Taylor Valley in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Photo听Credit:听Dave Haney, NSF
Research at CU Boulder encompasses thousands of scholarly, scientific and creative endeavors at any given time, resulting in new knowledge, technologies and creative work that advance the economy, culture and health of Colorado, the nation and the world. This week's top research stories include a new student-created App, melting in Antarctica and a new laser design that could improve atomic clock performance.
Scientists and students working with the National Science Foundation, including Associate Professor Michael Gooseff of environmental engineering and INSTAAR, have authored a series of papers on how a single season of intense melting in Antarctica in 2001-02 may affect the continent鈥檚 ecological future, including its potential impact on global climate change.
Thanks to a team of undergraduate students, the University of Colorado Boulder now has an innovative new iPad app for kids, extending the international educational footprint of the PhET Interactive Simulations project and its award-winning collection of science and math simulations.
What鈥檚 one way to cut a car鈥檚 weight by 50 percent and improve fuel efficiency by up to 40 percent? Make it out of carbon fiber instead of steel. Alumnus Chris Kaffer, co-founder and CEO of Denver startup Mallinda, believes his company鈥檚 reusable carbon-fiber composite can play a vital role in making vehicles more efficient. Now,听a $750,000 grant will help move the vision forward.
Sleep-deprived preschoolers crave more calories
A new CU Boulder study shows preschoolers consume more calories than normal when they don't get enough sleep, findings that have implications for childhood obesity risk.
Superradiant laser may boost atomic clocks, create 鈥榬ulers鈥� for space
JILA physicists have demonstrated a novel laser design that could be stable enough to improve atomic clock performance a hundredfold and even serve as a clock itself, while also advancing other scientific quests such as making accurate 鈥渞ulers鈥� for measuring astronomical distances.
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Students who developed the first PhET simulation app for iPad include, (back row, from left to right) Andrew Arnopoulos, Luis Olivas, Eric Rudat, (front row from left to right) Ellie Daw and Sheefali Tewari. Photo by Ellie Daw.
JILA鈥檚 superradiant laser is expected to be more stable than ordinary lasers,听making it a sharper tool for improving the performance of atomic clocks. The听laser is based on the same atom听used in strontium lattice atomic clocks and听might even serve as a clock itself. Image听credit: NIST