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Mija Hubler and her team of CU Boulder researchers and partners are developing technology that infuses concrete with self-repair capabilities found in living organisms. If successful, the project will not only prevent new damage, but also reduce maintenance costs and extend the life of infrastructure.

Imagine an iPad that’s more than just an iPad—with a surface that can morph and deform, allowing you to draw 3D designs, create haiku that jump out from the screen and even hold your partner’s hand from an ocean away. That’s the vision of a team of engineers from CU Boulder.

CU Boulder’s Mountain Research Station has a three-pronged mission: host some of the most influential and long-running ecological research in the world, give students a peerless education in mountain environments, and link the public to learning about important ecosystems.

Undergraduate students interested in materials research will get a boost at CU Boulder next summer thanks to a new Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) grant from NSF. The 10-week summer program pairs students from across the country with CU Boulder’s top researchers in the field.

Professor Joel Eaves (Chemistry) is part of an NSF-funded group of researchers who have created a new class of materials from inorganic silicon nanoparticles and a common hydrocarbon molecule. These materials have the potential to improve solar panel efficiency, medical imaging and even night vision goggles.

Chemists at CU Boulder have developed a new way to recycle a common type of plastic found in soda bottles and other packaging. The team’s method relies on electricity and some nifty chemical reactions, and it’s simple enough that you can watch the plastic break apart in front of your eyes.

Karan Dikshit, an alum of the Materials Science and Engineering Program, is the first author on a new paper in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces detailing new adhesive materials that not only allow for easy sticking and unsticking, but could eventually contribute to sustainability efforts around the globe.

From advancing new Alzheimer’s treatments to developing predictive computer models to help youth in crisis, newly awarded teams of researchers from the CU Anschutz Medical Campus and CU Boulder are advancing a wide range of collaborative research projects aimed at improving human health and well-being. 

With a new method of tracking lake water storage trends and the reasons behind them, scientists like Fangfang Yao, a CIRES visiting fellow, can give water managers and communities insight into how to better protect critical sources of water and important regional ecosystems.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves led a recent roundtable discussion in Denver with local leaders in education, community and business. Massimo Ruzzene, vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes at CU Boulder, joined the session on the critical role universities will play in the nation’s push to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.