Sneak peek of ghosts at Columbia Cemetery
Oct 18th
What: Columbia Cemetery storage facility ribbon-cutting ceremony (and sneak peek of Ghost Walk/Ghost Talk event scheduled for Oct. 22 and Oct. 23)
When: Thursday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m.
Where: The event will take place at the southwest corner of the cemetery at the storage facility. There is an entrance gate located at the corner of College Avenue and 8th Street.
Background Information:
Please join us for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open our new 340-square-foot storage building at the Columbia Cemetery. The ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20, in the southwest corner of Columbia Cemetery.
The Parks and Recreation Department collaborated with the University of Colorado’s College of Architecture and Planning, Division of Environmental Design to design and construct the facility. It will be used for storage and restoration of broken or damaged grave markers.
The ceremony is free, open to the public and will last 30 to 45 minutes. Light refreshments will be served. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will include a brief visit with one of the “spirits” who will participate in the Ghost Walk/Ghost Talk events scheduled for Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 (more information below).
Ghost Walk/Ghost Talk event Oct. 22 and Oct. 23
Sponsored by Historic Boulder, Inc., and the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department, this event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at Highland Lawn neighborhood homes and Columbia Cemetery (weather permitting). Please note that this is a different event than “Meet the Spirits,” which is held at Columbia Cemetery every other year. Participants can visit a number of “spooky” houses and hear their stories, as well as hearing the stories of five “spirits” at Columbia Cemetery who will be stationed along the roadway in Columbia Cemetery. More information: www.HistoricBoulder.org.
About Columbia Cemetery
Columbia Cemetery was founded in 1870 and was the first permanent cemetery in the City of Boulder. The cemetery is a resting place for many early community leaders and a cross-section of Boulder settlers—farmers, miners and trades people.
The cemetery is a historic, cultural and artistic resource owned by the City of Boulder and managed by the Parks and Recreation Department. It is a City of Boulder landmark, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
CU-Boulder, USCS to lead E-vehicle studies
Oct 17th
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Boulder faculty will join with University of Colorado Colorado Springs faculty to teach courses in the design and implementation of electric vehicle drivetrains to new and retraining engineers.
The U.S. Department of Energy recently provided a five-year $954,000 grant to UCCS for the development of courses to prepare engineers for careers in developing new technologies for vehicles having electric drivetrains. The master’s-level courses will be taught by both UCCS and CU Boulder faculty members with expertise in batteries, battery controls, and power electronics.
The courses will be available through distance learning technologies such as online courses and, possibly, CISCO Telepresence, in addition to traditional in-person classrooms, making them available to people nationwide.
“There are thousands of engineers who have either been displaced as the U.S. auto industry shifted or who have an interest in learning about creating vehicles of the future,” Greg Plett, professor, UCCS College of Engineering and Applied Science, said. “This program offers them the opportunity to retrain without relocating.”
Plett, the principal investigator on the project, has spent his career working with battery controls and has close relationships to many Colorado-based companies who manufacture batteries or their controls as well as large corporations such as General Motors. Plett is working with General Motors’ engineers on new methods for battery controls in future extended range electric vehicles, beyond the Chevy Volt.
The GATE Center of Excellence in Innovative Drivetrains in Electric Automotive Technology Education will provide students the opportunity to earn a graduate certificate in electric drivetrain technology by taking four courses in battery dynamics, battery controls, power electronics and detailed courses in adjustable alternating current drives. Plans also call for creating options for students in master’s of science in electrical engineering programs at UCCS and CU-Boulder to pursue specialization in fields such as battery controls, taught by UCCS faculty, and vehicle power electronics taught by CU-Boulder faculty members.
CU-Boulder faculty will build upon strengths of the Colorado Power Electronics Center research and education programs, including a highly successful Professional Certification in Power Electronics already offered online by the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s distance education program (http://cuengineeringonline.colorado.edu/)
“This program combines the strengths of the faculty of two CU campuses for the benefit of students,” Plett said.
Plett also believes the collaboration of faculty will lead to new research in battery technology. Battery life and power outputs have long been considered hindrances to the development of electric vehicles including cars, trucks and mass transit vehicles.
Plett envisions that fellowships to reduce the cost of the graduate coursework will be available with 30 to 40 students enrolled annually beginning with the fall 2012 semester.
Working with Plett will be Scott Trimboli, assistant professor, UCCS College of Engineering, and Regan Zane, associate professor, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, CU-Boulder, and Dragan Maksimovic, professor, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, CU-Boulder.
For more about Plett, visit http://mocha-java.uccs.edu/. For more information about the UCCS College of Engineering and Applied Science, visit http://www.eas.uccs.edu/ .For more information about the CU-Boulder Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, visit http://ecee.colorado.edu/.
CU-Boulder student treated for meningitis
Oct 17th
A 21-year-old female student at the University of Colorado Boulder was diagnosed late on Friday with meningococcal meningitis according to county and university health officials. The student, who is a junior living off campus, is in stable condition at Boulder Community Hospital.
Boulder County Public Health officials are investigating the single case. No other cases of the disease have been confirmed by county or state officials at present.
Meningococcal meningitis is a serious bacterial infection that causes infection of the tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Meningococcal disease may be spread to others; however, this is uncommon.
“Most of those CU community members who have had close contact with this student have already been contacted and offered treatment by Boulder County Public Health,” said Dr. Don Misch, CU-Boulder assistant vice chancellor for health and wellness.
The risk to other people is minimal and is confined to those who have had close contact with the patient. Close contact includes kissing; sharing cigarettes, drinks, glasses or eating utensils; and being exposed to secretions from the nose or throat of the infected person.
“Others, particularly undergraduate students who have never been vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis or have not been vaccinated in the past five years, should consider getting the vaccination,” Misch said. “On a university campus, those at greatest risk in general for meningococcal meningitis are students living in residence halls, so these individuals should especially consider vaccination at Wardenburg Health Center or from their personal health care provider.”
“Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against this severe disease,” said Murielle Romine, Boulder County Public Health communicable disease control program coordinator.
Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis can include fever, severe headache, stiff neck, irritability, sleepiness, nausea, vomiting, rash, disorientation and confusion. A person may be infected for one to 10 days, and most commonly three to four days, before showing any symptoms.
The last reported case of meningococcal meningitis at CU-Boulder was in March 2006. That student, a male, recovered fully.
Those who are interested in getting the vaccination can go to Wardenburg Health Center from 8:30 to 11 a.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Wardenburg Health Center is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Parents of all incoming freshmen receive a letter during the summer with information about the recommendation for immunization.
For more information on meningococcal meningitis and the vaccination, check the Wardenburg website at http://healthcenter.colorado.edu or http://www.BoulderCountyHealth.org, and click on Meningococcal Information.
