Chancellor Justin Schwartz’s visit to INSTAAR sparks connections and ideas
CU Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz recently dropped in on INSTAAR, where he discussed the institute’s research strengths and potential collaborations at the university level.
Left to right: CU Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz, INSTAAR Director Nicole Lovenduski and Senior Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation Massimo Ruzzene.
CU Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz recently dropped in on INSTAAR for a tour and meet-and-greet. It’s the first time the chancellor has visited the Institute since he was appointed last summer.
After coming in from the cold, Schwartz joined INSTAAR leadership for coffee and conversation inINSTAAR Director Nicole Lovenduski’s office. The group discussedINSTAAR’s research strengths and potential collaborations at the university level.
Schwartz was affable and curious. His background as a nuclear engineer showed through his nuanced inquiries into INSTAAR’s work.
“He asked many insightful questions,” Lovenduski said. “He was a very engaged visitor.”
After coffee, the group continued on to INSTAAR’sLaboratory for AMS Radiocarbon Preparation and Research, where lab directorScott Lehman gave a presentation. Lehman focused on the lab’s innovative research carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon found in the atmosphere.
Next, the group continued to theStable Isotope Lab. There, lab managerSylvia Michel gave a presentation on the lab’s efforts to trace carbon dioxide and methane emissions by measuring isotopes of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere.
Scott Lehman shows Schwartz a sample in the Laboratory for AMS Radiocarbon Preparation and Research.
Left to right: Sylvia Michel, Bruce Vaughn and Schwartz in the Stable Isotope Lab.
Schwartz was joined bySenior vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Massimo Ruzzene, who oversees INSTAAR as the dean of institutes. Ruzzene was glad to have the opportunity to introduce Schwartz to INSTAAR and to see some of the institute’s laboratories in-person.
“It was very informative and inspiring to see the real impact and excellence of the work at INSTAAR,” he wrote in an email following up on the visit.
Before departing, Schwartz and Ruzzene donned parkas and joined INSTAAR Faculty FellowsBruce Vaughn and Bradley Markle in the Stable Isotope Lab’s walk-in freezer, where the researchers store ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica.
Markle, Ruzzene and Schwartz inspect an ice core in the Stable Isotope Lab.
At the end of his visit, Chancellor Schwartz brainstormed with INSTAAR leadership about potential campus-wide collaborations. In particular, he showed a keen interest in tapping the institute’s expertise in climate and earth systems research.
“His visit unearthed new ideas about how INSTAAR might connect with campus-wide sustainability initiatives,” Lovenduski said. “INSTAAR is well-positioned to plug into these efforts — from monitoring and verifying emissions reductions through trace gas measurements, to our work understanding soil carbon storage and ecological conservation.”
Lovenduski and Schwartz chat on the way to the INSTAAR front office.
If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.