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TWO CU-BOULDER FACULY MEMBERS WIN NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION CAREER AWARDS
Oct 20th
Two University of Colorado faculty members have received prestigious National Science Foundation Early Career Development, or CAREER awards.
Assistant Professor Nils Halverson, who holds faculty appointments in both the astrophysical and planetary sciences department and the physics department, was awarded $875,415 over five years from NSF to support detector development and data analysis for cosmic microwave background studies with the South Pole Telescope.
Cosmic microwave background is relic heat from the Big Bang that scientists can detect with microwave-wavelength telescopes. The light is slightly polarized, much in the way sunlight is polarized when it is reflected off the surface of a pond. The polarization signal is expected to contain tiny ripples from gravitational waves set in motion a small fraction of a second after the Big Bang, said Halverson.
By measuring the signal, astrophysicists can begin to understand the physics of the universe during its birth. As part of the NSF award, Halverson and astrophysical and planetary sciences instructor Seth Horenstein will provide a graduate class focused on observations, data analysis and statistics with conceptual assessment tools, peer-instruction exercises and course notes.
Assistant Professor Amy Palmer of the chemistry and biochemistry department received $831,720 from the NSF over five years to support her research to provide a powerful new approach to illuminate disease-causing bacteria like salmonella that invade host organisms and can produce harmful and sometimes lethal effects.
Many bacterial pathogens use a set of proteins called “effectors” to invade and infect host cells, cooperatively working to hijack cellular signaling and to reprogram the host cell to enable bacterial survival. Palmer and her team are developing a new method that will directly tag a broad spectrum of effector proteins with fluorescent molecules in order to visualize their movements during infection of a host cell.
Palmer’s project also will contribute to a campuswide effort to reform undergraduate science education by developing and validating interdisciplinary, hands-on tutorials that will promote student engagement and transform student learning. She has worked with the Science Education Initiative on campus, which is part of the university’s STEM efforts, to integrate learning assistants into upper division physical chemistry classes, develop pre/post concept tests to measure learning gains and to promote active engagement in the classroom. Palmer also is a faculty member in CU’s Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology, or CIMB.
SOURCE: CU MEDIA RELEASE
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Missing woman found in good shape
Oct 20th
During the investigation by the Boulder Police Department, it was determined that Ms. Barnett caught an RTD bus to Nederland at about 7:40 p.m. and arrived in Nederland at about 8:15 p.m. where she was dropped off. She was last seen walking to the Calvary Church.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, had already staged search resources in Nederland, which included several deputies and Deputy Cathy Bryarly with her tracking bloodhound, Sally, and members from the Nederland Police Department, Nederland Fire Department, Rocky Mountain Rescue, Front Range Rescue Dogs and Pridemark Ambulance. Upon learning that Ms. Barnett was last seen near the Calvary Church, Deputy Bryarly and Sally began a track from the bus stop and tracked directly to Ms. Barnett who was found lying on the ground near the rear of the church.
Ms. Barnett had sustained a head wound from an apparent fall and was disoriented. Her injury was not deemed serious and she was transported to Boulder Community Hospital for evaluation.
Ned forestry dump to close
Oct 20th
Residents may drop off logs, branches and slash, including “hot” beetle-infested wood Tuesday-Saturday during the hours of 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Oct. 30.
The site is located at 286 Ridge Road, north of Nederland off of the Peak-to-Peak Highway.
Due to the ongoing fire ban, Boulder County has been unable to burn slash at the sort yard and has accumulated a large pile of branches that will need to be chipped. Residents living close to the sort yard should expect to hear grinding operations at some point during the first two weeks of November and are thanked for their patience during the end-of-season sort yard cleanup. Grinding is anticipated to take one or two days, but may take longer.
The Nederland site had a successful first year of operation, taking in more than 600 individual loads of biomass. The yard has seen a noticeable increase in the number of people creating better defensible space around their homes since the Fourmile Canyon wildfire.
Despite recent wetter weather, forests remain extremely dry and the chance of wildfire remains high. Long-term weather forecasts are predicting a windier-than-average winter and residents are advised to remain vigilant about creating better defensible space around their homes.
“The Chinook winds that are predicted this winter combined with our extremely dry forests means that fire danger will remain high,” said Ryan Ludlow, Outreach Forester with the Boulder County Land Use Department. “Right now is the best time of year to create better defensible space and protect your home against future fires.”
The community forestry sort yard program was established to give residents a free-of-charge place to dispose of wood cut on private lands, to remove hazardous beetle-killed trees, to improve defensible space around homes, and to create a healthier forest ecosystem. The Nederland sort yard is anticipated to reopen in the spring.
For more information, visit www.bouldercounty.org/foresthealth, call Ryan Ludlow at 720-564-2641, or email pinebeetle@bouldercounty.org.
SOURCE: Boulder County news release