students

Remains from CU's Medical School still in Boulder

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 20:20:38 +0000

Remains from CU's Medical School still in Boulder Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/25/2024 - 14:20

Silvia Pettem

Cadavers used in anatomy classes were buried in unmarked lots in Columbia Cemetery

The University of Colorado Department of Medicine and Surgery opened in Boulder in 1883 with two students. By 1890, the medical school included more than a dozen students, two of them women. In order to graduate, each student was required to dissect an entire human body.

Records of these cadavers reveal a little-known cross section of life and death in Boulder County. The body parts were interred in unmarked lots, where they remain today, in Boulder's Columbia Cemetery.

Prior to the school's opening, Dr. Lumen M. Giffin moved to Boulder from New York to become professor of anatomy and physiology. In the early days, tuition for the three-year program was a one-time fee of $5 for in-state students and $10 for those from out of state. The courses included lectures, chemical laboratories and dissections.

CU Boulder alum Silvia Pettem is an acclaimed local historian and author of Separate Lives: Uncovering the Hidden Family of Victorian Professor Mary Rippon.

One of the bodies donated to Giffin's class was that of miner Frederick Nelson. He had sought refuge from a forest fire and suffocated in the shaft of the Bald Mountain Mine near the town of Sunset. His relatives were unknown, and no one claimed his remains.

Many of the deceased met similarly unusual or violent deaths. According to coroners' records, in 1909 Herman Schmidt's skull was crushed by a falling rock while he worked as a laborer on the construction of Barker Dam, below Nederland. Schmidt was a recent immigrant with no known family or friends.

No one knew anything about Michael Clifford at the time of his death except his name. He was murdered in a drunken brawl in the town of Marshall. The university also welcomed his body.

Few, if any, of the cadavers used in the classroom dissections were female until 1914, when Cyrus Deardoff donated the body of his 70-year-old wife, Ellen, who had been declared insane and starved herself.

Cyrus had, at one time, been a prominent gold miner in Ward. However, he died destitute a few months after Ellen's death. He saved the expense of a funeral and the stigma of being consigned to a pauper’s grave by agreeing in advance to give the university his body, as well.

The year was a busy one for the medical students. By then, CU had purchased its second cemetery lot, and bought a third one a couple years later.

Additional bodies came from people who died by suicide or from influenza or other infectious diseases. Some, like Thomas McCormick, died from an overdose of morphine in the county jail.

Then there was William Ryan, a farmer, who had suffered from chronic alcoholism and was found dead in bed. He had no family, but he did have a watch and chain and a horse and buggy. CU got those items, too.

In 1924, citing a lack of appropriate medical facilities, CU's medical school moved to Denver. In 2008, the school transformed itself again with a move to the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.

A year before the school left Boulder, Giffin died of a stroke at age 72. At the time, he was the oldest physician in Boulder. He, too, was buried in Columbia Cemetery—intact and in his own grave with family members. But while Giffin is resting is peace, the other bodies in Columbia Cemetery are resting in pieces.

Top image: Luman M. Giffin (center) and his class in the CU Medical School during the late 1890s. (Photo: courtesy Carnegie Library for Local History, Boulder)

Silvia Pettem is a CU Boulder alum (1969) and is the author of Separate Lives: Uncovering the Hidden Family of Victorian Professor Mary Rippon. This column originally appeared in the Daily Camera. She can be reached at silviapettem.com.

Cadavers used in anatomy classes were buried in unmarked lots in Columbia Cemetery.

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Talking politics with a side of pizza

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 12:08:46 +0000

Talking politics with a side of pizza Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/10/2024 - 06:08

New Politics & Pizza sessions give students and experts and space for productive and lively discussion of timely political topics

Today’s elections bear little resemblance to elections 50 or even 20 years ago. One key change: Digital and social media have become more central to how voters receive information—or misinformation—about candidates and issues.

For example, a recent Pew Research Center survey found that of those ages 18 to 29 surveyed, 48% use TikTok to keep up with politics or political news and 52% use TikTok to get news. Another recent Pew survey found that 54% of U.S. adults surveyed often or sometimes get local political news from social media.

If you go

What: Politics & Pizza, “The Role of Digital/Social Media in U.S. Elections”

When: 5:30-6:45 p.m., Monday, Oct.14

Where: Bruce Curtis Building (MCOL), W100 – CC

Free Cosmo’s pizza!

Learn more

The role of these new media will be the focus of the inaugural Politics & Pizza session, set for 5:30-6:45 p.m. Oct. 14. The aim of Pizza & Politics—which is being initiated by Glen Krutz, a professor of political science—is to “encourage productive, substantive deliberation of specific topics, rather than rancorous and ideological macro-thoughts.”

“These events are meant to help CU students sink their minds into key, specific political issues while they are sinking their teeth into delicious pizza!” Krutz says. “The other main goal is to have experts get the discussion started, but then to very much have a discussion between the students and one another and the students and the experts. The interaction piece is central, rather than a one-way information flow that sometimes we see at talks on university campuses.”

Politics & Pizza, which includes free Cosmo’s pizza, is modeled on similar sessions offered in Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. Each session will feature expert speakers who give a few introductory thoughts about the session’s topic, and then open the session to a question-and-answer with students.

The theme of the first Pizza & Politics event Oct. 14 is “The Role of Digital/Social Media in U.S. Elections” with speakers Stephen Frost, an assistant professor in the College of Media, Communication and Information Department of Media Studies; Vivek Krishnamurthy, an associate professor in the CU Law School and director of the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law and Policy Clinic; and Alexandra Siegel, an associate professor of political science.

The second Politics & Pizza is scheduled for Oct. 28 and will focus on the Electoral College and institutional reform. A third date is set for Nov. 18 and will offer an analysis of the election outcome and the upcoming transition.

Spring 2025 sessions will focus on the new U.S. Congress, business and politics, and state universities in America.

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New Politics & Pizza sessions give students and experts and space for productive and lively discussion of timely political topics.

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Finding ‘Better Days’ through art

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 15:23:47 +0000

Finding ‘Better Days’ through art Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/20/2024 - 09:23

Rachel Sauer

New CU Art Museum exhibit highlights the ways in which art meets challenging times and finds the sometimes-elusive silver lining

It began not with the more known Confederate battle flag—the infamous stars and bars—but with the lesser-known Confederate flag of truce, a white linen towel waved on April 9, 1865, by Confederate troops when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, ending the U.S. Civil War.

In 2019, textile and social practice artist Sonya Clark made the flag of truce the focal point of her work Monumental Cloth, The Flag We Should Know, recreating the “cloth that brokered peace and represented the promise of reconciliation.” The University of Colorado Art Museum recently acquired Clark’s 2022 print, Confederate, surrender, which reconstructs the historical artifact.

"From Me, All Things Proceed and to Me, They Must Return," by Hollis Sigler (1991) is part of the "Better Days" exhibition now open at the CU Art Museum.

It was this interpretation of a lesser-known symbol that got curators and staff at the museum thinking: “(Clark) is taking this ongoing moment in history and, in many ways, elevating it with an act of repair,” says Hope Saska, acting director, chief curator and director of academic engagement in the museum. “That started us thinking about how do artists take these times that may be challenging and then use art to respond?”

The fruit of those discussions is “Better Days,” an exhibition on view beginning today and open through Oct. 26, highlighting how artists “respond to times of uncertainty” with “work that can help make sense of the world.” In the works in the exhibit, drawn from the museum’s collection, “some [artists] imagine a better world, encouraging viewers to find silver linings, while others reveal hidden aspects of conflict, sparking conversation… Collectively, they offer ways to contend with a complex world, urging viewers to celebrate our shared humanity, witness injustice and work to repair division and inequity.”

These themes are especially timely as the U.S. presidential race speeds toward election day and as events worldwide seem to create tumult and fracture rather than hope and healing, Saska says.

“In some of these artworks (in the exhibit), artists are taking stands about racial injustice and political and social conflict, or they’re making artworks related to the AIDS crisis,” she explains. “For the museum, in the climate we have today, taking on these topics kind of feels risky sometimes. We were thinking about all of these things as we curated the exhibit, so hopefully it is thought-provoking even in its challenging aspects. Our goal is that what people really get out of it is positive and reparative. We want them to come away with hope.”

If you go

What: "Better Days" exhibition

When: Aug. 20-Oct. 26; reopening February 2025. Opening celebration from 4-6 p.m. Sept. 12.

Where: CU Art Museum

More information

Daniella Fairley, a junior who is studying art history and ethnic studies with a minor in creative technology and design, completed an eight-week Art Buffs Collective internship with the CU Art Museum during the summer. As part of the internship, Fairley helped curate and create “Better Days.”

“I felt like this exhibit shows the perseverance of the human spirit and how we cope with tragedy,” Fairley says. “In seeing a lot of these art works and learning how they were made, what they represent, their stories, I feel like it's important to show how humans struggle and how we still live through it. Art connects us more than we think, and I hope that people can feel that connection or thread when looking at this show.”

Lead museum attendant Bella Mahlerbe, a student in the bachelor’s-accelerated master’s in art history, also provided curatorial labor for the exhibit. Malherbe worked with fellow Lead museum attendant Riley Ramsay to create a visitor feedback wall where visitors can share responses to the exhibition.

Top image: "Party Picture," by Laurie Simmons (1985) is part of the "Better Days" exhibition now open at the CU Art Museum.

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New CU Art Museum exhibit highlights the ways in which art meets challenging times and finds the sometimes-elusive silver lining.

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Students may learn ecology (and much else) in the wild

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:31:08 +0000

Students may learn ecology (and much else) in the wild Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/28/2024 - 12:31

Blake Puscher

CU Boulder’s Mountain Research Station is offering six field courses this summer, giving students the opportunity to study a wide range of disciplines in nature

This summer, some University of Colorado Boulder students will study topics ranging from field ornithology to bioinformatics in one of the most beautiful classrooms in the state.

The CU Boulder Mountain Research Station (MRS) is offering field courses including the Art and Environment Field School, Field Methods in Vegetation Ecology, Field Ornithology, Forest and Fire Ecology, Lake and Stream Ecology, and Bioinformatics in the Mountains.

In addition to a selection of classes, the MRS is also piloting a scholarship program for undergraduate field courses, in the hope of making them more accessible to students.

Scott Taylor, a CU Boulder associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, is director of the Mountain Research Station.

The value of field experience

Scott Taylor, the station director, notes that most of the research station’s classes offer students the chance to build practical skills such as sample collection, field work and data analysis. For those who know what they want to do after graduation, this is a way to gain experience and employability, Taylor says, adding that it may clarify others’ interests and ambitions.

Because of its venue high in the Rocky Mountains, the MRS allows students to learn in ways that would not otherwise be possible, Taylor says. For example, the Art and Environment Field School helps students create art by exposing them to the natural beauty of the Front Range, and field ornithology allows them to observe bird activity in nature. Classes at the MRS give students access to what they are studying in its natural context.

“Not every university has its own field station that is just 45 minutes away,” Taylor says, adding that many students’ remote-learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the value of field studies.

Inspiring the next generation

A goal of the research station is to “inspire the next generation to care about and study the mountains, so we want to expand the number of ways people can engage with that—and that’s why there’s everything from art and the environment to bioinformatics to more classic ecological courses,” Taylor explains.

This further highlights an unusual aspect of MRS field courses, Taylor says: While all good classes impart students with knowledge and skills, many are limited by the constraints of the classroom. Field courses, however, are active learning experiences that are immersive and engaging, Taylor notes. The field courses offered at the MRS this summer bridge the gap between students and the inspiration of nature.

Students at the Mountain Research Station can study topics ranging from field ornithology to bioinformatics in a beautiful mountain setting. (Photo: Scott Taylor)

Because students also can stay at the MRS, they are immersed in an environment dedicated to ecology. According to Taylor, “you get to know your cohort of students and colleagues really well and be part of the Mountain Research Station community, which is not just students taking field courses; it’s also researchers who are out there for the summer studying various aspects of the mountains.”

Course information

Students can register for the Mountain Research Station’s summer field courses through the regular process once enrollment begins on March 11. Most classes are listed on the CU website as sections of EBIO 4100, but the bioinformatics class is EBIO 4460-750. Course credit is transferrable to other institutions and meets the application requirement for CU’s Environmental Studies program.

Each course is limited to 15 people, and courses may vary length, subject and prerequisites; all of this information is on the MRS website. Though they have different start and finish dates, the courses are all two or three weeks. Most classes have a prerequisite of either one year of course work in general biology or environmental science, or a general ecology course.

Tuition for these courses includes lodging in shared two-person cabins and meals at the MRS dining hall. Thanks to a recent generous anonymous donation, these additional costs will be covered for all field-course participants in 2024, which means that field courses at the MRS will be similarly priced to on-campus classes offering the same number of credit hours this summer.

Top image: Students, flora and fauna at the CU Boulder Mountain Research Station (Photos: Scott Taylor)

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CU Boulder’s Mountain Research Station is offering six field courses this summer, giving students the opportunity to study a wide range of disciplines in nature.

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New scholarship celebrates, supports ‘ANDers’

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 17:32:01 +0000

New scholarship celebrates, supports ‘ANDers’ Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/21/2023 - 10:32

Students who are passionate about 'ANDing' are encouraged to apply for the ANDer Scholarship by March 15

The College of Arts and Sciences uses “AND” as a verb, and new scholarship aims to support students who do, too.

“ANDing” takes the conjunction and makes it a verb, says Erika Randall, associate dean for student success and the college’s pre-eminent ANDing campaigner. “ANDing can be about cooking and mothering and evolutionary biology and race car driving—all of these things create the uniquenesses that are us,” she says, adding:

“In the College of Arts and Sciences, we want to bring attention and excitement to stories of people intentionally bringing together disparate interests, research, creativity, identities, hobbies and more. That alchemy is the creative engine stored within the ANDer Scholarship, and I'm fascinated to see what we discover about the humans who apply. I'm thrilled that the college is supporting ANDers in this way.”

Randall notes that when people are passionate about their interests and pursuing self-understanding, they’re happier. “ANDing and arts and sciences make room for tolerance, humility and acceptance. When students and faculty AND, they are more well-rounded, combine disparate interests and create synergistic connections across ways of thinking.”

The ANDer Scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences is designed for students who:

Are incoming first-year, transfer or current undergraduates enrolled full-time with a declared major in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Experience ANDing as a verb.
Complete the CU Boulder General Scholarship Application.
Submit the scholarship application by the March 15 deadline on the Academic Works scholarship site.

As the scholarship description notes, ANDing emphasizes the connections that enliven university scholarship and creative expression. By ANDing, new ideas are sparked and space for multiple paths, voices and human stories are created. For example,

“I want to study biochemistry, and I’m also really into technical theatre and community outreach.”
“I’m going to be a philosophy major, I write poetry and I want to minor in geography.”
“I’m committed to social justice and plan to double-major in Spanish and integrative physiology with a minor in women and gender studies.”

Students applying for the scholarship will be asked to complete a short response to this prompt: “The ‘&’ between Arts & Sciences is a symbol that represents the many intersectional identities, disciplines and imaginations of the college. Please share with us how you embody the ampersand symbol, the ways you AND as a verb and how you enliven research and creative expression through the alchemy of ANDing.”

The scholarship award is $3,000 annually, and the College of Arts and Sciences plans to award approximately 25 in 2024.

Students who are passionate about 'ANDing' are encouraged to apply for the ANDer Scholarship by March 15.

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Learning culture through beautiful brush strokes

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 22:03:33 +0000

Learning culture through beautiful brush strokes Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/27/2023 - 16:03

Rachel Sauer

At an evening of Chinese calligraphy, CU Boulder students studying Chinese practiced an art whose history dates back millennia

Learning a language is not just a matter of memorizing vocabulary and verb tenses or, in the case of Chinese, using the correct tone. It is not merely a matter of time spent in the classroom.

“Language is also a part of culture,” says Yingjie Li, a University of Colorado Boulder teaching associate professor of Chinese and Chinese language coordinator in the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations. “It’s living tradition.”

For students of Chinese, this means learning to write a body of characters whose history dates back more than 3,000 years, to oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty. Rather than letters, many of the characters were visual representations of what they expressed. Echoes of those original characters can be found in the modern ones that evolved from them.

Thursday evening, almost two dozen first-, second- and third-year Chinese students gathered to practice Chinese calligraphy, which elevates Chinese writing to art.

“This is a way for students to get deep into the culture,” Li says. “What we’re doing in the workshop relates to what they’re learning in class, but it’s a more hands-on way to learn a really important part of Chinese culture.”

Led by Runqing Qi, a CU Boulder teaching assistant professor of Chinese who began the workshop with, “Let’s learn something interesting together,” students first practiced with water on special paper that allows each brush stroke to emerge in vivid black and then gradually disappear. Then they graduated to ink.

“It looks simple, but it’s actually not,” said Claire Kennedy, a third-year advanced Chinese student who is majoring in psychology and speech, language and hearing sciences.

In written Chinese, each stroke has a name and the strokes in each character are written in a specific order. And to do that beautifully?

“I think I’m going to need a lot more practice,” said Gregory Del Bene, a first-year Chinese student and math and computer science major.

“This is something fun for students that’s also a tangible connection to Chinese culture,” said Yu Zhang, a teaching assistant professor of Chinese, adding that faculty in the Chinese language program organize activities throughout the semester highlighting various aspects of the culture. The next will be a Chinese board game night, including mahjong and Chinese chess, at 5 p.m. Nov. 11.

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At an evening of Chinese calligraphy, CU Boulder students studying Chinese practiced an art whose history dates back millennia.

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Astronomy student wins major scholarship at Cambridge

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 15:55:32 +0000

Astronomy student wins major scholarship at Cambridge Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/12/2022 - 08:55

Spencer Hurt is one of 16 students to win a 2022-23 Churchill Scholarship, which supports a year of graduate study at Cambridge University

Spencer Hurt, a University of Colorado Boulder student, is one of 16 students nationwide to win a 2022 Churchill Scholarship, the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States announced today.

The Churchill Scholarship supports one year of study at Cambridge University, and it is given to students who have outstanding academic records, proven talent in research, originality, creativity and “outstanding personal qualities.”

Hurt is a senior from Fruita, Colorado, majoring in astronomy. At Cambridge, he plans to complete a master’s degree in astronomy. Hurt is the fourth CU Boulder student to win a Churchill Scholarship.

At the top of the page: Artist’s conception of a brown dwarf, featuring the cloudy atmosphere of a planet and the residual light of an almost-star (NASA/ESA/JPL). Above: Spencer Hurt is one of this year's Churchill Scholarship recipients.

Having never traveled outside of the United States, Hurt said he is excited to study abroad during the next academic year, conducting research with leading faculty at the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy.

“I intend to focus my work on exozodiacal dust (debris located in the habitable zones of stars), which provide clues about the environment planets form and evolve within. Besides growing as a researcher, I am looking forward to meeting the other Churchill Scholars, all of whom are contributing to fascinating work ranging from pure math to medicine,” he said.

“I am incredibly grateful for everyone who has helped me along the way, including my research mentors, the faculty in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, and Deborah Viles at the Office of Top Scholarships.”

Viles said Hurt is a “truly remarkable young scholar.” She noted that in addition to the Churchill Scholarship, he has won the two most prestigious awards for science undergraduates in the last year: the Goldwater Scholarship and the Astronaut Scholarship.

“These awards recognize his research trajectory, academic performance and likelihood to be a future leader in astrophysics,” Viles said, adding: “His accomplishments bring great honor to CU, and I can't wait to see where his path takes him.”

Hurt works in the laboratory of Meredith MacGregor, assistant professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences. She said: "It has been such fun to work with Spencer over the last year and a half since he came to CU. Given his accomplishments to date, we will be lucky to have him join the ranks of professional astrophysicists in the future. I'm honored to have helped mentor him as he starts out his career."

Hurt began his college career without any experience in astrophysics. “However, I enrolled in an astronomy class out of curiosity, and it wasn't long until we were spending nights in the campus observatory,” Hurt said last year.

“Whether staying up until 4 in the morning to image nebulae and galaxies or devising plans to capture a planet passing between us and its host star, I quickly realized I wanted to pursue a career in astrophysics.”

In his undergraduate research, he uses telescopes and observational data to detect and characterize planetary systems.

“This includes searching for exoplanets and brown dwarfs using radial velocities, transits and direct imaging. I also use radio telescopes to image and model circumstellar debris disks, the remnants of planet formation,” he said. “With these observations, we can conduct ‘planetary archaeology’ and piece together a system's dynamical history.”

His accomplishments bring great honor to CU, and I can't wait to see where his path takes him."

“Each discovery of a world beyond ours is thrilling on its own; however, as we uncover a more complete picture of the broader exoplanet population, we also begin to better understand the processes at play during planet formation and evolution. Ultimately, this helps us better understand the origins of our Solar System and life on Earth while exploring the prospects for habitability elsewhere in the universe.”

The Churchill Scholarship covers full tuition, a competitive stipend, travel costs and the chance to apply for a $4,000 special research grant.

The scholarship program was established at the request of Sir Winston Churchill as part of the founding of Churchill College, Cambridge. It fulfils his vision of deepening the U.S.–U.K. partnership to advance science and technology on both sides of the Atlantic, ensuring our future prosperity and security.

Churchill College was established in 1960 as a predominantly science and technology college and the National and Commonwealth memorial to Sir Winston Churchill. The Churchill Scholarship dates to 1963.

Students interested in this or other top scholarships and want more information are encouraged to contact Deborah Viles, viles@colorado.edu, in the CU Boulder Office of Top Scholarships.

Spencer Hurt is one of 16 students to win a 2022-23 Churchill Scholarship, which supports a year of graduate study at Cambridge University.

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Student cares for Caribbean corals at a Colorado ‘ark’

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 23:18:48 +0000

Student cares for Caribbean corals at a Colorado ‘ark’ Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/15/2021 - 16:18

Tim Grassley

CU Boulder undergraduate joins an innovative effort to rescue dying coral reef and bring it back from the brink of extinction

In 2014, the northernmost tip of the Florida coral reef tract began to turn white.

These corals were infected by Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), which destroys the species’ soft tissue. To date, the infection has killed several million Caribbean corals and is regarded one of the deadliest recorded coral-disease epidemics.

To stave off the reef’s extinction, a group of government agencies developed a plan to remove healthy coral specimens untouched by SCTLD and move them to land-based “arks.” Broomfield’s Butterfly Pavilion was asked to become one of these arks, holding some of the rescued corals because the staff had experience working with invertebrate species that do not have skeletal backbones.

Ty Engelke, who is an undergraduate at the University of Colorado Boulder, discovered what became called the Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project while watching a video blog about the effort.

At the top of the page: A coral with Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease getting rescued by a diver (FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute/Flickr). Above: Ty Engelke.

“It was beyond exciting to know that there were these immaculate Caribbean corals right there (in Broomfield),” says Engelke, who is majoring in molecular, cellular and developmental biology. “I went and saw them in person and thought, ‘I need to find a way to be a part of this.’”

Engelke is a hobby aquarist who keeps large aquariums of fish. He hoped his experience would translate into a strong application for a competitive aquarist internship at the Butterfly Pavilion. At the time of his application, though, he did not have enough background with saltwater species and his first application was turned down.

“I was dejected because it was something I really wanted,” says Engelke. “In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t something I was ready for.”

To strengthen his application, Engelke took courses in marine ecology, oceanography and limnology in fall 2020 and spring 2021. He also began keeping marine invertebrates and saltwater tanks. In summer 2021, he reapplied and earned the opportunity to volunteer with the Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project.

Getting to know corals with personalities

The project has one bio-secure display “tank” that holds around 250 gallons of water. Nineteen colonies of variously sized corals have nametags that describe the species and their place of origin—information that is registered with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Engelke’s primary job is to clean filtration systems and the tank, ensuring the tank is working properly and tests water parameters in the lab. His favorite responsibility, though, is feeding the corals.

“Corals are animals and have personalities,” says Engelke. “You can have two corals who are the same species and are sitting next to each other, and one will eat a lot more than the other on some days and some days it won’t. It’s been fun over these last months to get to know them. I definitely have my favorites.”

The team has experienced success in the corals adapting to their new environments, but it was not always clear they would thrive in captivity. Engelke described one instance in which a coral was struggling, but it was not immediately clear why.

“One of the biggest challenges in caring for Caribbean Stony Coral is the lack of information about their requirements in captivity,” notes Engelke. “Not seeing progress and the coral doing well was a big test of patience for the better part of a month.”

Engelke’s supervisor, Sara Stevens, the Butterfly Pavilion’s aquatics manager, asked the team to step back and allow the environment to settle. The choice paid off, and the coral grew stronger.

It was beyond exciting to know that there were these immaculate Caribbean corals right there (in Broomfield). ... I went and saw them in person and thought, 'I need to find a way to be a part of this.'"

“I learned patience and diligence vicariously from Sara—to be on the ball all the time,” says Engelke. “Now, all of the corals are much happier.”

Deepening his interest through flexible graduation requirements

At CU Boulder, Engelke has sought to learn more about marine biology alongside his major coursework in molecular, cellular and developmental biology. The College of Arts and Sciences requires undergraduates to complete 75 of their 120 credits outside of their major department, meaning Engelke could pursue his interests without fighting for placement in upper-division electives.

“The openness of the major allowed me to study marine life, oceanography and atmosphere studies while focusing on cell biology,” notes Engelke. “No one caused a big fuss, I felt welcome, and I didn’t have prerequisite hoops to jump through before taking upper division classes. It was nice to learn about something that I, really, just liked.”

Engelke plans to continue volunteering with the Butterfly Pavilion and is excited to meet challenges as his experiences with corals grows.

The Butterfly Pavilion committed to housing the corals for three years without funding, beginning in 2019. Because the corals continue to thrive, the pavilion is finalizing the installation of a new tank. Engelke anticipates that the requirements of caring for coral will rapidly change, and he will need to continue to build his expertise to keep up.

“It’s so cool to see what grand, combined effort has gone into this. There are so many people doing such amazing work,” says Engelke. “I'm honestly honored to be part of it.”

CU Boulder undergraduate joins an innovative effort to rescue dying coral reef and bring it back from the brink of extinction

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From electrons to Tolstoy, grad focuses on ‘biggest questions’

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 17:07:26 +0000

From electrons to Tolstoy, grad focuses on ‘biggest questions’ Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/13/2021 - 10:07

Clint Talbott

Antonio Vigil, who is earning a degree in physics, has been named the College of Arts and Sciences’ outstanding graduate for fall 2021

As a kid in New Mexico, Antonio Vigil dreamed of being a famous artist, like Pablo Picasso. Through the years, Greek and 91��Ƭ��n literature, music theory, even making guitars by hand also captivated him.

While he has a deep understanding of the arts and humanities, he will graduate on Dec. 16 with a BA in physics, summa cum laude, from the University of Colorado Boulder. He has also been named the College of Arts and Sciences’ outstanding Graduate for fall 2021.

Vigil’s honors thesis is based on research he conducted in the lab of Eric Cornell, a physics professor and JILA fellow who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001 for synthesizing the world’s first Bose-Einstein condensate.

Antonio Vigil (at the top of the page fishing with his mother and above at his brother's graduation) is this semester's College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Graduate.

Cornell noted that Vigil took the lead on designing and testing a new cryogenic insulation system for JILA’s electron electric dipole moment experiment. This project requires that a large apparatus be maintained at a temperature of 180 Kelvin (-135 F) for many days at a time.

Vigil conducted extensive numerical modeling of the cooling system, initially using commercial modeling software. Later, Vigil created his own thermal model, nearly as accurate as the commercial model but easier to use and understand, Cornell said.

Then, with the help of fellow researchers in the lab, Vigil designed and built a thermometry system capable of automatically measuring and logging the temperature and many different locations within the apparatus. “Finally, he put the measurements and the models together, empirically validating his whole approach to achieving the necessary low temperature,” Cornell stated, adding:

“Antonio is among the top two undergraduates I’ve ever mentored (the other is currently a physics professor here at CU Boulder)!”

Vigil said he was surprised to learn he’d been named this semester’s outstanding graduate.

“I’m really humbled,” he said, crediting his selection to the luck of working with “such an awesome group” of scientists and the “love and mentorship they’ve given me.”

“I've always been the kid that wants to work with his hands, and so all the way from a young age, I was really interested in woodworking,” Vigil recalled recently. That longstanding interest “really clicked” when he took a gap year and did an internship in which he built guitars “from scratch.”

James W.C. White, the college’s interim dean, recently met with Vigil to offer congratulations and discuss Vigil’s work and career plans. Noting that Vigil had taken several courses in music, theory, musical composition, Greek and Roman literature and Tolstoy, White said Vigil is one of those people “who can connect with the artistic side of their brain along with the rational side of their brain.”

Vigil, who comes from a family of readers and writers, said he loves the classics, but he didn’t dive deeply into them until the pandemic.

“During COVID, I had the free time, because nobody was going out and doing anything, and I picked up a fascinating distillation of a lot of enlightenment philosophy and then the emerging existential philosophy. It's just fascinating. It's so coherent, too,” Vigil said, noting a special fondness for Tolstoy.

And with equal ease and enthusiasm, Vigil discusses Tolstoy and particle physics.

Describing the work in the Cornell lab, Vigil notes that the standard model of particle physics would suggest that matter and antimatter should exist in equal amounts, ultimately annihilating both and leaving behind energy.

“So we shouldn't exist, but we do,” he said.

To help understand why, physicists are striving to measure how round an electron is. But that measurement is quite precise, he noted: If an electron were the size of the sun, the asymmetry they hope to measure would be about the size of a coronavirus.

“It's a very precise experiment, and there's all sorts of things that can kind of mess up our sensitivity to the signal.”

Antonio is among the top two undergraduates I’ve ever mentored."

To make such a measurement easier, researchers cool charged atoms or molecules to extremely low temperatures. To keep the material cool, Vigil investigated the feasibility of using ordinary spray-foam insulation “that you find in your attic.” His thesis characterized the foam as a viable material for the lab’s experiment.

Vigil says what brought him to CU Boulder was the outdoors. Aside from creative pursuits, the outdoors is the other big love of his life, he said.

“I kind of knew I wanted to go into physics and focus on physics, but maybe not as intensely as I ended up doing.”

What’s next for him? “That’s the big question. I have no idea,” he said, adding: “I have to be working with my hands. It's got to be something that's not just me sitting behind a desk. If I'm staring at a screen, I'll be miserable.”

He did say he could see himself working in the realm of sustainable energy, which might connect his need for work that has a purpose with his desire to work with his hands.

In the end, he said, both physics and classic literature probe “the most fundamental principles on some level. It's all connected.”

Antonio Vigil, who is earning a degree in physics, has been named the College of Arts and Sciences’ outstanding graduate for fall 2021.

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With 20k award, undergrad advances inclusion in sports

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 23:03:37 +0000

With 20k award, undergrad advances inclusion in sports Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/01/2021 - 16:03

Clay Bonnyman Evans

CU Boulder undergraduate creates scholarship to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports

As an openly gay athlete at Western Colorado University prior to transferring to the University of Colorado Boulder, Nicholas Turco (PoliSci’21) learned the importance of “bringing people in” to create love and inclusion instead of calling them out.

“Through my personal journey I realized that for me, sport is about expressing joy. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself, trying to prove that gay people belonged in sport through how well we perform,” he says.

At the top of the page: Nicholas Turco running (in the front) while at Western Colorado University (Western Colorado University). Above: Nicholas Turco en route to finishing the Mont Blanc race.

With that in mind, Turco surveyed all of CU Boulder’s NCAA sports teams and staff members for his honors thesis, “Case Study on the Policy and Culture of LGBTQ+ Athletes at CU Boulder,” seeking to better understand the problem, the first study of its kind at an NCAA Power Five conference school. The project was funded in part through a $1,500 grant from the Savit Family Endowment at the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.

He hopes the research “will allow professionals and student-athletes to celebrate success and improve upon weakness in sports culture at CU and equip our athletic department to serve as a model of inclusion across the nation.”

And now, using that research as a basis, Turco has created the Colorado Athletics Visibility Awards, a $20,000 scholarship for student athletes who “exemplify remarkable leadership in their visibility as an athlete and a role model.” Awards will be granted “for projects that will advance LGBTQ+ inclusion, rights representation and safety in sport.”

The inaugural recipients are basketball player Evan Battey and volleyball player Alexia Kuehl.

Inspired by Stanford University’s Knight Hennessy Scholars program, Turco hopes recipients will “use the award to use the platform of sports to create inclusion for queer people anyplace. Sports has so much power and platform. This is not about proving something but using that platform to create change in solving LGBTQ oppression in society.”

Turco is working with the Athletic Department Buff Club and the Office of Advancement toward a full endowment that will eventually provide full-ride scholarships. In partnership with Battey, Turco is also raising funds to help future scholar-athletes to complete their ambitious projects.

I want this to provide enough resources so students can say ‘yes’ to their ideas … geared toward solving LGBT oppression in society."

“This is a giant venture that asks, what’s your idea to create inclusion through your platform? Every year there will be two people,” he says. “I want this to provide enough resources so students can say ‘yes’ to their ideas … geared toward solving LGBT oppression in society.”

Turco received his degree in political science in May and will complete his coursework in the spring. He’s studying for the LSAT in hopes of achieving his long-time dream of attending Stanford Law School.

Currently, Turco works as a legal researcher with the State of Colorado’s Office of Alternate Defense Counsel, which provides legal representation for those who cannot afford it and cannot access counsel through public defenders’ offices due to conflict of interest. He also served on the board for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which advises the governor on best practices.

Turco now trains with Run Boulder Athletic Club’s post-collegiate long-distance team and competes internationally in mountain running. He recently was the first-place American in the 2021 Marathon Du Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France, part of the international Golden Trail Series.

CU Boulder undergraduate creates scholarship to elevate LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.

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