Kudos

Reading the past, engineering the future

Julie Chiron — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 22:34:31 +0000

Reading the past, engineering the future Julie Chiron Mon, 12/22/2025 - 15:34

Julie Chiron

CU ��ý�� geobiologist Lizzy Trower received a Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship, allowing her to acquire new tools and redirect her deep-time expertise toward urgent environmental challenges

For most of her career, Lizzy Trower has been a time traveler.

The associate professor of geological sciences at the ��ý�� studies rocks that are hundreds of millions of years old to decode how microbial life first shaped our planet, such as oxygenating our atmosphere and paving the way for animal life.

But as a field researcher, Trower has found herself increasingly aware of the present and yearning to look toward the future. In the field, she witnessed pristine microbial mounds in Great Salt Lake frequently exposed and stressed by megadrought, and hurricane scars etched across fragile ecosystems in the Turks and Caicos. Those experiences reshaped her scientific priorities.

CU ��ý�� scientist Lizzy Trower

"The more time I spend in modern environments, the harder it is to ignore the challenges that are happening now related to climate," says Trower. "The questions I work on in Earth’s history are really interesting, but sometimes they don’t feel quite as relevant or urgent."

The features at Great Salt Lake have thrived underwater for more than 10,000 years. Long fascinating to geoscientists as a way to understand what they might see in rocks, these windows into the past are now under threat. Trower worries that some of these systems may simply disappear, no longer available for study or teaching.

"It's shocking to be in a moment where these things that have been around for thousands of years and have been useful and cool for generations of scientists might not be there much longer,” she says.

Increasingly, conversations in the field have shifted from how these systems grow to how they degrade when exposed for long periods above the lake’s surface. "The destruction and degradation weren’t something we talked about when I was a grad student," Trower says.

Unbounded exploration leads to breakthroughs

As a newly named 2025 Simons Foundation Pivot Fellow, Trower is undertaking a bold research shift and acquiring new skills to apply her deep knowledge of geobiology to help address today’s urgent environmental challenges.

The highly competitive Pivot Fellowship supports midcareer scientists who are seeking to "pivot" into a new discipline, offering a year of immersive mentorship, training and resources for scholars to acquire entirely new skills. The program celebrates the idea that breakthroughs often emerge when researchers cross disciplinary boundaries, a principle that resonates with the College of Arts and Sciences emphasis on interdisciplinary exploration.

"I love experimentation, but I’m at a point where my ideas exceed my toolset. I want to culture microbes, design experiments and teach students how to work with them," says Trower. "It's rare to get dedicated time to develop new skills. I want my work to feel urgent, impactful, relevant — and this helps me move toward that."

Microbes in a headwind

Trower’s pivot centers on euendoliths—microbes that bore microscopic cavities into calcium carbonate minerals. In doing so, they generate alkalinity, a chemical process that raises pH and could counteract ocean acidification, one of the most pressing threats to marine ecosystems.

"What’s fascinating about these microbes is that they dissolve minerals to create tiny tunnel systems," says Trower. "But here’s what’s wild: they do this in places where dissolving these minerals should be thermodynamically unfavorable."

"In those environments, these minerals should be forming—not dissolving," says Trower. "So, I imagine these microbes like hikers walking into the headwind, stubbornly using a lot of energy to carve out tunnels even though the environment is against them."

If scientists can understand and harness this ability, the implications are far-reaching: targeted mitigation of ocean acidification, enhanced carbon removal strategies, improved wastewater treatment and even innovations in engineered living building materials.

A year outside the comfort zone

The science is still in its infancy. Only one euendolith has ever been isolated in pure culture, a cyanobacterium discovered on a Puerto Rican beach. Trower’s fellowship year will focus on building the toolkit to change that. Alongside microbial ecologist John Spear in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, she will learn to culture environmental microbes, apply genomic tools and characterize the diversity and behavior of these organisms.

Beyond the lab, Trower’s pivot reflects a philosophical shift from basic science grounded in the past to applied research aimed at solutions. "My goal is to prepare students for impactful careers beyond academia," she says. Research shows that today’s undergraduates value altruistic motivators, helping people and the environment, when choosing STEM careers. Trower’s new direction aligns with those ideals, offering students opportunities to address climate challenges through innovative science.

The Simons Foundation announced the 2025 Pivot Fellows on Nov. 13, highlighting researchers who pursue bold, interdisciplinary ideas and acquire new tools that can open entirely new avenues of discovery. For Trower, the fellowship is more than a career milestone, it’s a chance to honor the memory of a close CU ��ý�� colleague whose expertise she hoped to draw on. The loss of her friend and esteemed researcher inspired her to gain new expertise to continue the work herself.

For a geobiologist who has spent her career translating the planet’s oldest stories, the pivot is less a departure than a continuation, carrying the lessons from billions of years ago into a future that urgently needs them.

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Grad’s work fuses the arts and sciences

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 20:14:26 +0000

Grad’s work fuses the arts and sciences Rachel Sauer Fri, 12/12/2025 - 13:14

Bradley Worrell

Olivia Neilly, who is earning a double major in English and molecular, cellular and developmental biology with a perfect 4.0 GPA, is named the college’s outstanding graduate for fall 2025

When Olivia Neilly stepped onto the ��ý�� campus four years ago, she thought she had her future mapped out.

“I really wanted to go to medical school,” she recalls. “I thought I’d keep my head in the books for four years and then move on.”

However, in pursuit of courses that would prepare her for the medical field, Neilly joined Professor Zoe Donaldson’s neuroscience lab in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB)—and that one experience changed everything for her.

Olivia Neilly is the Fall 2025 College of Arts and Sciences outstanding graduate. (Photo: Julie Chiron)

“I discovered that research is not just about data—it’s about asking questions, embracing creativity and finding joy in discovery,” Neilly says. “It literally changed the trajectory of what I want to do with my life, and now I can’t imagine wanting to do anything else.”

Donaldson and Jenny Knight, professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, became important mentors for Neilly, whom she credits with fostering creativity and curiosity in the lab. Additionally, PhD graduate Mostafa El-Kalliny helped shape her thinking about research as well as issues outside of science.

“From day one in the lab I worked with Mostafa, who shaped how to think about science—and other subjects,” she says. “Our conversations weren’t just about experiments—they were about philosophy, literature and life.”

Embracing neuroscience with a passion

For her honor’s thesis, Neilly wrote a 71-page research paper investigating how a small part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens helps animals form close social bonds, research that has potential implications for humans. Her paper specifically explored the neuroscience of social bonding on prairie voles, a small species of furry rodents.

“We study prairie voles because they form lifelong pair bonds, like humans,” Neilly explains. “My project focused on nucleus accumbens, a brain region tied to reward. I used chemogenetics (a technique that makes use of engineered proteins) to turn off specific interneurons during bond formation. When those cells were silenced, voles couldn’t form pair bonds. This suggests one cell type can influence complex social behavior, which has implications for psychiatric disorders.”

Neilly began her lab work with the voles before the start of her sophomore year and spent two summers working full time in the lab. This past summer, she completed the experiment underlying her thesis and spent the school year analyzing the data and writing. While the work was very time consuming, Neilly adds, “It never felt like a burden—I loved the process.”

In addition to that work, Neilly authored a manuscript for the scientific journal Nature Communications as well as a second manuscript currently being considered for publication.

Earning high praise from faculty

Neilly was nominated for the outstanding graduate award by Christy Fillman, chair of the MCDB Honors Committee, and Donaldson, who praised her undergraduate student for her curiosity, intellect and strong work ethic.

“I would often find Olivia in the lab at all hours, eager to contribute and learn new skills. By this time last year, she was already operating at the level of a graduate student despite being only a junior. She accomplished this while also maintaining a 4.0 GPA in two majors and maintaining her involvement in other activities, including the American Lung Cancer Society Screening Initiative,” Donaldson wrote in her letter recommending Neilly for the outstanding graduate honor. Donaldson added, “She is the most impressive undergraduate I have had the chance to mentor or interact with across institutions I have worked at.”

Neilly says receiving the outstanding graduate award is both exciting and humbling.

“My mentor (El-Kalliny) hinted that I might get nominated, but honestly, I was so focused on graduating and finishing classes that I didn’t think much about it. When I got the email and Donaldson announced the award in our lab group chat, I was really touched,” Neilly says. “I’m emotional by nature, so it meant a lot that people I respect recognized my efforts. I usually just put my head down and work, not for recognition, so this felt validating. I was proud—and excited to tell my mom first.”

Olivia Neilly (second from left), Fall 2025 College of Arts and Sciences outstanding graduate, chats with, left to right, Daryl Maeda, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Irene Blair, dean of natural sciences; and Jennifer Fitzgerald, interim associate dean for student success. (Photo: Julie Chiron)

Balancing science and the arts

Neilly’s academic path has proven to be as unique as her research. Initially focused on MCDB, she opted to add an English degree to feed her artistic side.

“At first, I thought there was no overlap,” she recalls. “I started with MCDB for medical school or research but then added English because I missed my artistic side. Over time, I realized they overlap in surprising ways. In science, clear communication is essential—especially now, in a media environment riddled with so much misinformation."

As a creative writer and fan of modern fiction, Neilly applauds how people are pushing the boundaries of language in the same way that scientists are pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge—celebrating the unbounded exploration of both art and science.

“Writing skills from English help me convey research effectively. Creativity is key in both fields. The best scientists are often the most creative.”

Life beyond the lab

Despite her demanding academic schedule, Neilly says she made time for extracurricular activities. She wrote articles for the online magazine Her Campus, attended film festivals and organized a lung cancer awareness event at ��ý��’s historic Chautauqua Park.

She says she feels fortunate to have partaken in many cultural events offered by CU ��ý�� and by the local community, and she encourages her fellow students to do the same, adding, “Connecting with your community matters as much as academics.”

As for any advice for incoming CU students, Neilly says, “Wherever you are, you can make the most of it if you put in the time and energy. Be willing to try new things and embrace discomfort—it’s how you grow.”

Right where she was supposed to be

Neilly says she’s grateful for her time at CU ��ý�� and is now looking forward to what comes next as she prepares to embark on a scientific career. After graduating later this month, Neilly will join Stanford University as a research technician in Boris Heifets’ lab, where scientists study how psychoactive compounds can help treat severe psychiatric disorders.

“I’m passionate about improving mental health and social functioning, so this feels like the right next step before starting grad school,” she says.

Perhaps ironically in retrospect, Neilly says she wasn’t initially committed to attending CU ��ý��. She earned good grades in high school and had a number of options when it came time to select a university.

“I have a long family history with CU; my mom, sister and grandfather all have ties here. At first, I thought I wanted to break the pattern, but my mom reminded me that education is what you make of it,” says Neilly, who spent much of her childhood in Aurora. “CU ended up being the best decision. I found incredible mentors and research opportunities I wouldn’t have had elsewhere.

“I don’t regret a thing. I’ve used CU to the absolute ends of what it could offer.”

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Olivia Neilly, who is earning a double major in English and molecular, cellular and developmental biology with a perfect 4.0 GPA, is named the college’s outstanding graduate for fall 2025.

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Top photo: Olivia Neilly (second from left), Fall 2025 outstanding graduate, with, left to right, Daryl Maeda, interim dean of the college; Irene Blair, dean of natural sciences; and Jennifer Fitzgerald, interim associate dean for student success

CU ��ý�� mathematician honored by peers

Rachel Sauer — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 18:48:23 +0000

CU ��ý�� mathematician honored by peers Rachel Sauer Thu, 11/06/2025 - 11:48

Katherine Stange is named a fellow by the American Mathematical Society, becoming the second person in the math department to garner AMS recognition

Katherine Stange, a professor of mathematics at the ��ý��, is one of 40 mathematicians from around the world to be named a 2026 fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

Katherine Stange, a CU ��ý�� professor of mathematics, has been named a 2026 fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

AMS members designated as fellows have made “outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and utilization of mathematics,” according to the society.

“I am honored to congratulate the 2026 class of AMS fellows,” said AMS President Ravi Vakil. “Their research and service endeavors help ensure the health of the mathematical sciences on a daily basis. AMS fellows are selected from a substantial pool of accomplished candidates. Their collective achievements highlight the many ways individuals devote themselves to our beautiful and essential subject.”

“I'm grateful to my nominators and to all my colleagues, collaborators, students and mentors, who make mathematics such a beautiful and fun endeavor,” said Stange.

Stange’s area of research includes arithmetic geometry, elliptic curves, algebraic and integer sequences, cryptography, arithmetic dynamics, Apollonian circle packings and game theory.

Stange becomes the second CU ��ý�� Department of Mathematics professor to be named an AMS fellow; Agnes Beaudry was named a fellow in 2024.

Goals of the AMS fellows program include creating a class of mathematicians recognized by their peers for their professional contributions, lifting the profession through the provision of an honor, and supporting the advancement of mathematicians to leadership positions in both their institutions and the broader society.

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Katherine Stange is named a fellow by the American Mathematical Society, becoming the second person in the math department to garner AMS recognition.

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Space physicist Mihály Horányi honored as 2025 professor of distinction

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:47:36 +0000

Space physicist Mihály Horányi honored as 2025 professor of distinction Rachel Sauer Fri, 10/24/2025 - 13:47

College of Arts and Sciences leadership and peers recognize the physics professor’s service, teaching and research with the award

Mihály Horányi, a ��ý�� professor of physics, has been named the 2025 College Professor of Distinction by the College of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his exceptional service, teaching and research.

Mihály Horányi, a CU ��ý�� professor of physics, has been named the 2025 College Professor of Distinction by the College of Arts and Sciences.

The college presents this prestigious award annually to current faculty members who are scholars and artists of national and international renown and who are recognized by their college peers as teachers and colleagues of exceptional talent.

“I’m truly surprised and honored by this recognition from my peers,” Horányi says. “LASP and the Physics Department at CU ��ý�� are extraordinary communities of talented and passionate people who continually push the boundaries of scientific discovery and space exploration. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate with so many inspiring colleagues over the past 30 years.”

Horányi is a physicist who conducts theoretical and experimental investigations of space and laboratory complex (dusty) plasmas. He also studies electrodynamic processes and their role in the origin and evolution of the solar system, comets, planetary rings, and plasma surface interactions; dust charging, in situ and remote observations of dust; and dusty plasma laboratory experiments and space hardware development.

He received an M.S. degree in nuclear physics and a PhD in space physics at the Lorand Eotvos University in Budapest, Hungary. While a graduate student, Horányi worked on the Vega mission to comet Halley. At that time, the Russian probes Vega 1 and Vega 2, as well as the European Space Agency Giotto and Japanese missions, were happening, and “the large international interest and the excitement of building instruments that would fly in deep space was mesmerizing to me,” he recalled in an interview with NASA. “For me, figuring out the most important science questions to ask, which measurements to make, and what is the right balance between capability, reliability, mass, power needs, schedule, and cost remains challenging and exciting ever since.”

Horányi joined the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in 1992 and the CU ��ý�� Department of Physics in 1999. He served as a co-investigator for the dust instruments onboard the Ulysses, Galileo, and Cassini missions and as a principal investigator for the dust instruments built by LASP: the Student Dust Counter (SDC) onboard New Horizons, the Cosmic Dust Experiment (CDE) onboard the AIM satellite, and the Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX) onboard the LADEE mission. He is the principal investigator for the Interstellar Dust Experiment (IDEX) onboard the recently launched IMAP mission.

He is the author or coauthor of more than 300 refereed publications and is a fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Geophysical Union. The International Astronomical Union renamed Asteroid 1998 AX9 as 164701 Horányi in his honor.

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College of Arts and Sciences leadership and peers recognize the physics professor’s service, teaching and research with the award.

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Three college staff members participating in leadership institute

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 16:21:32 +0000

Three college staff members participating in leadership institute Rachel Sauer Tue, 10/14/2025 - 10:21

Jessica Brunecky, Janelle Henderson and Stephanie Colunga Montoya will participate in the 39th annual Academic Management Institute facilitated by the Colorado and Wyoming Network of Women Leaders

Three ��ý�� College of Arts and Sciences staff members have been invited to participate in the 39th annual Academic Management Institute (AMI) facilitated by the Colorado and Wyoming Network of Women Leaders, an affiliate of the American Council on Education.

Jessica Brunecky, senior strategic advisor and director of divisional affairs for the Division of Social Sciences; Janelle Henderson, program manager of the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program; and Stephanie Colunga Montoya, director of student access and engagement for the Division of Natural Sciences, will join with higher education professionals from across Colorado and Wyoming to develop as leaders and foster excellence in the region’s colleges and universities.

AMI 2025-26 is comprised of five in-person sessions—the first of which will be Thursday and Friday in Vail—that feature presentations and workshops by higher education leaders and subject experts from Colorado and Wyoming. AMI is designed to be a professional development opportunity that fosters a cohesive cohort dynamic and enables participants to hone their leadership toolkit while forging connections with peers across the region’s academic institutions.

“I look forward to exploring ways to strengthen my ability to make structural and institutional change,” says Brunecky. Colunga Montoya notes that she is looking forward “to meeting other amazing women doing important work in higher education and gaining wisdom and knowledge that is shared.”

Every AMI participant is asked to design a passion project that serves the needs of their institution, which they will introduce at the Oct. 16-17 seminar and present a March 5-6 seminar at the University of Denver.

Each of the seminars centers on timely and topical themes, including leading in ever-changing higher education, influencing campus culture, the future of higher education and developing leadership strengths.

“I’m excited to expand my leadership skills and build meaningful connections with other higher education leaders,” says Henderson.

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Jessica Brunecky, Janelle Henderson and Stephanie Colunga Montoya will participate in the 39th annual Academic Management Institute facilitated by the Colorado and Wyoming Network of Women Leaders.

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Top image: Jessica Brunecky, Janelle Henderson and Stephanie Colunga Montoya

2025 Nobel Laureate in physics once served as mentor to grad students at CU ��ý��

Kylie Clarke — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 18:46:26 +0000

2025 Nobel Laureate in physics once served as mentor to grad students at CU ��ý�� Kylie Clarke Thu, 10/09/2025 - 12:46

Kirsten Apodaca

Like many rockstar scientists, 2025 physics Nobel Laureate John Martinis spent time in ��ý��’s rich scientific ecosystem mentoring graduate students and inspiring others in quantum computing.

In the 1990s, while working as a scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in ��ý��, Martinis also held the position of a physics lecturer at CU ��ý��. His university affiliation focused on research collaborations and mentoring graduate students as a research advisor in the Department of Physics.

“It was important to us to build partnerships with NIST scientists, to foster more research collaborations and opportunities for our students,” said John Cumalat, professor of physics and chair of the department at the time of Martinis’ appointment. “John was instrumental in recruiting graduate students to CU ��ý��.”

It was important to us to build partnerships with NIST scientists, to foster more research collaborations and opportunities for our students. John [Martinis] was instrumental in recruiting graduate students to CU ��ý��.

The Department of Physics history book lists Martinis as a lecturer from 1993 to 1999. He supervised several PhD students, some in partnership with John Price, emeritus professor of physics.

Price fondly recalls his research collaborations with Martinis. When Price was a new faculty member starting out in a related field, Martinis shared his circuit design and building expertise, helped make samples, and provided general guidance and wisdom.

“He was generously helpful with people who had aligned interests and wanted to see everyone do interesting science,” said Price.

While at NIST-��ý��, Martinis worked on fundamental physics and technologies that were critical to the development of quantum devices now used in NIST electronic current and voltage standards.

"John enriched the scientific community not only in quantum computing related electronics, but also in several areas related to low-temperature microelectronics,” said Price.

Much of Martinis’ work at NIST has continued under the leadership of Ray Simmonds (also a physics lecturer) and other group leaders, with physics graduate students continuing to conduct their doctoral research at NIST.

“This is the rich opportunity that our students receive –– it’s not only the classroom instruction, but also the broader scientific community,” said Price.

Among today's quantum information superstars who worked at NIST are Kent Irwin (top left), now at Stanford, who helped to develop highly sensitive single-photon sensors and John Martinis (right). This photo was taken in the 1990s at the NIST-��ý�� laboratories. Photo by NIST.

CU’s partnership with NIST has flourished over the years, both through JILA, a joint institute between CU ��ý�� and NIST, and through the Professional Research Experience Program (CU PREP) which provides research opportunities for students and postdoctoral researchers with scientists at NIST.

Martinis was one of the co-organizers of the inaugural ��ý�� Summer School for Condensed Matter and Materials Physics with Professor Leo Radzihovsky, which launched in 2000. He has returned to give lectures during the annual school several times since, maintaining connections with colleagues at CU ��ý��.

Martinis later became a professor at the University of California Santa Barbara, before working for Google and most recently co-founded a quantum computing startup Qolab.

The Nobel

Martinis shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics with John Clarke and Michel Devoret “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantization in an electric circuit,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

In the 1980s, Martinis was a graduate student in John Clarke’s lab at UC Berkeley, working alongside postdoctoral researcher Michel Devoret. Their experiments focused on electrical components called Josephson junctions – devices made of two superconductors separated by a thin oxide layer that particles ordinarily can’t cross.

Martinis shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics with John Clarke and Michel Devoret for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantization in an electric circuit.

However, thanks to a quantum effect called tunneling, pairs of electrons can pass through – even though this defies the laws of classical physics.

The idea dates back to 1928, when physicist George Gamow used quantum tunneling to explain why certain materials give off radiation, or alpha decay. Gamow later became a professor of physics at CU ��ý�� and is the namesake to both the Gamow Tower in the Duane Physics and Astrophysics building and to the George Gamow Memorial Lecture Series.

Superconductors, when cooled to very low temperatures, allow electricity to flow without resistance. In this environment, particles behave as one unified wave, all moving together as if they are one.

Through a series of experiments, the team discovered that these large-scale quantum states acted like individual particles, showing behaviors of quantum mechanics like tunneling and discrete energy levels.

This work created the basis for using superconducting circuits to create qubits, the fundamental unit of quantum computers. It laid the groundwork for many researchers and companies now working to build the first operational quantum computers that have the potential to revolutionize technology in many areas, like drug discovery and cryptography.

Want to learn more? CU ��ý�� boasts five Nobel laureates, four of them in physics. Professor of Physics Paul Beale is interviewed about the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics at this link.

Get the latest info.

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CU ��ý�� researcher named one of 2025 Grist 50

Rachel Sauer — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 21:31:21 +0000

CU ��ý�� researcher named one of 2025 Grist 50 Rachel Sauer Thu, 09/18/2025 - 15:31

Zia Mehrabi joins a cohort of leaders from across the U.S. who are working on solutions to the planet’s biggest challenges

Zia Mehrabi, an assistant professor of environmental studies at the ��ý�� and director of the Better Planet Laboratory, has been named one of the 2025 Grist 50, an annual list of leaders from across the U.S. who are working on solutions to the planet’s biggest challenges.

The Grist 50 features “climate leaders across the U.S. who are tackling some of the most pressing problems of today in innovative and exciting ways,” according to Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. “The list provides an annual dose of inspiration and a reminder that the stories we tell about climate change are incomplete without the narratives of those fighting back, bringing change to their communities and inventing a better future.”

Illustration: Grist

The Grist 50, whom the organization calls “fixers,” includes “creatives bringing powerful stories to new audiences, advocates pushing for healthy and just food systems and tech wizards putting AI to work for more efficient energy infrastructure. These leaders have pushed back against harmful industries (and won), cut carbon emissions from hospitals, advanced wildfire solutions from Hawai‘i to California and brought together unlikely coalitions to break ground on clean energy networks. They’re teachers, scientists, doctors, farmers, artists, entrepreneurs, and activists who are putting climate front and center in their work and driving real progress,” according to Grist.

Mehrabi and the Better Planet Laboratory are a group of data scientists and creatives who build data products and services for a better and fairer planet. They work to scale their impact through partnerships with a range of partners across the world, from intergovernmental agencies to grassroots NGOs and human rights organizations. Their work has included mapping the world agricultural lands, the agricultural workforce and the climate stress they face, the global flows of food across the world from producers to consumers and the human cost of consuming carbon-intensive products, as well as the potential for alternative ways of farming, and more.

Mehrabi and the Better Planet Laboratory are focused on mapping violations of the United Nations resolution of the human right to a healthy and safe environment and using modern technologies to support the United Nations Committee on Rights of the Child’s efforts to tackle grave violations of children's rights, among other projects.

Earlier this year, Mehrabi won the U.S. National Champion Frontiers Planet Prize, and one of three international Frontiers Planet awards, for co-authoring groundbreaking research studying how adding diversity back into agricultural systems in 11 countries might improve environmental and social outcomes.

“It’s common to hear people say you are a product of your environment,” Mehrabi says. “I think what we sometimes forget is that our environment is a product of us, too—that we can change the world we live in, and there are so many inspiring people in the U.S.A. doing this right now.”

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Zia Mehrabi joins a cohort of leaders from across the U.S. who are working on solutions to the planet’s biggest challenges.

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Top illustration: Grist

CU ��ý�� scholar receives Fulbright support to study fossil mammals in Poland

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 19:23:11 +0000

CU ��ý�� scholar receives Fulbright support to study fossil mammals in Poland Rachel Sauer Fri, 08/22/2025 - 13:23

Professor Jaelyn Eberle will teach and pursue a hypothesis that a Cretaceous land bridge between Asia and North America was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time

Jaelyn Eberle, a ��ý�� professor of geological sciences and CU Museum of Natural History curator of fossil vertebrates, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to study the extensive collection of Cretaceous (about 75 million years old) Mongolian mammals housed at the Institute of Paleobiology in Warsaw, Poland.

Eberle will travel to Poland Aug. 31 to begin work comparing the Mongolian mammal collection with fossil mammals that she and her colleagues discovered on the North Slope of Alaska, in the hopes of identifying some of the earliest mammals to cross from Asia into North America via Beringia, a prehistoric land bridge that once connected the two continents. Along with Professor Lucja Fostowicz-Frelik, Eberle also will team-teach a graduate seminar on the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary for the BioPlanet Doctoral School in Poland, which attracts PhD students in biology, geology and biochemistry from across Europe.

Jaelyn Eberle, a CU ��ý�� professor of geological sciences and CU Museum of Natural History curator of fossil vertebrates, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to study the Cretaceous Mongolian mammals housed at the Institute of Paleobiology in Warsaw, Poland.

“Until now, my research has focused mostly on North American fossil mammals,” Eberle explains. “The Fulbright award allows me to broaden my research to include ancient Mongolian mammals and collaborate with the foremost expert on them, Dr. Fostowicz-Frelik. I am also excited to co-teach a class with Dr. Fostowicz-Frelik; this will build my knowledge of the Eurasian fossil record and inject new content, perspective and teaching styles into my courses at CU ��ý��.

“Being immersed in the language and culture of Poland for four months and teaching PhD students from across Europe will also give me perspective on how to better support CU students from international backgrounds, too.”

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions.

“Professor Eberle’s fascinating research is important not only because it advances scientific knowledge, it also expands the Museum Institute’s vibrant international collaborations, helping us to connect with scholars around the globe,” says Nancy Stevens, director of the Museum Institute and professor of anthropology.

Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

More than 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. In addition, more than 2,000 Fulbright U.S. Student Program participants—recent college graduates, graduate students and early-career professionals—participate in study/research exchanges or as English teaching assistants in local schools abroad each year.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

As a Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Eberle will further her study of fossil mammals, their evolution during past intervals of global warmth and their dispersal across the Northern Hemisphere when polar land bridges connected North America to both Asia and Europe.

“I hypothesize that some of the Cretaceous Alaskan mammals belong to Asian lineages; if true, this would provide direct evidence that Beringia was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time,” Eberle explains. “The Alaskan fauna preserves the northernmost known mammals of the Mesozoic Era (or Age of Dinosaurs), and our team’s latest findings mean it may also include among the earliest mammalian immigrants from Asia to North America.

Jaelyn Eberle (foreground, yellow jacket) and her colleagues quarry for tiny vertebrate fossils in Alaska's Prince Creek Formation. (Photo: Kevin May)

Many of the mammal teeth Jaelyn Eberle studies are the size of sand grains. This is a tooth of the tiny Alaskan mammal Sikuomys mikros (meaning "tiny ice mouse") that lived in northern Alaska about 72 million years ago. (Photo: Jaelyn Eberle)

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Professor Jaelyn Eberle will teach and pursue a hypothesis that a Cretaceous land bridge between Asia and North America was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time.

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Top illustration: James Havens

CU ��ý�� scientist named 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:34:17 +0000

CU ��ý�� scientist named 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar Rachel Sauer Tue, 08/19/2025 - 08:34

Biochemist Vignesh Kasinath will receive four years of funding ‘to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease’

Vignesh Kasinath, a ��ý�� assistant professor of biochemistry, has been named a 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar.

Kasinath is among a cohort of 22 early-career scholars who will receive four years of funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts “to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease.”

“For 40 years, Pew has supported young, talented researchers as they take creative approaches to solving big scientific questions,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement. “This new class continues that legacy, and we look forward to seeing where their discoveries lead.”

Vignesh Kasinath, a ��ý�� assistant professor of biochemistry, has been named a 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar.

The members of the 2025 cohort are all early-career, junior faculty and are the 40th group of Pew scholars to be awarded funding since the program’s founding in 1985.

“Pew-funded scientists have long contributed to biomedical research discoveries that have improved human health,” said Lee Niswander, a 1995 Pew scholar and chair of the program’s national advisory committee. “I’m confident this new class of scholars, with their innovative and creative approaches to scientific research, will continue this tradition.”

Kasinath’s research explores how cells “silence” transposons, which are genetic elements whose movement within the genome can disrupt the function of genes. The human genome, he notes, is riddled with transposons, DNA sequences that promote genetic instability by replicating and integrating into additional chromosomal locations.

To maintain genomic integrity, cells have surveillance systems that distinguish between transposons and normal genes and epigenetically silence the transposons to prevent their replication. “Recently, my group has found that one such system, human silencing hub (HUSH), interacts with specific RNA-binding proteins that have known roles in combating retroviral integrations in the human genome,” he says.

“Now, using cutting-edge techniques in cryo-electron microscopy, biochemistry and RNA-protein interaction mapping, we will determine how RNA-binding proteins aid HUSH in the recognition of transcriptionally active transposons, how HUSH interacts with chromatin and RNA to silence these elements and how mutations in HUSH perturb these interactions.”

Given that HUSH functions as an RNA-mediated gene silencer, Kasinath adds, his work could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for treating cancers and other human diseases associated with transposon invasion, by epigenetically silencing such translocations that often result in gene fusions through with cancer can manifest.

“I am thrilled to be part of the Pew!" Kasinath says. "I have interacted with many Pew scholars who have been incredibly supportive and generous with their time. This Pew award affirms my lab’s commitment to the exciting problems we are pursuing.”

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Biochemist Vignesh Kasinath will receive four years of funding ‘to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease.'

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CU ��ý�� instructor named a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar

Kylie Clarke — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 23:45:20 +0000

CU ��ý�� instructor named a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar Kylie Clarke Wed, 07/16/2025 - 17:45

Award will allow Associate Professor Katherine Lininger to teach at the University of Trento and conduct research on the Tagliamento River floodplain in Italy

Katherine Lininger, a ��ý�� Department of Geography associate professor, has received a U.S. Fulbright Scholar award starting in fall 2025 to study and teach in Italy. The award is provided by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Scholarship Board.

The Fulbright award will allow Lininger to investigate interactions among floodplain vegetation, downed wood, water flows and sediment fluxes to better understand and predict changes in floodplains over time. With collaborators at the University of Trento, she will conduct fieldwork, geospatial analyses and numerical modeling to understand ecogeomorphic processes in the Tagliamento River floodplain in northeastern Italy.

Additionally, Lininger will lecture in courses at the University of Trento, lead field trips, give research seminars and mentor graduate students. She said her project will advance ecogeomorphic understanding of floodplains, which provide important ecosystem services, and will support her career trajectory and goals.

Katherine Lininger is an associate professor of geography whose research has mainly focused on large floodplain rivers. Her research methods include fieldwork, statistical modeling and remote sensing.

“I’m honored to take part in the Fulbright program and look forward to building internation connections and collaborations,” Lininger said. “With this award, I will work with researchers at the University of Trento in Italy, investigating interactions between river flows, sediment fluxes and plants to better understand and predict physical and ecological changes in floodplains over time. Our work will inform management and restoration of river floodplains.”

Each year, more than 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, artists and professionals with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. Notable awards received by alumni include 63 Nobel Prizes, 98 Pulitzer Prizes and 82 McArthur Fellowships.

“The benefits extend beyond the individual recipient, raising the profile of their home institutions. We hope ��ý�� can leverage Katherine Lininger’s engagement abroad to establish research and exchange relationships, connect with potential applicants and engage with your alumni in the host country,” the Fulbright Program said in its award announcement.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

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Award will allow Associate Professor Katherine Lininger to teach at the University of Trento and conduct research on the Tagliamento River floodplain in Italy.

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