Researcher works with cyanobacteria, a green substance, in beaker

Futuristic ‘living’ buildings use bacteria, not bricks

What if buildings could “come alive” by being constructed with hybrid materials that could heal themselves rather than decay and reduce atmospheric carbon rather than contribute to it?

Microscopic view of light bending around a big atom

Scientists offer designer ‘big atoms’ on demand

May 29, 2019

Physicists report they can build and control particles that behave like tiny atoms with a precision never seen before.

Wil Srubar

It’s alive! ‘Frankenstein’ materials could revolutionize building construction

May 16, 2019

CU Boulder engineers are creating living hybrid building materials that exhibit both structural and biological function.

U.S. Army Rangers parachute from a plane

Students pitch ideas to thwart national security threats

May 10, 2019

At a recent event, students shared their ideas for how the U.S. Armed Forces can keep up with an increasingly connected world—from a strategy for resupplying ships using autonomous capsules to a device that detects GPS jamming signals.

Lupita Montoya and Aaron Lamplugh

babyֱapp nail salon workers face chronic air pollution, elevated cancer risk

May 7, 2019

babyֱapp nail salon employees face increased health risks due to high levels of indoor airborne pollutants akin to an oil refinery or an auto garage.

Engineering building on campus

$1 million imaging system opens world of research at engineering college, across campus

April 23, 2019

A new and unique high-resolution X-ray microtomography imaging system at the College of Engineering & Applied Science will enhance research, not only in engineering but in the fields of archaeology, geology and medicine.

Bar magnet

Lasers make magnets behave like fluids

April 18, 2019

Researchers have discovered how magnets recover after being blasted by a laser. It turns out, they act a bit like oil and water in a jar.

Optical tweezers

Optical tweezers achieve new feats of capturing atoms

April 2, 2019

Researchers show that they can trap and load lone atoms into large grids with an efficiency unmatched by current methods.

Carson Bruns holds up CU stencil and tech tattoo on pig skin

Tattoos go high-tech

Color-changing tattoos? Nanotechnology research at CU Boulder could lead to new ways in the future to protect against skin cancer or simply increase the ‘wow’ factor of body art.

Color change

Underwater creatures inspire shape-shifting, color-changing materials

March 5, 2019

New research from CU Boulder focuses on how light can manipulate the shape of man-made materials by emulating these amazing cephalopods.

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