Posts tagged space
Ma Nature to dump on Front Range
Oct 24th
Snowstorm forecast for mid-week; city prepares, reminds residents to clear snow from sidewalks
Colorado weather can be unpredictable. Recent warm temperatures are forecasted to change drastically and potentially drop several inches of snow on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The City of Boulder is doing everything it can to prepare for whatever winter might have in store.
Snow removal procedures on city streets
The city’s Public Works Department has snow crews on-call 24-hours a day, seven days a week to respond to changing weather conditions. During snowstorms, there are 16 plow trucks on Boulder streets. Six of them distribute a liquid deicer, four spreader trucks distribute traction materials, and seven can distribute either. Fifteen trucks drive predetermined routes while one “floater” responds to problem areas.
Plows push the snow to the center lane where space is available. If space is not available, the snow is pushed to the side of the street. A liquid deicer is used on both streets and bike paths.
The city also applies deicing agents to streets and bridges for ice and snow control. Streets may be pretreated before a storm to reduce the build-up of snow and ice, depending on weather conditions. The liquid deicer may also be applied throughout a storm to continue melting the snow pack. Spreader trucks put down a crystallized deicer and lightweight, porous rock for traction, where needed.
Snow removal on city streets depends on the amount of snow and length of the storm, time of day, temperature and traffic conditions. Because most snow melts within a day or two in Boulder’s sunny climate and because plowing costs would increase by 200 percent, the City of Boulder does not plow residential streets. Plowing residential streets also blocks driveways and parked cars.
Sidewalk snow removal information
The Boulder Police Department recently took over the enforcement of a number of city code violations from the Public Works Department, including enforcement of the sidewalk snow removal ordinance.
The Boulder Revised Code (8-2-13) states that owners, tenants and landlords must clear their sidewalks within 24 hours after the end of a snowfall. Residents will be responsible for checking with the National Weather Service for specific snow fall completion information. Failure to remove snow before the deadline may result in a summons and/or an abatement process.
Each property will receive only one warning per snow season before the abatement process begins. A warning does not have to be issued in order for a code enforcement officer to issue a summons. Abatement includes the use of a private snow removal contractor to clear the sidewalk; the property owner will be charged a $50 administrative fee along with the contractor’s fee for removing the snow.
If a summons is issued, the maximum fine is $1,000 and 90 days in jail as determined by a municipal judge. The fine for a first-time offense is $100.
For people who are physically unable to clear snow from their sidewalks, the ICEBUSTERS program may be able to pair them with someone who can do the work for them. Volunteers are needed for this program. To volunteer or learn more, please contact the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) at 303-443-1933 or email richardvarnes@rsvp.org.
CU hosts aerospace geek event
Oct 24th
CU-BOULDER STUDENTS TO HOST
‘SPACEVISION’ CONFERENCE OCT. 27-30,
FEATURING BILL NYE, INDUSTRY LEADERS
‘SPACEVISION’ CONFERENCE OCT. 27-30,
FEATURING BILL NYE, INDUSTRY LEADERS
Aerospace engineering students at the University of Colorado Boulder will host the annual Students for the Exploration and Development of Space conference, SpaceVision 2011, in Boulder Oct. 27-30.
Bill Nye, who serves as executive director of The Planetary Society and is well known for his “Bill Nye the Science Guy” TV series, will open the conference with a keynote talk Thursday night starting at 7:30 p.m. at the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom. Nye’s presentation is open to the general public; tickets can be purchased for $10 each on the conference website at http://www.spacevision2011.com.
The conference, which will continue Friday through Sunday at the Millennium Hotel in Boulder, is the largest student-organized space conference in the nation. More than 300 students from around the country are expected to attend sessions exploring the future of aerospace engineering, entrepreneurship and government policy.
Other high-profile speakers will include Col. Chris Crawford, commander of the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado; Simon “Pete” Worden (Brig. Gen., retired), director of NASA Ames Research Center; and George Nield, associate administrator for the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration.
Representatives of Virgin Galactic, Google, SpaceX and Southwest Research Institute also will participate in addition to primary conference sponsors Sierra Nevada Corp., Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance, The Space Foundation and the CU-Boulder Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences.
The general public also is invited to participate in the conference. Online registration, which starts at $50 for students (any grade) will continue through Wednesday. For more information go to http://www.spacevision2011.com.
University of Colorado Boulder From the Chancellor
Oct 21st
Philip P. DiStefano
We were excited to learn Sept. 30 that the prestigious National Solar Observatory has chosen the University of Colorado Boulder for its headquarters. CU-Boulder’s East Campus will be the primary site for scientific research on solar physics and space weather, which can have a significant impact on global communications and power grids.
This will enhance our longtime research partnerships with several federal labs, create exceptional educational opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students and produce more than 70 high-paying jobs in our community with an annual payroll of $20 million. It will further position CU-Boulder as a center of innovation in solar research and is another example of how our entrepreneurial spirit will benefit Colorado’s economy.Our ability to win the National Solar Observatory came about because of a terrific joint effort led by Professor Dan Baker, director of our Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, coordinating the university, the city of Boulder, the business community and Colorado’s political leadership. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, Congressmen Jared Polis and Ed Perlmutter, our federal lab partners and Governor John Hickenlooper were all closely involved. Collaboration with these important partners put us in position to win the NSO.Boulder Daily Camera, Sept. 30: “CU-Boulder tops Alabama to land National Solar Observatory headquarters”In another instance of how we help build Colorado’s economy, Long Island-based Arrow Electronics announced its relocation to Colorado this week. Arrow CEO Michael Long said that a highly educated workforce—including access to CU-Boulder’s engineering programs—rivals Colorado tax incentives as an inducement to relocate. Arrow plans to create 1,200 additional Colorado jobs in five years and we look forward to partnering with this dynamic company.
CBS4 News: Oct. 12: “Arrow Electronics’ Move Is A Bet On Colorado: What’s Behind The Move Of Arrow Electronics?”State of the CampusThe relocation of Arrow Electronics is a good example of how we can help lead the state to prosperity, a subject I focused on in my annual State of the Campus address last week. In the speech I detailed how the state’s flagship university, despite having very little financial support from the state, can and must help Colorado move forward in these challenging economic times. We prepare students for highly skilled jobs in the 21st century global workplace, contribute billions annually to Colorado’s economy, and our research innovations create and attract companies. Technology transfer is just one of many ways we move the state ahead economically. Here’s an example of how our research innovations improve lives, while creating companies, through technology transfer.CU News Services, Sept. 19: “Suvica Inc. of Boulder to commercialize CU-Boulder cancer screening technology”Center of EntrepreneurshipCU-Boulder continues to be a center of entrepreneurship inspired by both our faculty and students. We were pleased our students’ entrepreneurial activities were detailed in this Boulder Daily Camera story.We have many resources to support and help our entrepreneurial students. One of those is a cross-campus Certificate in Entrepreneurshipdeveloped for students of all majors—from engineering to theater—offered through the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship in the Leeds School of Business. The Deming Center also gives students a host of entrepreneurial opportunities in a number of transformational industry sectors such as bioscience, clean energy and organic business. We have entrepreneurial programs and certificates in specific schools, colleges and Residential Academic Programs (RAPS) such as engineering, music and our sustainable design RAP.It’s also notable that the Department of Energy last week awarded the CU Cleantech Program at the Deming Center a grant to host a regional competition for students working on renewable energy start-up companies. Students from 10 states will submit clean-technology business plans to compete for $100,000. The university and the Deming Center are leaders in commercializing renewable energy.Boulder County Business Report, Oct. 11: “CU to host clean-tech competition”Here are just a handful of entrepreneurial projects our students are working on:Boulder County Business Report, Sept. 28: “New app inspired by Fourmile Fire”Boulder Daily Camera, Sept. 16: “Sounds of fun: CU-Boulder students engineer toys for the blind” Boulder Daily Camera, Sept. 24: “CU-Boulder students to get involved with solar-powered Wi-Fi project in Haiti” 
CU-Boulder will prepare space experiments designed by students 14 to 18 in an international contest sponsored in part by YouTube.
Supporting our communities
While we build and attract companies to support our economy, we also improve communities across Colorado. On that note, I’m pleased to report that CU-Boulder’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence was awarded a $6.5 million grant by the Centers for Disease Control to reduce violence in Denver’s 30,000-resident Montbello neighborhood.
Building community also includes educational outreach. A CU-Boulder space center will play a key role in a new international contest sponsored by industry partners, including YouTube, and several space agencies, challenging students 14 to 18 to design science experiments. The winning experiments will be conducted on the International Space Station. Our BioServe Space Technologies, headquartered in the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department, will turn the winning proposals into space-ready experiments.
Alysia Marino
Physics professor honored by the White House
It was a pleasure to honor faculty promotions, awards and elections to distinguished national academies at Faculty Convocation on Sept. 30 in an ceremony that also recognized top students. I’m compelled to make special mention of Physics Assistant Professor Alysia Marino, who was honored on Friday at the White House by President Obama as one of 13 Department of Energy researchers to receive prestigious Early Career Scientist Awards.
I’m proud to say that she also was recognized for mentoring graduate students. She joined colleagues at the White House from the likes of Cal-Berkeley, Cornell and the California Institute of Technology.
Matt Stone, left, and Trey Parker as young screenwriters in Hollywood.
CU alums on 60 Minutes
Our incorrigible and idiosyncratic alums, Matt Stone and Trey Parker ofSouth Park fame, were featured on 60 Minutes last month in a segment highlighting their film and Broadway creativity and documenting their CU beginnings. The inseparable pair met in a film studies class in which Professor Don Yannacito told them if they ever got serious they might go somewhere. Needless to say, they never got serious.
Macky Auditorium symbolizes CU’s contribution to community and culture. (Video by Boulder Daily Camera.)Macky Auditorium celebratedAn iPad loaded with contemporary digital content was part of a time capsule buried at Macky Auditorium last week to replace one opened a year ago on Macky’s 100th birthday. Macky has been a community cultural hub on campus for a century. Today, more than 385,000 citizens a year enhance their quality of life by visiting CU-Boulder’s museums, performing and visual arts, debates and other cultural events. 
CU-Boulder was awarded the National Solar Observatory on Sept. 30. (Photo courtesy of NASA.)
Chancellor Philip DiStefano delivers the 2011 State of the Campus address in the Glenn Miller Ballroom.
Daniel Schaefer, a CU-Boulder doctoral candidate in communication, holds up his Android smart phone with a special keyboard app that he created for easier Twitter posting during disasters.
The Golden Buffalo Marching Band practices on Farrand Field. The band will be featured in Homecoming festivities Friday and Saturday.
Join us for Homecoming this weekend
Unlike many schools, we never take our Homecoming opponent for granted. We can’t because typically they are Top-10 ranked, and this year is no exception as we host No. 9 Oregon for Homecoming on Saturday.Highlights include the Homecoming Parade and Buff Stampede on the Pearl Street Mall at 7 p.m. Friday and the game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
To prepare for the big events and make parking smoother, visit the following websites:
• Boulder Pearl Street Mall Parking • Campus Game Day Parking
I’ll see you there! Go Buffs!
Sincerely,
Philip P. DiStefano, Chancellor University of Colorado Boulder
