Research
QB50-Challenger deployed at 11:25pm MDT with two other QB50 satellites in the same deployer.CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½'s QB50 CubeSat, named "Challenger," was successfully deployed from the International Space Station on May 24th at 11:25 PM MDT
Alexandra Okeson, a CU Engineering Outstanding Graduate for Academic Achievement for 2017, tried her hand at several computer science disciplines during her time at CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.  Â
She helped scientists at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics develop data analysis software for the IMPACT student dust counter. She interned at the Federal Communications Commission, where she got to see how government is using technology to inform policy decisions. She experienced life at a startup with Next Energy Technologies, and spent a summer at Microsoft partner Avanade in Seattle.
<p>A ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ student-built microsatellite is on its way to the International Space Station. The satellite, named ‘Challenger’, had a successful lift off Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at 9:11 AM MDT from Cape Canaveral. It is part of the European Union sponsored QB50 project to deploy a network of miniaturized satellites to study part of Earth’s atmosphere.</p>
When David Pfotenhauer decided to pursue a PhD at CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, he knew that he wanted to specialize in an application-based science that would allow him get out into communities and use his knowledge to address public issues.
As a current doctoral student in Mechanical Engineering, David joined CU Engage's 2016-17 cohort of Community-Based Research (CBR) Graduate Fellows. He became the newest member of an ongoing research project, a collaboration between CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and the Denver-based organization Taking Neighborhood Health to Heart (TNH2H). He began working to further the research that his colleague, CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ CBR Fellow (2015-16) and Civil Engineering doctoral student Ashley Collier, had begun the year before in response to community concerns about air quality, contaminants and environmental health. David’s role in the project is to investigate air quality and radon levels in northeast Denver, one of the areas in which TNH2H members live.
The flow and movement of individual solid particles — be it grains of lunar dust or the powdered contents of a medication — holds tremendous research value for scientists in a variety of fields. Now, a $3 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) will allow ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ researchers to simulate particle behavior to a greater degree than ever before.
<p>New oil and gas development techniques like horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing have dominated public concern in recent years about groundwater contamination in oil and gas basins. However, older vertical wells are more likely to cause groundwater contamination than newer wells, according to a new study from CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.</p>
The research project, led by Richard Noble, Douglas Gin and Hans Funke of CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, will focus on improving the sophisticated membranes hidden inside powerful flow batteries. Unlike small, self-contained consumer batteries (AAAs, for example), flow batteries use external tanks to store the chemicals needed for an electrical reaction. The chemicals are commonly separated by a semi-permeable membrane.
A team of researchers led by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has secured a $1.3 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy to take a closer look at emissions from natural gas storage facilities across the U.S.
The gift to the College of Engineering and Applied Science from passionate CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ supporters Ann Smead and her husband Michael Byram, aims to set CU ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ apart from its aerospace peers and propel it to the top of national rankings by attracting the best and brightest students and faculty.
