Business
Business News from companies in Boulder, Colorado
CU Boulder FACULTY LEAD $7 MILLION INITIATIVE AIMED AT MILITARY VEHICLE SAFETY
Aug 11th
Aug. 11, 2011
University of Colorado Boulder engineering faculty are leading a $7.2 million multidisciplinary research initiative on soil blast modeling and simulation for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The research, which starts this month, is aimed at creating a more accurate representation of the impact of buried landmines and improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, on light-armored military vehicles so that the vehicles can be better designed to withstand such blasts.
The award is administered by the Office of Naval Research as part of the defense department’s competitive Multi-University Research Initiative or MURI program, which supports basic science and engineering research at U.S.universities related to long-term national security needs.
MURI awards are provided to accelerate progress in cutting-edge research areas by supporting multidisciplinary teams with larger and longer awards than other DOD research programs.
The grant will provide $4.2 million to CU-Boulder and $3 million to co-investigators at four other institutions. The other schools involved are the University of California, Berkeley; University of Texas at Dallas; University of Tennessee Knoxville; and the University of Utah.
Richard Regueiro, assistant professor in CU-Boulder’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, is the principal investigator. CU-Boulder professors Ronald Pak, John McCartney and Stein Sture of civil engineering, and Oleg Vasilyev of mechanical engineering, also areinvolved.
The research initiative will involve experiments using CU-Boulder’s large 400-g ton geotechnical centrifuge coupled with computational modeling. The objective is to develop and validate a model that accurately represents explosive blasts of varying charges, depths and soil types.
CU-Boulder’s proposal was one of 27 MURI awards made to academic institutions in different topical areas in 2011. The proposals, which are being funded with a total of $191 million over five years, were selected from a field of 332 proposals, including 17 on the topic of soil blast modeling and simulation.
COLORADO BUSINESS LEADERS’ CONFIDENCE WANES SLIGHTLY, SAYS CU LEEDS SCHOOL INDEX
Jul 1st
Colorado business leaders remained confident, although generally less optimistic about the economy looking ahead to the third quarter, according to the most recent quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index, or LBCI, released today by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.
For the third quarter of 2011, the LBCI posted a reading of 51.6, down from 56.8 in the second quarter. Confidence waned across all indices, although most remained above the neutral mark of 50.
Expectations for the national economy were once again especially bleak, falling back below neutral after two consecutive quarters of optimism, according to Leeds School economist and Business Research Division Executive Director Richard Wobbekind, who conducts the quarterly survey.
“The overall economy has been damaged by uncertainty — the uncertainty of consumers about the strength of the recovery and the strength of the job market and the uncertainty of businesses about demand for their products — and I think that uncertainty has worked its way into our index and other national indexes,” Wobbekind said.
An index reading of 50 is neutral. A reading greater than 50 indicates positive expectations, while an index lower than 50 indicates negative expectations, according to Leeds School researcher Brian Lewandowski, who compiles the survey results for the index.
“I think our business leaders want to see some of their concerns such as the international debt issues, higher oil prices and other uncertainties get worked out, and fortunately right now some of these things are getting worked out,” Wobbekind said. “They’re backpedaling a little bit and they’re not quite as confident, but overall they have a decent level of confidence.”
Confidence turned negative for the national economy, decreasing nearly 10 points from 53.6 to 44.0, while the state index fell from 55.5 to 51.2.
Capital expenditures had an index reading of 53.4, down from 56.1 last quarter. The sales and profit expectations of business leaders are positive, but subdued, according to Lewandowski. The sales index was 55.8, and the profit index was 53.1.
To access the complete report visit http://leeds.colorado.edu/publication/237. To view a short video of Wobbekind discussing the index visit http://www.colorado.edu/news and click on the Leeds Business Confidence Index story.
Boulder County to host ‘Bridges for Employers’ workshop
Jun 3rd
Boulder County, Colo. – Through the Circles Campaign, Boulder County is working with the local business community to help move individuals and families out of poverty and into a life of sustained self-sufficiency.
In collaboration with the Erie Chamber of Commerce and WorkLife Partnership, Boulder County is presenting a workshop to help businesses understand entry level employees and increase retention rates.
What: “Bridges for Employers” workshop, using guiding principles of the Bridges Out of Poverty model to help businesses understand entry level employees and increase retention rates.
When: Thursday, June 9, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Where: Erie Public Library, 400 Powers St.
For more information or to RSVP please contact Boulder County Circles Campaign Coordinator Eliberto Mendoza at emendoza@bouldercounty.org or 303-441-1503, or email the Erie Chamber of Commerce at erie@eriechamber.org.
Circles is a national campaign designed to help families out of poverty and initiate changes in the community that result in eliminating barriers to economic stability. The long-range vision is to eliminate the condition of poverty altogether.
“National data reveals that Circles have helped people increase earnings, rely less on public assistance, and to become more confident problem solvers and effective parents,” Mendoza said. “The business community can really help to provide coaching, networking and other non-financial support necessary to help families achieve their goals.”
