Cunets$634minannualresearchfunding

University of Colorado Boulder brought in an alltime high of $634.4 million in research funding in the last fiscal year, funding studies in transportation, artificial intelligence, space, climate change and more.

Beyond the dollar amount, CU Boulder’s research enterprise translates into new businesses, workforce training and new intellectual property, said Terri Fiez, vice chancellor for research and innovation.

“We’re talking about 5,000 to 6,000 graduate students who work on these projects and who are working at the forefront of fields like artificial intelligence, quantum and electric vehicle transportation,” Fiez said. “They are being trained by the best in the world and going out to help build those industries in our state and beyond.”

Research at CU Boulder also resulted in the creation of 20 companies in the last fiscal year, Fiez said, double the number that are usually formed.

As a whole, the CU system brought in $1.45 billion in research funding across four campuses.

Projects at the Boulder campus included an international collaboration with the United Arab Emirates to send a probe to Mars, the ASPIRE Engineering Research Center to study the future of transportation and a five-year project to study the role of artificial intelligence in education and workforce development.

The funding also includes the newly-formed Navigating the New Arctic Community Office, part of a collaboration between CU Boulder, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Pacific University to support research and research partners who are studying the changing Arctic.

The funding from the National Science Foundation means the community office in Boulder can be a hub to connect research and researchers across the country and beyond, said Director Matthew Druckenmiller.

As the Arctic changes in response to climate change, researchers and research partners from Indigenous communities are looking at how to deal with food insecurity, thawing permafrost and receding sea ice.

“The community office is a connection to some of the real strengths that exist here in Boulder, ranging from climate modeling, data management, collaboration and international research,” Druckenmiller said. “There really is a long tradition of Arctic research in Boulder, and I think this community office is one more large effort in that timeline.”

The office also aims to support applied research, co-production of knowledge and working with

Indigenous communities on knowledge and data sovereignty, human rights and equity.

“The work we’re doing is really addressing a large gap in the Arctic research community,” he said.

The impact of CU Boulder’s research will be felt for years to come, Fiez said, and is best seen in the human connection that’s an essential part of research.

“These are human teams and students coming together and feeling connected, and it really influences their whole future path,” she said.