally. Closer to home, new initiatives like the Center for African and African American Studies and the AI Institute for Student-AI Teaming illustrate the boundless possibilities of students, faculty, staff, peer universities and federal partners uniting for a common purpose.
From learning how to best address COVID-19 to tackling the everexpanding effects of our changing climate, I’m proud that CU Boulder faculty, staff and students will always be found at the leading edge of the issues that matter most.
I hope you enjoy these stories of resilience, collaboration and impact from CU Boulder’s research and creative work in 2020–21.
Warm regards,
Terri Fiez
Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation
Research & Innovation Office