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Prestigious NSF fellowship awarded to 12 graduate students

Cay Leytham-Powell — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 19:03:14 +0000

Prestigious NSF fellowship awarded to 12 graduate students Cay Leytham-Powell Tue, 04/15/2025 - 13:03

The Graduate Research Fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in a wide variety of science-related disciplines

The National Science Foundation has awarded 12 ��ƷSM��ӰƬ students with the prestigious graduate research fellowship, which places the university in the top 15 nationwide in terms of number awarded, the federal agency announced last week.

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes outstanding graduate students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, paving the way for their continued work exploring some of the most complex and pressing issues of our time.

This year’s recipients of the five-year fellowship represent a wide swath of disciplines, spanning from American politics to fluid mechanics. Each will receive three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000, as well as professional development and research opportunities.

“We’re proud to see such a strong showing from our students in this year’s NSF fellowships,” said Massimo Ruzzene, senior vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes. “With the depth and strength across ��ƷSM��ӰƬ’s graduate programs, it is only fitting that we continue to be a leading recipient of these recognitions. Congratulations to each awardee—this achievement reflects your dedication and the contributions you are poised to make.”

Of those that either won or were honorable mentions, 19 participated in a workshop or information session organized by the Graduate School, in partnership with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. These included specialized writing workshops, coaching sessions and general informational sessions about applying for the GRFP.

“This year saw a reduction in the overall number of GRFP awards given out, with many students receiving honorable mentions that would’ve previously been recognized. And yet, despite that, we’ve remained relatively consistent in the percentage of awardees, ranking in the top 15 of all institutions once more. That success is a testament to not only our extraordinary graduate students, but also our collaborative approach with campus partners,” said Scott Adler, dean of the Graduate School and the vice provost for graduate affairs.

“We are very proud of the outstanding students who have been recognized for this highly competitive fellowship.”

This year’s recipients include:

Annalise Cabra, aerospace engineering sciences
Luke Coffman, physics
Charles Fraga, mechanical engineering
Stone Neilon, political science
Shelby Opp, astrophysics and geophysics
Devayani Ravuri, physics
Rebecca Riley, mechanical engineering
Laurel Robbins, biochemistry
Jae Robinson, ecology and evolutionary biology
Nick Rovito, mechanical engineering
Rachel Slaybaugh, astrophysical and planetary sciences
Annette Thompson, chemical and biological engineering

In addition to the fellowship award winners, 54 students were recognized with an honorable mention.

The Graduate Research Fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in a wide variety of science-related disciplines.

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Get involved in Graduate Student Appreciation Week March 31 – April 4

Cay Leytham-Powell — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 20:27:11 +0000

Get involved in Graduate Student Appreciation Week March 31 – April 4 Cay Leytham-Powell Thu, 03/13/2025 - 14:27

Join faculty, staff and students in celebrating national Graduate Student Appreciation Week, which recognizes graduate students’ many contributions to the university’s community and academic excellence. Graduate Student Appreciation Week offers a variety of free events, workshops and services to ��ƷSM��ӰƬ graduate students.

New this year, the Graduate School will also be raffling off prizes at the end of the week. More information about that, including how to enter, is available on the Graduate Student Appreciation Week web page.

Keep an eye on this page for more events, including unit-specific events, as they get finalized.

From the Dean of the Graduate School

If there’s one thing that makes the Graduate School at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ truly exceptional, it’s our students. To celebrate that fact, now through April 4, the Graduate School is hosting Graduate Student Appreciation Week, and we want to invite you to join in on the fun.

March 31

Free Coffee

All Day Laughing Goat in Norlin Library

Mention you're a graduate student to redeem your free drip coffee of any size at the Laughing Goat at Norlin Library.

Prepare for the Career & Internship Fair

11:00am – 3:00pm Center for Community S440

Get Career Fair ready by stopping by the Career Services office for a resume review, expert tips on talking to employers, free resume printing, and a professional headshot. Book an appointment for personalized support or drop in anytime to print your resume and take a photo.

Drop-in Massage/Acupressure

3 – 5 p.m. Wardenburg Sidewalk

Join Health Promotion for a wellness drop-in event designed to help you unwind and recharge! Stop by to learn about the wellness resources available on campus, chat about your personal wellness goals, and connect with others. Enjoy relaxing activities like acupressure and massage, and leave feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.

Graduate Student Bowling Night

6 – 8 p.m. University Memorial Center, The Connections

Join the Graduate School and the Graduate and Professional Student Government for a free night of bowling (including rental shoes), billiards, ping pong and video games. Don’t miss this chance to connect, unwind and have fun.

This event is free for graduate students. Buff One Cards are required at check-in.

April 1

Coffee & Connections

9 – 10 a.m. ISSS Front Office (C4C, Suite S355)

In celebration of Graduate Student Appreciation Week, join ISSS for a free cup of coffee (while supplies last). Stop by to grab a cup of coffee and get to know your ISSS advisors. We want to hear from YOU and show our appreciation for our International Graduate Students.

ITEAplus

10 – 11 a.m. CASE, CTL E390

Join Theresa Hernández to learn about self-acupressure using ITEAplus (Individualized Training and Education in Acupressure). ITEAplus can be an effective tool that anyone can utilize to decrease stress, increase relaxation, and improve memory and attention. Dr. Hernández will teach participants practices that can be used daily to enhance physical and emotional wellbeing.

Take-home instruction cards will be provided courtesy of the CALM Center.

Just In Time All Industries Career & Internship Fair

11 a.m. – 4 p.m. University Memorial Center, Glenn Miller Ballroom

Don't miss out on this free career fair, open to all students and alumni from any major. A list of attending employers and their open positions is available on Handshake.

Bring your Buff OneCard to attend and explore exciting job opportunities.

Grads & Cake

2 – 4 p.m. Center for Community N320

Come check out the Center for Inclusion & Social Change (CISC), enjoy a slice of cake, and learn all about our events and resources.

April 2

Graduate Student Appreciation Breakfast

8:30 – 10:30 a.m. University Memorial Center 235

Refuel midweek at our Graduate Appreciation Breakfast. Join Dean Adler and the Graduate School staff for coffee and a selection of breakfast treats as we celebrate you during Graduate Student Appreciation Week. Available while supplies last.

The Joyful Journey: Careers Beyond Higher Education Panel

10 – 11 a.m. Zoom

Join this Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) event to hear from panelists from various disciplines to discuss their career paths from graduate degree to professional. Panelists will address how they used their degrees and training to prepare them for their current positions and any advice they can give to current graduate students. Plenty of time will be given for questions.

Please note that online events do not count toward the raffle.

Aroma Therapy Workshop

2 – 4 p.m. CASE E351

Join Health Promotion for a drop-in event where you can create your own custom aromatherapy blend. Whether you're looking for a calming scent or an energizing aroma, you'll have the chance to craft a personalized blend to take home. Feel free to stop by for just five minutes or take your time—it's entirely up to you. Enjoy relaxing chair massage and enter the raffle to win a free massage or acupuncture visit.

April 3

Free Drip Coffee

7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. SEEC Cafe (east campus)

Present a voucher (which was distributed to your graduate program assistant on April 2) to redeem your free 20oz drip coffee at SEEC café on east campus.

Mindfulness Meditation

10 – 11 a.m. CASE E351

Associate Vice Chancellor for Business Strategy Derek Silva will lead participants in a mindfulness meditation hosted by the CALM center. Whether you are an experienced meditator or have heard about the growing body of research demonstrating the benefits of meditation and want to try it for yourself, this session can support you in cultivating a deeper sense of presence, engagement and self-connection. Participants often share that this meditation practice gives them a sense of calm and resiliency in the face of the challenges of modern life.

Grad+ Weekly Write-In for Grad Students

1:30 – 4:30 p.m. CASE W344 & SEEC S225

Ready to focus and make progress on your writing? Join our weekly write-in sessions for dedicated time to work on your academic writing. These sessions help you build a consistent writing habit, stay accountable alongside fellow graduate students, and track your progress.

April 4

Q&A Session on the Academic and Non-Academic Job Search

10 – 11 a.m. Zoom

Join Career Services for expert guidance on your job search. Whether you're exploring academic or non-academic paths, they’re here to answer your questions on resumes, CVs, cover letters, networking, interviewing and job search strategies.

Please note that online events do not count toward the raffle.

Throughout the Week

Graduate Student Resident Appreciation Gifts

All Day Graduate & Family Housing Office; Marine Court A-10

Graduate and Family Housing will have Grab and Go Goodie Bags at their main front desk throughout the week for residents. There will be a mix of treat bags and destress bags.

Free Rec Center Access

All Day Recreation Center

In celebration of Graduate Student Appreciation Week, the Rec Center is offering free access to all graduate students. Enjoy a free fitness class, free skate rentals during Rec Skate, and free bouldering at the climbing gym.

A Buff OneCard is required for entry.

Unit Specific Events

Please find your unit below to see if it's participating. Please note that these events are just for the graduate students in those units and not open to all graduate students, and do not qualify for the raffle.

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Thursday, April 3

Graduate Student Lunch
12:30 - 1:30pm Sievers conference room

Chemistry

Friday, April 4

Morning Mingle continental breakfast
Beginning at 8 a.m. CHEM 100

Computer Science

Tuesday, April 1

Student-only Town Hall Session
10 - 11 a.m. DLC 1 B70
Meet with only other CS Grad students to discuss student engagement and climate.

Annual Award Ceremony
3 - 4 p.m. DLC 1 B70
If you won any awards in AY 2024-2025 you will be recognized here. If you did not win any, please come to cheer for your friends!

Faculty Panel: Annual Student Town Hall
4 - 6 p.m. DLC 1 B70
Meet with various representatives of the departmental committees and faculty to share your thoughts to improve the graduate program.

Graduate Student Appreciation Dinner and Trivia Night
6 p.m. and onwards DLC 1 B70
Computer Science is catering dinner in DLC to celebrate our students and playing trivia.

Thursday, April 3

Wellness Session
5 p.m. and onwards DLC 1 B70
Breadth of live, breath out stress/anxiety, breath in calmness.

Friday, April 4

Student leaders and reps appreciation night plus recruitment event
6 - 8 p.m. DLC 1 B70

Education, School of

Tuesday, April 1

Afternoon Dessert Break
4 – 4:50 pm MBE 260

Wednesday, April 2

Taco Bar
11:30 am – 1 pm MBE 3rd floor kitchen

Engineering and Applied Sciences, College of

Wednesday, April 2

Coffee Cart for Grad Student Advisory Board (Engineering)
9 – 11 a.m. SEEC Patio & Engineering Center South Lobby

Geography

Tuesday, April 1

Bowling and Pizza
1 - 3 p.m. UMC, The Connections

Pride Office

Thursday, April 3

Queer Formal
7 - 10 p.m. J.D. Abrams Lounge, C4C

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Graduate student survey launches March 11

Cay Leytham-Powell — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:33:53 +0000

Graduate student survey launches March 11 Cay Leytham-Powell Wed, 03/05/2025 - 10:33

This survey, which will run until April 29, is designed to better understand the current graduate student experience

How do you feel about your graduate student experience?

That’s the question that the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Graduate Student Survey, known as the gradSERU Survey, is seeking to understand when it launches next week.

Survey Details

Dates: March 11 - April 29

Time: 20 mins

Search your email for "gradSERU" for your unique URL. All respondents will be entered to win one of 20 $100 Amazon gift cards.

The survey, which runs March 11 to April 29, is designed to examine students' experiences across the entire spectrum of their graduate career: academic, research, teaching, professional development, well-being and sense of community. A unique survey URL will be distributed over email to almost all non-professional graduate students—and those who respond will be automatically entered into a drawing with a chance to win one of 20 $100 gift cards.

Information gleaned from previous gradSERU surveys, administered in spring 2021 and 2023, helped facilitate stipend increases for graduate students, an expansion of embedded counselors in all schools and colleges across the university, and the hiring of a diversity, equity and inclusion faculty director within the Graduate School. Results from the survey also assisted in informing some of the Graduate School’s strategic plan goals.

The Graduate School is now interested in what has changed—and what has not—since the last iteration two years ago.

“Collecting this wide range of information from our graduate students helps us get a sense of how they are doing in a variety of different circumstances,” said Scott Adler, dean of the Graduate School. “Are we now doing better or worse? How do we compare to our peer institutions? Those are the types of questions that we look to answer with this survey.”

A link to the survey will be emailed on March 11 to graduate students within participating programs. In addition to the core questions that will be compared to other SERU institutions within the consortium, the survey will also include a small number of questions that are specific to ��ƷSM��ӰƬ graduate students and programs.

Through its administration every other year, the gradSERU survey provides an ongoing way to track changes and improvements in academic programs and the utility of various support services for the Graduate School. Individual graduate programs can also use the results of the survey to better understand their own student satisfaction in a wide range of categories.

“We learned quite a bit of valuable information from the survey in 2021 and 2023 and we expect to learn even more as we track these items over time,” Adler added. “We want to know the accomplishments and triumphs, as well as the challenges and obstacles, that our graduate students are experiencing.”

This survey, which will run until April 22, is designed to better understand the current graduate student experience.

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Announcing the 2025 Three Minute Thesis Winners

Cay Leytham-Powell — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:59:38 +0000

Announcing the 2025 Three Minute Thesis Winners Cay Leytham-Powell Fri, 02/14/2025 - 07:59

Ten students participated in this year’s final competition for a chance at prize money and a chance to represent ��ƷSM��ӰƬ at the regional competition

Drones as teammates, landing safely from space, and local control of school districts were a few of the topics presented during the eighth annual Three Minute Thesis Competition on Feb. 13, 2025.

This event challenges graduate students to craft a three-minute elevator pitch for their complex—and sometimes difficult to make sense of—research in a way that even an everyday person could understand.

This year, the ten competitors did just that to a packed Glenn Miller Ballroom and a panel of judges who evaluated the competitors on comprehension, content, engagement and communication.

“It is of vital importance that the public understand the valuable work that graduate students are doing every day, and how it can impact them in lasting and positive ways, and the Three Minute Thesis competition does just that,” said Scott Adler, dean of the Graduate School. “Congratulations to those that won and to everyone that participated. You all did amazing and make me proud to be dean of the Graduate School.”

The 2025 winners are:

First Place

Aoife Henry, electrical, computer and energy engineering, Directing Wind Turbines with Foresight: The Shepherd and the Sheepdog Find a Crystal Ball

Second Place

Casey Middleton, computer science, Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3

People’s Choice

Heather Kenny-Duddela, ecology and evolutionary biology, Feathered Flings: The Dating Lives of Barn Swallows

Henry will receive $1500 in prize money and will represent ��ƷSM��ӰƬ at the Western Association of Graduate Schools competition. Middleton and Kenny-Duddela will receive $750 and $500 in research funds, respectively.

Judges for this year’s event are Waleed Abdalati, executive director of the Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and professor of geography; Jared Bahir Browsh, director of critical sports studies and an assistant teaching professor; Robert Streeter, site supervisor at Polar Field Services and 3MT 2023 winner; and Sonia DeLuca Fernández, senior vice chancellor for leadership support and programming. Bud Coleman, professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance, will be the event’s emcee.

More information about the 2026 Three Minute Thesis Competition will be available on the Three Minute Thesis competition webpage this fall.

Ten students participated in this year’s final competition for a chance at prize money and a chance to represent ��ƷSM��ӰƬ at the regional competition.

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Know before you go: Three Minute Thesis competition, Feb. 13

Cay Leytham-Powell — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:38:16 +0000

Know before you go: Three Minute Thesis competition, Feb. 13 Cay Leytham-Powell Fri, 02/07/2025 - 12:38

This annual event, which showcases graduate student’s ability to distill their nine-hour thesis down to three minutes, comes back Feb. 13 at 4 p.m.

What is the best way to distill a multitude of information into just three minutes?

That’s the question that 11 graduate students will be wrestling with as part of the Graduate School’s eighth annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) final competition, which will be held in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom on Feb. 13, 2025, from 4 to 6 p.m.

This event challenges students to explain their thesis to the general public. They are then judged by a panel of judges from across the university. Winners of the event will be announced at the end of the program and the audience will have the opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice award.

While the event is free and open to the public, space is limited and registration is required for in-person attendance. The event will also be live-streamed.

If you go

Date: Feb. 13, 2025
Time: 4 - 6 p.m.
Location: University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom

This year’s competitors include:

Anna Deese, educational foundations, policy and practice, “When Students & School-Voters Differ: The Promise and Peril of Local Control”
Celeste Guiles, aerospace engineering, “Bringing You Safely Home from Outer Space”
Aoife Henry, electrical, computer and energy engineering, “Directing Turbine with Foresight: The Shepherd and the Sheepdog find a Crystal Ball.”
Casey Hunt, ATLAS Institute, “Building a Shared Future: A Toolkit for Collaborative Robot Design”
Heiko Kabutz, mechanical engineering, “Enhancing Locomotion through Shape Morphing in Insect Robots”
Heather Kenny-Duddela, ecology and evolutionary biology, “Feathered Flings: The Dating Lives of Barn Swallows”
Casey Middleton, computer science, “Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3”
Nandi Pointer, media studies, “Exit to Entry: Black Expatriates and Teaching English as Fugitive, Liberatory Praxis”
Hunter Ray, aerospace engineering, “Drones to the Rescue: From Tools to Teammates in Public Safety”
Anna Turner, media studies, “Building Bridges through Popular Media”
Marwa Yacouti, aerospace engineering, “Unveiling the Hidden Stories of Materials”

The 3MT event began in 2008 when the state of Queensland, Australia, suffered from a severe drought. To conserve water, residents were encouraged to time their showers, and many people had a three-minute egg timer fixed to the wall in their bathroom. The then-Dean of the University of Queensland Graduate School, Emeritus Professor Alan Lawson, decided to apply the same approach with his students in a first of its kind competition.

3MT challenges graduate students to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience. To prepare, beginning last fall, 31 graduate students participated in a series of workshops focusing on storytelling, writing, presentation skills and improv comedy techniques. They then held a preliminary competition at the end of the fall 2024 semester and whittled the competition down to eleven finalists.

The graduate students competing at this year’s 3MT finals will be evaluated by a panel of judges on their comprehension, content, engagement and communication.

The winner of the competition will receive $1,500 in prize money and will have the chance to compete at the regional competition as the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ’s representative. The runner-up and the People’s Choice winner, voted on by the live audience, will also receive funding.

More information about the competition is available on the Graduate School's 3MT web page.

This annual event, which showcases graduate student’s ability to distill their nine-hour thesis down to three minutes, comes back Feb. 13 at 4 p.m.

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Grad student innovators among winners of Lab Venture Challenge

Cay Leytham-Powell — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:37:17 +0000

Grad student innovators among winners of Lab Venture Challenge Cay Leytham-Powell Fri, 02/07/2025 - 07:37

This annual competition offers participants from across the CU system the chance to compete for $125,000.

Kian Lopez first became interested in water purification while doing an internship as an undergraduate in Amann, Jordan.

“That’s where I learned about wastewater reuse and using gray or reclaimed water to grow agriculture in a very water scarce region,” said Lopez, a NASA graduate research fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. “It’s what got me on this path.”

It was that path that eventually brought him to the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ where he’s been developing a new membrane-separation process (a method for blocking some substances while allowing others through) for water treatment. This new approach, he says, is “more energy efficient and selective for certain contaminants than the existing state-of-the-art water treatment membrane-based processes currently used today.”

While the hope of this new technology is to one day help alleviate global water scarcity, he’s currently researching other uses for it to prove its effectiveness—from water reuse on short space flights to semiconductor manufacturing.

Kian Lopez is a NASA graduate research fellow and one of the creators of OsmoPure.

The latter of which spurred Lopez’s new company, OsmoPure Technologies, to be born.

And this past year, OsmoPure Technologies was recognized by the Lab Venture Challenge for its innovative distillation-driven process, which produces high-purity product water with ten times higher energy efficiency.

As one of only four graduate students funded, he’s thankful for the opportunity—and encourages other students to also pursue the opportunity.

“I feel like the first year, when you graduate, is a very tumultuous time for start-ups, especially spinouts of the university,” said Lopez. “There’s a lot that can go wrong, and (the Lab Venture Challenge) helps to mitigate that risk.”

The Lab Venture Challenge

The Lab Venture Challenge offers researchers from the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ, Denver and Colorado Springs the chance to compete for grants up to $125,000. This competition, a partnership of Venture Partners at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade Advanced Industries Program, supports projects that “address a commercial need, have a clear path to a compelling market and have strong scientific support.”

Since its inception, the Lab Venture Challenge has funded more than 117 projects through 64 new companies that provide technology solutions to scientific or engineering challenges, or deep-tech start-ups. In turn, these companies have raised over $349 million to date in follow-on financing. Previous recipients include TorDan, a company that’s developing an improved technique for femoral surgery, and Mana Battery, a company that’s creating sodium-ion batteries that are cheaper and safer than standard lithium-ion ones.

Applications open in July each year and the Lab Venture Challenge hosts Shark-Tank-style pitches across two nights in October where finalists deliver pitches to a panel of business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors. Afterwards, the winners continue to work and collaborate with Venture Partners on their path to commercialization, which is the process of bringing something to market.

The Lab Venture Challenge is part of a broader push by the university toward promoting an innovative culture. And that push has yielded real results.

Commercialization from ��ƷSM��ӰƬ has had an $8 billion-dollar economic impact nationally, and $5.2 billion in Colorado between 2018 and 2022. In 2024 alone, the university launched 35 new start-ups—a record. The CU system also ranked fifth nationally for start-up creation and 14th globally for patents issued.

“A lot of us (researchers) don’t really have an understanding of how commercialization works,” said Qizhong Liang, another of this year’s graduate student recipients for his project Flari Tech. “I think (the Lab Venture Challenge) is like the bridge that’s helping entrepreneurs, who have a lot of experience in marketing and turning something into a market, connect with us, creating a double-win situation for both parties.”

Lopez echoed that sentiment.

“(Your technology) can work in the lab, but you also need to talk to potential customers and people in the industry to get relevant feedback,” said Lopez. “It’s really important for bridging the gap between research and actually creating a product that people will buy.”

Detecting Disease Using Breath

Flari Tech’s story began long before Liang came to ��ƷSM��ӰƬ as a physics PhD student.

Qizhong Liang, a PhD candidate in JILA and the Department of Physics, poses in the lab. He's demonstrating (for the purpose of illustration on his lab equipment) how the laser-based breathalyzer works, in the Ye lab at JILA. (Photo by Patrick Campbell/University of Colorado)

For more than a decade, it’s been known that molecules exhaled from breath could potentially be used for noninvasive, low-cost, and rapid medical diagnostics for multiple medical conditions. However, measuring these molecules at their low concentrations proved difficult largely due to the lack of sensitivity of the instruments.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck at the end of 2019, though, this research, which had been dormant for over a decade, reared its head once more. There were two motivations, Liang says, for the return: “First, our laser technology is much more powerful than that back in 2008 when our research group demonstrated the first breath measurements; second, there’s a COVID outbreak. We wanted to see whether or not we could do something to help society.”

The lab worked together with researchers from the BioFrontiers Institute and CU Anschutz Medical Campus to test ��ƷSM��ӰƬ students and employees’ breath. They wanted to see if exhaled breath could be used as a noninvasive alternative to standard tests like the nasal swabs that were used to detect COVID-19. What they found is that they could, and with an 85% rate of accuracy validated over a cohort of 170 participants, which is considered excellent.

They then decided to continue this research to see what other medical conditions can also be detected from breath, and Flari Tech was born.

Flari Tech’s mission is to build a laser-based breathalyzer to detect lung cancer noninvasively and rapidly with high sensitivity. The research is powered by CU's Nobel Prize-winning optical frequency comb, which is a specialized laser tool that allows them to sense gas molecules in complex breath samples.

Their desire is to eventually see the laser breathalyzer in hospitals and with healthcare providers and patients to prevent, diagnose and monitor lung cancer.

“I think the patents that we have filed are going to be vital to commercialization and can facilitate our technique’s wide-spread utilization,” said Liang, adding, “Commercialization will help advance the science behind breath diagnostics.”

This year’s LVC was additionally made possible by Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP, Wilson Sonsini, Cooley and Cozen O'Connor. Information about how to get involved in next year’s competition is available on the Venture Partners at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ website.

This annual competition offers participants from across the CU system the chance to compete for $125,000.

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The future of graduate education

Cay Leytham-Powell — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 21:47:58 +0000

The future of graduate education Cay Leytham-Powell Wed, 02/05/2025 - 14:47

Editor's Note: This interview was conducted in late 2024 and is meant to look at long-term changes in graduate education, not short-term.

��ƷSM��ӰƬ Provost Russell Moore announced last fall that he would be stepping down as Provost at the close of the 2024-25 academic year, as soon as a new provost can be onboarded following a national search. Moore has served as provost for 14 years, making him the longest continuously serving provost among AAU institutions. We sat down with him to get his thoughts on the past, present, and future of graduate education at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ and in American higher education.

What do you think are the major achievements in graduate education at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ during your time as provost?

A: The first is how the Graduate School has transformed in the range of its degrees offered. Today we offer 57 PhD programs, 62 traditional master’s programs, 31 professional master’s programs, and 10 fully online graduate programs. Over the last 10 years, our applications have grown 40% and our overall graduate enrollment has grown 30%.

Besides these metrics, I like how our graduate student experience has transformed under Deans Schmiesing and Adler—it’s a more human-centered, personable, grounded experience. We’ve worked to improve pay and benefits, reduce fees, and to improve the relationship between faculty and graduate students to become one of true mentorship. We place the human and interactive aspects of graduate education at the forefront of what we offer; it’s not just about acquiring expertise, it’s about learning to share expertise in a more impactful, human, and lasting way.

What is unique about the graduate education experience at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ?

A: At a lot of research institutions, graduate education is a gauntlet students have to pass through, and in some of them, leaders take pride in how many students drop out as some kind of measure of excellence and difficulty.

Here, our first strategic imperative in graduate education is to promote access, inclusivity, and community. We want students to succeed. With that value in mind, we focus on the partnerships that forge that success—partnerships with graduate faculty, partnerships among students, partnerships of the deans with Dean Adler and his team.

We have work to do, of course, in extending these partnerships, but the ethos of our graduate programs isn’t anchored in detached notions of elite achievement and difficulty. We anchor our challenge in breaking through all that—being partnership and success-oriented, taking pride in how many graduate students succeed in their programs.

What are the immediate challenges for graduate education at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ in the current moment?

A: We’ve got to continue to make it accessible and affordable—especially in a place like Boulder. Chancellor Schwartz has made it clear to us that we need to move faster in creating more graduate housing and healthcare. We are exploring opportunities for health insurance for graduate students’ spouses and dependents, expanding medical and mental health resources that include no-cost telehealth (counseling and urgent care) for graduate students’ families, and providing a new service to support graduate student families to obtain alternative options for health insurance and healthcare, particularly for those with financial need.

We’ve also got new ground to break in online graduate education—offering more degrees in that space both on our own and with our partner, Coursera. We need to make sure graduate education is a speartip in breaking down academic silos and offering interdisciplinary master’s degrees that mirror what our campus is great at and where its programs are going, particularly in the area of sustainability and the environment, but also in the humanities and performing arts.

Look into your Crystal Ball—what does graduate education look like at CU in 20 years?

A: I think you’ll see an even more dynamic, interactive, partnership-oriented graduate experience, with fewer barriers to all degrees and with, for example, far more interdisciplinary master’s degrees. You’ll see great interplay between our online and professional master’s degrees, and perhaps even with our traditional PhD programs. I think you’ll see easier processes to earning master’s degrees, and a more exciting, self-invented set of pathways to both master’s degrees and PhDs.

I think we’ll see graduate students doing things they’ve never done before, working more closely than ever with faculty in partnerships and mentorships. I think you’ll see more diverse graduate students from all walks of life—and from all places in Colorado—coming to their state’s flagship institution in ��ƷSM��ӰƬ, which will also be, I hope, among the most-talked about research institutions, and enriching themselves, our university, and their communities.

Truly, I think it’s going to be amazing.

We sat down with Provost Moore to get his thoughts on the past, present, and future of graduate education at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ and in American higher education.

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CAAAS fellowship recognizes music and history grad students

Cay Leytham-Powell — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 22:01:07 +0000

CAAAS fellowship recognizes music and history grad students Cay Leytham-Powell Mon, 02/03/2025 - 15:01

This fellowship provides support for students that are conducting research and creative work in African, African American or African diaspora studies.

Nigerian immigrants in Japan and formerly segregated state parks were the focus of this year’s Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) summer fellowships.

The CAAAS summer fellowships recognize ��ƷSM��ӰƬ graduate students that are conducting research and creative work in African, African American or African diaspora studies. The goal of the fellowship, which is co-sponsored by University Libraries, is to connect ��ƷSM��ӰƬ graduate students with a librarian while providing additional research funding so they can explore a topic of their choosing.

This year’s recipients are Ubochi Igbokwe, a musicology PhD student who researches Igbo African masquerade music and the cultural impacts of the Igbo African émigrés in Japan, and Trevor Egerton, a history doctoral candidate studying race and outdoor recreation in the 20th century American South.

Read more about Igbokwe and her work on the CAAAS website.

Read more about Egerton and his work on the CAAAS website.

Learn more about the fellowship on the CAAAS website. To donate to keep the CAAAS Fellowships going, go to the Giving website and choose “General Funds” with a note that it is directed to the CAAAS Fellowship.

This fellowship provides support for students that are conducting research and creative work in African, African American or African diaspora studies.

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Save the date for the 2025 Three Minute Thesis final competition, Feb. 13

Cay Leytham-Powell — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:31:38 +0000

Save the date for the 2025 Three Minute Thesis final competition, Feb. 13 Cay Leytham-Powell Wed, 12/18/2024 - 07:31

This annual event, which showcases graduate students' ability to distill their nine-hour thesis down to three minutes, returns to campus

If you go

Who: Everyone
What: Three Minute Thesis final competition
When: Feb. 13, 4 to 6 p.m.
Where: Glenn Miller Ballroom (UMC)

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, an annual tradition that celebrates graduate students while they explain their thesis research in three minutes or less, will take place on Feb. 13, 2025, from 4 to 6 p.m., in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom.

Eleven students will be competing in this event, which is free and open to the public, but registration is required. This year’s competitors include:

Anna Deese, educational foundations, policy and practice
Celeste Guiles, aerospace engineering
Aoife Henry, electrical, computer and energy engineering
Casey Hunt, ATLAS Institute
Heiko Kabutz, mechanical engineering
Heather Kenny-Duddela, ecology and evolutionary biology
Casey Middleton, computer science
Nandi Pointer, media studies
Hunter Ray, aerospace engineering
Anna Turner, media studies
Marwa Yacouti, aerospace engineering

3MT challenges graduate students to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience. To prepare, beginning last fall, 31 students were asked to participate in a series of workshops focusing on storytelling, writing, presentation skills and improv comedy techniques. They then held a preliminary competition for the 16 remaining and whittled the competition down to eleven finalists.

The graduate students competing during this year’s 3MT finals will be evaluated by a panel of judges on their comprehension, content, engagement and communication. Judges for this year’s event are Waleed Abdalati, executive director of the Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and professor of geography; Jared Bahir Browsh, director of critical sports studies and an assistant teaching professor; Robert Streeter, site supervisor at Polar Field Services and 3MT 2023 winner; and Sonia DeLuca Fernández, senior vice chancellor for leadership support and programming.

The winner of the competition will receive $1,500 in prize money and will have the chance to compete at the state and regional competitions as the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ’s representative. The runner-up and the People’s Choice winner, voted on by the live audience, will also receive funding.

More information about the competition is available on the Three Minute Thesis web page.

This annual event, which showcases graduate student’s ability to distill their nine-hour thesis down to three minutes, returns to campus.

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2024 Three Minute Thesis competition application now open

Cay Leytham-Powell — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 21:05:03 +0000

2024 Three Minute Thesis competition application now open Cay Leytham-Powell Thu, 09/12/2024 - 15:05

The application for the Three Minute Thesis competition is now open for interested doctoral students.

3MT is an academic competition that challenges students to summarize their thesis in three minutes for a general audience and a panel of judges, who rate their performance. The three winners of the competition, along with a people’s choice winner, receive prize money, with the first-place recipient receiving $1,500 and a chance to represent the university at the regional, national and international competitions.

To participate, you must be a ��ƷSM��ӰƬ doctoral student admitted to candidacy by December 1, 2024, and be enrolled for spring 2025 and expect to graduate in May 2025 or later. Graduates or alumni are not eligible. The deadline for registering is Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 11:59 p.m. 

Application closes Oct. 1

Apply Here

“Amazing research happens every day by graduate students, but it often flies under the radar. The Three Minute Thesis competition is an opportunity to showcase that creative and innovative work and the talented students that make it happen,” Scott Adler, the dean of the Graduate School, said previously.

The 3MT event began in 2008 when the state of Queensland, Australia, suffered from a severe drought. To conserve water, residents were encouraged to time their showers, and many people had a three-minute egg timer fixed to the wall in their bathroom. The then-dean of the University of Queensland Graduate School, Emeritus Professor Alan Lawson, decided to apply the same approach with his students in a first of its kind competition.

It has since spread across the globe, including to ��ƷSM��ӰƬ.

Prior to ��ƷSM��ӰƬ’s competition, which takes place every February and is one of the Graduate School’s signature events, students participate in a series of workshops to improve their presentation and research communication skills, helping them to effectively (and succinctly) explain the significance of their research. These workshops also provide a chance for students to forge connections within a like-minded cohort from across the disciplines.

One such workshop or presentation scheduled for this year, among others discussing things like storytelling framework and improvisation techniques, is an exclusive talk by international 3MT winner, and Marvin H. Caruthers Endowed Chair for Early-Career Faculty Assistant Professor Samuel Ramsey on science communication. Watch Dr. Sammy’s winning 3MT presentation here.

For more information, including seeing the past winners, refer to the 3MT website. For all other questions, contact Hailey Herman at hailey.herman@colorado.edu.

Interested doctoral students must register by Oct. 1 to participate in this signature event.

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Student competing during the 2023-24 3MT Final Competition. Photograph by Casey Cass/��ƷSM��ӰƬ.

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