BOULDER — Former University of Colorado cross country and track and field coach Jerry Quiller, who coached 15 years and hundreds of student-athletes at the school, has passed away after fighting a battle against multiple myeloma.  He was 69.
 
Coach Q started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Colorado State University and became an assistant with CU in 1970, holding that position for four years. In 1974 he took over the reigns as a head coach at Wayne (Mich.) State. After two seasons he came back to CSU (1976-80) before heading to Idaho State (1980-85). Quiller then took over the program at CU in 1985, replacing David Troy. He coached the Buffs until 1995 when he landed his final coaching post at Army (1995-2008).
 
During his time at CU, Quiller coached the Buffs to three Big Eight Conference titles and made a dozen (men and women) appearances at the NCAA Championships. He was named the league’s coach of the year five times in that span and directed 19 All-Americans (13 men and six women), including Olympians Adam Goucher and Alan Culpepper. In 1994, CU’s men placed second and the women were fourth at nationals, earning him national coach of the year accolades.
 
The program at CU was left to the very capable hands of Mark Wetmore, who was an assistant under Quiller. The two formed a strong bond and Wetmore has a great deal of respect for him.
 
“I’ve been lucky to know many people considered to be successful…athletic champions, Olympians, wealthy people, well known or influential people. But I’m not sure I ever knew anyone more successful than Jerry Quiller,” Wetmore said. “Everywhere I have traveled, people have asked me, “What do you hear from Q?”, “Can you get me Q’s phone number?”  We had a CU Track and Field reunion a year ago, with hundreds of graduates, going back forty years. Q was surrounded all night.
 
“He was also a coach up at CSU for a time. Just last year they had a similar gathering at one of their home track meets and the same thing happened. He moved around the meet like a celebrity, with an entourage following.”
 
“Our offices were side-by-side for over a decade, and I can’t recall a single day where he wasn’t always smiling,” said David Plati, CU’s associate AD for sports information.  “He was an ‘up’ person, even throughout his battle, a ‘glass is half full kind of guy.’  He left an indelible mark on those lives he touched.”
 
Coach Q was one of the most successful coaches in Army history. Quiller guided the Army men’s and women’s cross country and track teams to 37 Patriot League titles in 13 seasons on the job. He won a Patriot League title in either cross country or track and field in each of his 13 years at the Academy and was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year an astounding 22 times. He had two more athletes, Dan Browne and Anita Allen, become Olympians as they competed in the 2004 Athens Games.
 
As one of the most successful coaches in Army history, ‘Q’ went out on top, coaching the women’s team to their first outdoor Patriot League title in 10 years and earning 2008 Women’s Outdoor Track Coach of the Year honors from the Patriot League. He also earned one last trip to the NCAA Championships as distance runner John Mickowski advanced to the national competition under his leadership.
 
Quiller, a Fort Collins, Colo. native lettered in cross country, track and field and baseball at Fort Collins High School. He was a member of the Colorado State track and field team, graduating in 1964 with a bachelor’s of science degree in physical science. He earned his master’s in education in 1966, also from CSU. He was born on April 28, 1942 in Denver. He and his wife, Sandy, had three sons, Ryan, Rory and Robb, who were all pole vaulters.
 
Everywhere Coach Q went people could see what a genuine and amazing person he was. He left his mark on everyone he met, including Gary Ozzello, the Senior Associate A.D. for External Operations at CSU.
 
“I had the chance to know Jerry during his time at CSU and in his years since CSU,” Ozzello said. “He was very passionate about track and field and about his life and his family. I have nothing but great memories in all that Jerry did and every person he touched during his life.”
 
Quiller touched many lives in his nearly 40-year coaching career, including Idaho State coach Dave Nielson who served as an assistant for Quiller during his time at ISU.
 
“Coach Q has been a mentor to me and all whose lives he touched through his actions, style, and attitude.  In this very sad time, it is comforting to know that gifts to us in life are not lost in his passing,” Nielson said.
 
Coach Q was an assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic team which competed in Sydney, Australia. The team included two of his former athletes from CU, Goucher and Culpepper. He was the U.S. men’s team coach at the 1981 world cross country championships and the women’s team coach at the same meet in 1994. Quiller also served as the distance coach for the U.S. team at the 1987 track and field world championships.
 
“He had a resume of champions and All-Americans, but that is not why he was so loved,” Wetmore explained. “Simply, he was a great guy. He had a big smile, a nickname for everyone, and an arm around their shoulders. He made people feel happy, welcome, and at home. What greater measure of success could there be?”
 
Funeral arrangements are pending.

Participants will be randomly assigned to the yoga class or a treatment as usual group.

Participants in the study will be asked to fill out questionnaires, take part in weekly classes, and complete an interview.

If you are interested in learning more about the study please contact our participant coordinator!

Contact Information

Participant Coordinator: Kyle Davis
Email: campstudy@colorado.edu
Phone: 303-735-1394

Our first annual CU Ski Day at Winter Park was a stunning success on and off the slopes. More than 150 Buffs and their families attended our après ski with free appetizers at the Derailer Bar and many more took the slopes by the storm, showing their pride with black and yellow gear. Hope to CU next year there.

CU students try their hand at slacklining on Norlin Quadrangle near Old Main.

This still image shows graphically how difficult this sport is. The video below is even more impressive.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Colorado Buffaloes invite you to attend the annual Colorado Football Preview Luncheon featuring former football student-athlete and Olympian Jeremy Bloom. Photo opportunities with special guest Jeremy Bloom and limited-edition CU black football helmets will be available for donations to the Football Excellence Fund. More details at www.CUBuffs.com/events.

Event Details

Thursday, Feb 2, 2012
Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel
11am – Doors open for Registration
11:30 am – Lunch
Noon – Program

Register Here

Nearly 80 Top Colleges Vying for Award Celebrating Love for College Hoops

CU hoop fans encouraged to vote in Naismith student section of the year

BOULDER – The University of Colorado has been nominated as one of the top college basketball student sections in the country and is asking for fan support to help win the prestigious title.  Buff fans will now have a say in determining the most deserving student section by voting for the Naismith Student Section of the Year Award.
 
By visiting www.facebook.com/ILoveCollegeHoops, Colorado fans can vote for the C-Unit as the top student section in college basketball. The Naismith Student Section of the Year Award, which is presented through a partnership of The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), a division of IMG College, and the Atlanta Tipoff Club, administrators of the Naismith Awards, is dedicated to celebrating fans that love college hoops and provide support to their college basketball team with devotion and passion.
 
“I told them they are the heartbeat of this arena, they are the difference makers,” said CU head coach Tad Boyle of the Coors Events Center crowd after a recent home victory. “The community has been great all year when the students were gone on break. To have that (student) section full was key and I just want them to know that we appreciate and we need them.”
 
Nearly 80 schools representing 21 conferences are vying for the title.
 
The Naismith Student Section of the Year Award will be determined through two rounds of public votes, combined with a scoring of finalists by the Naismith Awards Board of Selectors, which will review criteria such as the student section’s name and attendance, as well as photos, video, and a write-up submitted by the nominating school.
 
Complete details on the selection process can be found here.
 
The top 16 institutions from the public vote will move to a final round of public votes, which will occur February 13 – 24, 2012. The top eight recipients of public votes will be sent to the Naismith Awards Board of Selectors for a final vote.  The only way for your school to win is for your fans to vote.
 
The winning student section gets bragging rights, while the winning school will receive $5,000 for its athletic association.

The first Peace Corps volunteers head overseas in 1961 – read more here.

For the second straight year, the University of Colorado Boulder is ranked No. 1 in the nation for graduates serving as Peace Corps volunteers with 112 undergraduate alumni currently serving around the world, the Peace Corps announced today.

CU-Boulder is ranked the No. 5 all-time school for volunteers with 2,317 alumni who have served in the Peace Corps since it was established in 1961.

“For the second year in a row, CU-Boulder has produced more Peace Corps volunteers than any other university in the nation,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. “CU fosters civic engagement and participation, and students graduate from CU with the language and cross-cultural skills necessary to make them successful during their 27 months of Peace Corps service.”

The University of Washington ranked No. 2 for large schools this year with 110 undergraduate alumni serving. Also in the top five, in descending order, were the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Florida and the University of Michigan.

“Our No. 1 Peace Corps ranking for volunteer service is tangible evidence of something we have always known: Our students and graduates are service-oriented and down-to-earth, working tirelessly to benefit communities around the globe,” said Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “It emphasizes how CU-Boulder’s civically engaged students go on to become service-oriented citizens at home and abroad.”

The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing schools annually according to the size of the student body. Large schools have more than 15,000 undergraduates, medium-sized schools have between 5,000 and 15,000 undergraduates, and small schools have fewer than 5,000 undergraduates. The George Washington University ranked first among medium-sized schools with 78 undergraduate alumni currently serving and the University of Mary Washington ranked highest among small schools with 29 undergraduate alumni serving. The University of Florida ranked as the top producing school for graduate school alumni volunteers with 30.

Each year since 2004, CU-Boulder has ranked in the top three schools in the nation for Peace Corps volunteers — three times as the No. 2 school and four times at No. 3.

“We have a track record of attracting adventurous students who also have a hunger to serve, particularly in underdeveloped nations,” said Peter Simons, director of CU-Boulder’s Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement.

In 2010, CU-Boulder became part of the Peace Corps Master’s International program, which allows volunteers to combine Peace Corps service with a master’s degree program and receive credit for their Peace Corps service abroad.

For more information about the Peace Corps at CU-Boulder, call the campus recruiting office at 303-492-8454 or visit http://www.colorado.edu/iece/peacecorps/.

FACT SHEET

CU-Boulder Peace Corps Volunteers

• CU-Boulder is ranked No. 1 in the nation for graduates serving as Peace Corps volunteers with 112 undergraduate alumni currently serving.
• CU-Boulder is ranked the No. 5 all-time school for volunteers with 2,317 alumni who have served in the Peace Corps since it was established in 1961.
• Each year since 2004, CU-Boulder has ranked in the top three schools in the nation for Peace Corps volunteers — two times as the No. 1 school, three times as the No. 2 school and four times at No. 3.
• The Peace Corps is one of 12 campus programs overseen by CU-Boulder’s Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement.
• The CU-Boulder academic experience stresses rigorous coursework and hands-on research opportunities, enabling undergraduate and graduate students to put their knowledge to use through a variety of critical thinking, leadership development and service-learning opportunities.
• CU-Boulder is one of a select group of public and private universities nationwide participating in the Peace Corps Master’s International program.

On Jan. 28, the champion children of the Children’s Hospital will join students at Dance Marathon to celebrate their lives and the money we have raised. Please take out your phones and text MIRACLE to 27722 to support your Student Body philanthropy. Learn more at www.cudancemarathon.org.

Anthropology professor Dennis Van Gerven spoke to the CU-Boulder Alumni Association’s board of directors on Friday. He discussed his research in Nubia. The beloved professor will retire this spring after teaching for more than three decades.

Dennis Peter Van Gerven, Ph.D.

Dennis Van Gerven received his BA in Anthropology from the University of Utah in 1968. He did his graduate work at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and received his MA in 1969 and his Ph.D. in 1971. He has been a member of the Anthropology Department at the University of Colorado since 1974, and has been a President’s Teaching Scholar since 1995. He directed the University Honors Program from 1995 to 2005.

Photo printed with permission of Glenn Asakawa.

Dr. Van Gerven is a two-time winner of the Boulder Faculty Assembly Teaching Award, a three-time winner of the SOAR teaching award, the Honors Program teaching award, the Excellence in Education Outstanding Professor Award, the Teacher Recognition award, and is the 1998-99 Carnegie Foundation Colorado Teacher of the Year.

He has published widely on aspects of health and disease in ancient populations of the Nile Valley, and is known for his extensive collection of mummified human remains from Sudanese Nubia housed at the University of Colorado.

 Oedegaard’s win along with senior Vegard Kjoelhamar’s fifth place and senior Reid Pletcher’s sixth place finish enabled the Buffs to win the men’s 15K freestyle race.  But Utah was almost as equally impressive, finishing second, third and seventh to finish just two points behind the Buffaloes, 126-124. 

 Paced by senior Eliska Hajkova’s runner-up finish in the women’s 10K freestyle race, the Buffaloes did outscore Utah by 13 points, 97-84, but it wasn’t enough as the Utes had built up a 72 point lead entering the day and ended up winning by 57 points, compiling 902 points to CU’s 854 when it was all said and done. 

 Alaska Anchorage scored an impressive 133 points in the women’s race to overtake host Denver and finish third with 770 points.  The Pioneers finished fourth with 752 points while New Mexico also hit the 700-point plateau with 705, good for fifth place. 

 “This was a good weekend,” CU Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. “Not killer. But not something that I feel like we’re way out of contention, either. I feel like we’re moving in the right direction, we see glimmers of really solid performances so hopefully those will be more consistent and come together nicely.”

 Oedegaard won the men’s race by a much narrower margin than Friday’s 10K classic race, which he captured by 32.8 seconds.  Saturday his winning time of 48:14.5 seconds was just 4.1 seconds ahead of Utah’s Didrik Smith (48:18.6) and 4.7 ahead of the Utes Miles Havlick (48:19.2) as the podium finishers were all within five seconds.  Montana State’s Tyler Reinking finished fourth in a time of 48:27.8, ahead of Kjoelhamar’s fifth-place time of 48:48.0. 

 “My body felt a lot better today than yesterday,” Oedegaard said. “I tried some techniques today, I wanted to be in second place and then on the first lap I let Reid go and made the others catch up to him.  On the second lap I let Vegard go, the same thing, he got maybe a 20 second lead and the other guys had to work hard to catch him again.  I knew when the pack caught Vegard on the last lap that the other guys were tired and I had just been cruising.  I knew I had very good skis that when I made it to the top of the final hill that I would be the first one to the finish line.”

 “I felt good about the men’s race,” Cramner continued. “Obviously it was another great race for Rune.  And it was a great race for Vegard; he led a good chunk of the race and finished fifth and like yesterday, another solid performance at altitude. I think he’s coming into form and that’s helping his confidence with where his fitness level is. For Reid, that was a solid race for him.  I’m not expecting him to light it up completely yet.  All of these solid performances that are in the top 10 are pluses for him.  The other guys weren’t that far behind.”

 Pletcher’s sixth place time stood at 48:01.7 while sophomore Andreas Hoye also had an impressive day, taking home 11th place in a time of 50:09.3.  Hoye was the first racer across that wasn’t part of the top three of their respective teams accumulating team points while Ian Mallams was the second such skier across the line in a time of 50:24.4, good for 17th place.  Freshman Arnaud Du Pasquier, who finished the last part of the race with just one poll, managed a 23rd place finish in a time of 51:28.8. 

 “At the start of this race, I was leading the first 2K,” Pletcher said. “It wasn’t my plan but there wasn’t much I could do about it.  Rune was in second and he was just sitting back and he was letting me go.  I had a 15-20 meter lead which I wasn’t planning on but my teammates wouldn’t chase me and wouldn’t catch me, they were making the other teams do the work.  We’ve had some really good teamwork in the past I think we work well together and pace ourselves and use each other.”

 “It was kind of how the raced worked out,” Kjoelhamar continued. “I was first, Rune was second.  He left me a gap and I kept it and got bigger and the other teams understood they had to close it.  When they closed it, I was tired, but held on.  That’s smart skiing; the other guys have to use energy instead of us.”

 At the moment the pack caught Kjoelhamar and Oedegaard pushed on for his race victory, Pletcher also made a decision that enabled him to hold onto sixth place.

 “I started fading at the end of the second lap and the top five guys had me by 5-10 seconds,” Pletcher explained. “My goal after that was to stay with them, because there were four or five guys that could’ve caught me if I didn’t.  I saw Vegard, he was leading and got caught.  I spent a lot of the last lap trying to catch Vegard and I did right before a long hill and at that point my goal was just to stay with him so I settled in behind him and wouldn’t let him go.”

 Hoye was also the first finisher in a pack of five skiers.  Just before the skiers made a nearly 180 degree turn into the finishing lines, Hoye stood in 15th place and picked off four racers down the final straight-away. 

 Oedegaard is the first Nordic skier in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association to pull off a double victory in one meet since the end of last year when Hajkova accomplished the feat on the women’s side at the RMISA Championships.  He is the first men’s skier to do it since former Buff Matt Gelso accomplished the feat the previous season at the 2010 RMISA Championships in the midst of a five-race win streak. 

 “Rune is amazing,” Pletcher said. “I’ve been training with him all fall.  Just watching him train and do the intervals; it’s hard to keep up with him most days.  I was pretty excited to see where he was going in the race season and I think the first weekend he just had to get into it and get used to it. He’s figured it out, he knows how to pace himself, he’s getting used to altitude, which is big for him he’s used to sea level.  He’s definitely a top skier and I’m impressed to see how consistent he has been so far.”

 “Last Saturday I knew I was good enough to win, but with my pole trouble, I really wanted to show this weekend that I would’ve been there last weekend,” Oedegaard explained.

 In women’s action, Alaska Anchorage’s Jaime Brogna won the women’s race in a sprint, overtaking Hajkova just before the final turn into the finishing lines, finishing the two laps in just under 37 minutes (36:59.5) who Hajkova’s time of 37:05.1.  For Hajkova, it was her first podium appearance since winning the classical race at NCAA Championships last season, as she hasn’t had quite the start of the 2012 season as she had hoped. 

 “It was a better race for Eliska,” Cranmer said. “She was out in front for a long time and said she was feeling better, she just didn’t have the final push there.  In the high altitude races, she’s never had a great one, so this was a good performance.  Everybody wants to win, but it was a good race.”

 “It was still pretty hard,” Hajkova said. “I have problems racing at this altitude when you compare my results here with lower altitude races.  Especially without Joanne (Reid) this weekend, I had high expectations and I get tight.  Today, I just tried to relax, the first lap I skied for my dad and the second lap for Bruce, it always helps me when I think about what I’m doing and not just ski like crazy.”

 Hajkova’s worst performance a season ago was a fourth place finish and Saturday’s second place finish was her first result this year better than fourth. 

 “This helps my confidence for sure,” Hajkova said. “After yesterday, I wasn’t sure if I could even ski as fast as last season.  Yesterday I had bad luck with skis; I had no kick and was getting frustrated.  At the end of the day when I was thinking about everything, I ended up just getting mad and that gave me energy for today’s race, it helped me a lot and I feel a lot better now.”

 En route to their dominant performance, the Seawolves also took home third and fifth place, third being Laura Rombach (37:23.6) while Steffi Hiemer (37:53.9) was edged out by New Mexico’s Clara Chauvet (37:32.4) for fourth place. 

 Junior Mary Rose finished in 16th place in a time of 39:19.8, earning 25 team points for the Buffaloes while senior Katie Stege finished 24th in a time of 41:28.6.  Freshman Marianne Madsen finished 29th in a time of 44:00.2. 

 “It was a good race for Mary with where she’s been in the past,” Cranmer said. “She’s still in the middle of the pack and I want her to bust through and make a race like today a top 10 finish.  But it’s not like she’s just going to start finishing in the top five, it’s a step-by-step process.  We’re certainly looking for her to be a qualifier, but I’m sure she will have to have some better finishes than around 15 to make that happen.”

 Next up for all the RMISA skiers will be a pair of meets in Alaska over eight days from February 4-11.  The Nordic teams will begin the action with a 5K interval start freestyle race for both genders on Feb. 4 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.  Nordic teams will also be in action Feb. 6, Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 while the alpine teams will race four straight days from Feb. 8-11.  At that point the regular season will be finished, minus an RMISA Alpine Qualifier race on Feb. 23 the day before the start of the RMISA Championships. 

 The Buffs will look to get a good solid week of training in and then rest a bit in preparation for their trip to sea level in Anchorage.  But for the most part the Buffs are looking forward to continue their season in Alaska. 

 “I raced in Alaska three years ago,” Hajkova said.  “The trails are hard and there are a ton of ups and downs.  At sea level, your muscles don’t hurt, you can just go for it.  Plus there’s one place on the trails where you can see the ocean and if feels like you’re skiing on the beach and I love that.”

 “We need to stay healthy or get healthy and do some training, but not too hard,” Kjoelhamar said. “I usually get in better shape at lower altitude, so I want to use those races to get in better shape and then hopefully I’m peaking for the two races in Montana (at NCAA Championships) to end the season.” 

 “We need to rest and get some volume in and try not to peak right now performance wise,” Pletcher added.  “It’s January and we’re looking for March.  We’ll keep training and resting and work our way into peaking hopefully in March.”

DU INVITATIONAL TEAM SCORING (FINAL)—1. Utah 902; 2. Colorado 845; 3. Alaska Anchorage 770; 4. Denver 752; 5. New Mexico 705; 6. Montana State 643; 7. Westminster College 346; 8. Wyoming 120; 9. Colorado Mountain College 87.

MEN’S 15K FREESTYLE (34 College Finishers)—1. Rune Oedegaard, CU, 48:14.5; 2. Didrik Smith, UU, 48:18.6; 3. Miles Havlick, UU, 48:19.2; 4. Tyler Reinking, MSU, 48:27.8; 5. Vegard Kjoelhamar, CU, 48:48.0; 6. Reid Pletcher, CU, 49:01.7; 7. Michael Schallinger, MSU, 49:16.7; 8. Tom Smith, UU, 49:34.0; 9. Andrew Dougherty, DU, 49:37.9; 10. Lukas Ebner, UAA, 49:43.5.  Other CU Finishers: 11. Andreas Hoye, 50:09.3; 17. Ian Mallams, 50:42.4; 23. Arnaud Du Pasquier, 51:28.8.

WOMEN’S 10K FREESTYLE (30 College Finishers)—1. Jaime Brogna, UAA, 36:59.5; 2. Eliska Hajkova, CU, 37:05.1; 3. Laura Rombach, UAA, 37:23.6; 4. Clara Chauvet, UNM, 37:32.4; 5. Steffi Hiemer, UAA, 37:53.9; 6. Kate Dolan, DU, 37:58.4; 7. Rose Kemp, UU, 38:01.4; 8. Makayla Cappel, DU, 38:04.9; 9. Casey Kutz, MSU, 38:06.2; 10. Linn Klaesson, UNM, 38:19.0. Other CU Finishers: 16. Mary Rose, 39:19.8; 24. Katie Stege, 41:28.6; 29. Marianne Madsen, 44:00.2. 

Aaron S. Williams

Peace Corps director Aaron Williams will be on campus Jan. 25. He will speak for 10 minutes to announce CU-Boulder’s Peace Corps ranking this year, following by a video and a volunteer sharing her/his experience. All welcome at 1:30 to hear him in the Old Main Chapel.

Contact Peter Simons at peter.simons@colorado.edu for more details.

PLEASE NOTE – THIS NEWS ITEM IS FOR THE 2012 SPRING SEMESTER.

Go here for most-current information.

Are you a Colorado resident 55 and over?  Satisfy your curiosity and learn something new with the Senior Auditors Program at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The program, sponsored by the CU-Boulder Alumni Association, allows seniors to audit CU-Boulder classes tuition-free.  Registration for CU-Boulder spring semester courses will take place Monday, Jan. 23 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesday, Jan. 24  from 8 a.m. to noon at the Koenig Alumni Center, 1202 University, at the southeast corner of Broadway and University.  Free parking is available on a limited basis in the Koenig lot.

Although tuition is free, there is a $25 fee to defray the Alumni Association’s administrative expenses. Participants do not need to be CU graduates.

This program gives Colorado’s senior citizens the opportunity to attend classes on the CU-Boulder campus. Participants should check online first for the list of CU-Boulder classes offered for spring 2012 at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/coursesearch/.

Auditors must obtain permission from professors to audit courses. Classes began Jan. 17, so the Alumni Association recommends auditors attend classes to obtain permission to audit from professors at that time. Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Korean, Farsi, Portuguese and Hindi courses cannot be audited. Please check with the Alumni Association for the complete list of classes not available. Regular tuition-paying students have priority over auditors.  Senior Auditors do not earn academic credit for courses taken.

The Senior Auditors Program was established by the Board of Regents in 1973 and has grown to involve about 500 participants annually.  For more information, call the Alumni Association at 303-492-8484 or visit www.cualum.org/seniorauditor/.

Students arrived Jan.17  for the start of spring semester classes. The morning was a frigid 8 degrees with the day hovering around freezing.

It has been said a journey of a thousand footsteps begins with one step. Starting out from CU-Boulder with a bachelor’s in political science, I have found myself halfway around the world after two master’s degrees, a brief United Nations mission and a nearly completed PhD in international commercial arbitration law in Australia. All this after considerable overseas sojourns to all of the world’s continents except Antarctica.  

My intercontinental travel began in Sweden through CU study abroad in Uppsala in the academic year 1997-1998. This first study abroad trip led to four more in Egypt, Malta, the United Kingdom and Australia, also including  a European study tour and a collection of overseas conferences. 

At the time, Sweden represented to me a hitherto unchartered frontier: long-term international travel in an entirely new culture. Fourteen years later, travel has become a way of life. The rigors and challenges of post-graduate studies in a foreign culture sharpened my intellect and refined my analytical skills. Through my many discussions and friendships I came to a better understanding of global affairs. The best part of my studies in Sweden was traveling to Aland Island for a human rights law conference. It was here that the seeds for my future career were planted. 

Growing up with an amazing father who was a CU professor of anthropology, Boulos Ayad, broadened my horizons. I listened to slide shows of his colleagues showing all the places in the world they had been – this broadened my view.

After completing coursework for my first master’s degree in international management (2003) specializing in intercultural relations, I decided that there was no better place for me to do my graduate practicum than in Cairo. I chose the Egyptian capital because my parents were born there, I speak the language (Arabic) fluently, have some familiarity with the culture and have relatives and family friends there.

Thinking I would only stay for six months, I stayed for three-and-a-half years, plus another six months. One of the best aspects of my trip to Egypt was that one of my uncles, Sam, is a very talented lawyer and in the course of our conversations he encouraged me to study law. Considering I was initially a pre-law-political science graduate but applied my degree to train for a career as a diplomat, I came to the conclusion that I much prefer law.

My long-term stay in Egypt and my cultural immersion (exponentially enriched by my background) gave me tremendous insights into the legal culture, which are now entirely relevant in my current PhD research. While in Cairo, I worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Office of Refugee Resettlement. I accessed cases on the basis of criteria (legal and policy) for resettlement. Hearing firsthand accounts of war further solidified my commitment to human rights law and to the peaceful resolution of disputes. I then applied for a course in international human rights law in Malta for seven months of coursework. I was so inspired by this course that I began to consider going even further into legal studies.  My second semester component of the Malta law course was in Oxford and it was there that I decided that I would do a PhD in international business law, specializing in international arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution.

 Oxford is known as the city of dreaming spires for a reason. The air is imbued with inspiration.  One day while walking on the high street I went into Waterstone’s Bookstore and found my way to the second floor where the law books were. I took an introduction to business law textbook off the shelf and read a few cases of early oil concession arbitrations. It was then that I decided that would be the topic of my PhD dissertation.

I have been in Australia now for a little over three years. In the course of doing my PhD I’ve had some great experiences. In June I traveled to Madrid to receive an award for a paper regarding legislating trust between European investors and Arab states in a competition sponsored by the International Mercantile Court of Spain and several other organizations. I presented my paper before 40 Spanish King’s Counsel and the secretary general of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

One of the best experiences I have had in Australia has been mentoring and coaching law students. The Macquarie team has competed against Ivy League and Big Eight Law schools  in the U.S. I learned more about the law and about courage and perseverance under pressure from the three students who were on the 2010 and 2011 teams through the course of watching them compete and in our preparations than from much of my reading. 

The most amazing thing about this experience was not so much winning over the other teams as it was a chance for me to share my mentoring and coaching skills which I learned first and foremost from my dad who  and from my uncle Sam in Egypt. It is experiences like this that create a valuable purpose for advanced legal knowledge, to mentor and nurture the next generation as my father and my Uncle Sam, as well as countless professors have done for me.

Overall, the value of all of my international experience is so priceless it really is beyond tangible expression. I can say that in terms of expertise in my area of international law, it gives me a highly specialized niche of skill and thus a significant edge in terms of insights and legal analysis as a result of the practicality of my experiences.

I have not been learning all of my legal knowledge in an ivory tower but rather through practical experience. I was able to give two radio interviews, an online news interview and  write an editorial opinion  with an Australian Senior Counsel regarding the constitutionality of the Egyptian revolution, for example, as a result not only of my legal knowledge of Egypt but of having lived there for several years. I attribute my career strengths, expertise, skills and knowledge to a considerable degree to my international travels which include Europe, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

Mary Boulos Ayad (PolSci’94) is a PhD candidate in  international commercial arbitration law and international investment arbitration law at Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia. She has two master’s, one in human rights law and the other in intercultural relations international management.  She’s a member of the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and the student affiliate of the chartered institute of arbitrators.

In case you thought you had read it all, check out the New York Times article on Forever Buff Jon Turk (on the left) (PhDChem’71) who, with a partner, Erik Boomer,  completed what is believed to be the first circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island, which is opposite Greenland and the most mountainous island in the Arctic Circle.

Read the rest at NYTimes.com.

Anne Sheehan, a CU-Boulder professor and fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, monitors a GPS station near Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado. A new study shows that the the Rio Grande Rift that extends through Colorado and New Mexico is seismically active and could lead to earthquakes. Photo courtesy Ane Sheehan, University of Colorado

The Rio Grande Rift, a thinning and stretching of Earth’s surface that extends from Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains to Mexico, is not dead but geologically alive and active, according to a new study involving scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

“We don’t expect to see a lot of earthquakes, or big ones, but we will have some earthquakes,” said CU-Boulder geological sciences Professor Anne Sheehan, also a fellow at CIRES. The study also involved collaborators from the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Tech, Utah State University and the Boulder-headquartered UNAVCO. The Rio Grande Rift follows the path of the Rio Grande River from central Colorado roughly to El Paso before turning southeast toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Sheehan was not too surprised when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck about 9 miles west of Trinidad, Colo., in the vicinity of the Rio Grande Rift on Aug. 23, 2011. The quake was the largest in Colorado since 1967 and was felt from Fort Collins to Garden City, Kan.

Along the rift, spreading motion in the crust has led to the rise of magma — the molten rock material under Earth’s crust — to the surface, creating long, fault-bounded basins that are susceptible to earthquakes, said Sheehan, a study co-author and also associate director of the CIRES Solid Earth Sciences Division. The team studied the Rio Grande Rift region to assess the potential earthquake hazards.

Using Global Positioning System instruments at 25 sites in Colorado and New Mexico, the team tracked the rift’s miniscule movements from 2006 to 2011. “Questions we wanted to answer are whether the Rio Grande Rift is alive or dead, how is it deforming and whether it is opening or not,” said Sheehan.

The high-precision instrumentation has provided unprecedented data about the volcanic activity in the region. Previously, geologists had estimated the rift had spread apart by up to 2 inches or 5 millimeters each year, although the errors introduced by the scientific instruments were known to be significant. “The GPS used in this study has reduced the uncertainty dramatically,” Sheehan said.

Using the latest high-tech instrumentation, the scientists found an average strain rate of 1.2 “nanostrain” each year across the experimental area, the equivalent of about one-twentieth of an inch, or 1.2 millimeters, over a length of about 600 miles. “The rate is lower than we thought but it does exist,” Sheehan said.

The researchers also found the extensional deformation, or stretching, is not concentrated in a narrow zone centered on the Rio Grande Rift but is distributed broadly from the western edge of the Colorado Plateau well into the western Great Plains. “The surprising thing to come out of the study was that the strain was so spread out,” Sheehan said.

Results of the study are published in the January edition of the journal Geology.

The team plans to continue monitoring the Rio Grande Rift, probing whether the activity remains constant over time, said lead study author Henry Berglund of UNAVCO, who was a graduate student at CU-Boulder working at CIRES when he completed this portion of the research. Also, the team may attempt to determine vertical as well as horizontal activity in the region to tell whether the Rocky Mountains are still uplifting or not, Berglund said.

“Present-day measurements of deformation within continental interiors have been difficult to capture due to the typically slow rates of deformation within them,” Berglund said. “Now with the recent advances in space geodesy we are finding some very surprising results in these previously unresolved areas.”

As far as the potential for future earthquakes in the region, the study’s results are unequivocal, however. “The rift is still active,” Sheehan said.

The new study also is co-authored by CU-Boulder Associate Professor and CIRES Fellow Steven Nerem, Frederick Blume of UNAVCO, Anthony Lowry of Utah State University, Mousumi Roy of the University of New Mexico and Mark Murray of New Mexico Tech.

The National Science Foundation provided the funding for this study and the NSF-funded EarthScope program and UNAVCO provided instruments, equipment and engineering services. The Boulder-headquartered UNAVCO is a nonprofit, university-governed consortium that facilitates geosciences research and education.

A team of researchers led by the University of Colorado Boulder has used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to uncover a cluster of galaxies in the initial stages of construction — the most distant such grouping ever observed in the early universe.

In a random sky survey made in near-infrared light, Hubble spied five small galaxies clustered together 13.1 billion light-years away. They are among the brightest galaxies at that epoch and very young, living just 600 million years after the universe’s birth in the Big Bang. One light-year is about 6 trillion miles.

Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the universe, comprising hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity. The developing cluster, or protocluster, presumably will grow into one of today’s massive galactic “cities” comparable to the nearby Virgo cluster, a collection of more than 2,000 galaxies.

“These galaxies formed during the earliest stages of galaxy assembly, when galaxies had just started to cluster together,” says the study’s leader, Michele Trenti, a research associate at CU-Boulder’s Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy and a newly appointed scientist at the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. “The result confirms our theoretical understanding of the buildup of galaxy clusters. And Hubble is just powerful enough to find the first examples of them at this distance.”

Trenti will present his results Jan. 10 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas. The study will appear in the Feb. 10 issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

Most galaxies in the universe live in groups and clusters, and astronomers have probed many mature “galactic cities” in detail as far as 11 billion light-years away. But finding clusters in the early phases of construction has been challenging because they are rare, dim and widely scattered across the sky.

“Records are always exciting, and this is the earliest and the most distant developing galaxy cluster that has ever been seen,” said CU-Boulder Professor Michael Shull of the astrophysical and planetary sciences department, a member of the observing team. “We have seen individual galaxies this old and far away, but we have not seen groups of them in the construction process before.”

Last year, a group of astronomers uncovered one distant developing cluster. Led by Peter L. Capak of NASA’s Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, the astronomers discovered a galactic grouping 12.6 billion light-years away with a variety of telescopes, including Hubble. Spectroscopic observations were made with the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to confirm the cluster’s distance by measuring how much its light has been stretched by the expansion of space.

Trenti’s team used the sharp-eyed Wide Field Camera 3 to hunt for the elusive catch. “We need to look in many different areas because the odds of finding something this rare are very small,” Trenti said. “It’s like playing a game of Battleship: The search is hit and miss. Typically a region has nothing, but if we hit the right spot we can find multiple galaxies.”

Because these distant, fledgling clusters are so dim, the team hunted for the systems’ brightest galaxies. These bright lights act as billboards, advertising cluster construction zones, according to the team. Galaxies at early epochs don’t live alone. From simulations, the astronomers expect galaxies to be clustered together.

Because brightness correlates with mass, the most luminous galaxies pinpoint the location of developing clusters. These powerful light beacons live in deep wells of dark matter, which form the underlying structure in which galaxy clusters form, Trenti said. The team expects many fainter galaxies that were not seen in these observations to inhabit the same neighborhood.

The five bright galaxies spotted by Hubble are about one-half to one-tenth the size of our Milky Way, yet are comparable in brightness. The galaxies are bright and massive because they are being fed lots of gas through mergers with other galaxies, Trenti said. The team’s simulations show that the galaxies will eventually merge and form the brightest central galaxy in the cluster, a giant elliptical similar to the Virgo Cluster’s M87.

The observations demonstrate the progressive buildup of galaxies and provide further support for the hierarchical model of galaxy assembly, in which small objects accrete mass, or merge, to form bigger objects over a smooth and steady but dramatic process of collision and agglomeration. Astronomers have likened the process to streams merging into tributaries, then into rivers and to a bay.

Hubble looked in near-infrared light because ultraviolet and visible light from distant objects have been stretched into near-infrared wavelengths by the expansion of space in these extremely distant galaxies. The observations are part of the Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies or BoRG survey, which is using Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 to search for the brightest galaxies around 13 billion years ago, when light from the first stars burned off a fog of cold hydrogen in a process called reionization.

The team estimated the distance to the newly spied galaxies based on their colors, but the astronomers plan to follow up with spectroscopic observations to confirm their distance.

Without spectroscopic observations, it’s not clear whether the observed galaxies are gravitationally bound yet. The average distance between them is likely comparable to that of the galaxies in the Local Group, consisting of two large spiral galaxies, the Milky Way and Andromeda, and a few dozen small dwarf galaxies.

These observations are pushing Hubble to the limit of its ability. This region, however, will be prime country for future telescopes such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, an infrared observatory scheduled to launch later this decade. Webb will see farther into the infrared, allowing it to hunt for even earlier stages of galaxy assembly within 300 million years of the Big Bang.

Shull, also a faculty member at CU-Boulder’s Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, said the research team will receive an additional 260 orbits of observation time on Hubble to continue the search for more of the fledgling galaxy clusters as part of the BoRG survey. “There is high interest right now in learning if Earth is unique in the universe in its ability to host life,” he said. “Similarly, we are interested to see if these ancient, forming galaxy clusters we have identified are unique, or if there are others out there. I expect that we may find a few more.”

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute, or STScI, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the galaxies visit the news center at http://hubblesite.org/. For more information on CU-Boulder’s CASA visit http://casa.colorado.edu/.

As a new year and the spring semester begin, the University of Colorado Boulder is welcoming the first class of journalism students entering under a new undergraduate degree structure called “Journalism Plus” that CU officials say will create better journalists, better news content and, over time, a more informed society.

Currently, more than 45 new students are expected to enroll for spring semester under the new Journalism Plus requirements. Journalism Plus stipulates that students supplement their journalism degree requirements with an additional field of study in a specific arts and sciences discipline, an approach that Journalism Director Chris Braider says will make better journalists and communication professionals, better university students and better citizens.

“Journalism Plus ensures that the journalists and communicators CU produces will not only possess the updated skills they need to create and deliver messages, but will also possess the analytical abilities, research tools and knowledge of a subject to communicate something of value in those messages,” Braider said. “Our students will understand, with depth and context, the content they will create as journalists. We think this will set them apart from other journalism programs across the nation.”

Journalism and Mass Communication will continue to grant the Bachelor of Science degree in one of five sequences: advertising, broadcast news, broadcast production, media studies and news-editorial. Under the new requirements, students also will enroll in a 30- to 33-credit-hour additional field of study, the equivalent of work in a major in a discipline of their choice — anything from English, physics and history to political science, environmental studies or film studies.

Students admitted prior to spring 2012 have until May of 2016 to earn a degree under the former requirements, or they can elect to complete the Journalism Plus degree requirements.

The changes, say CU-Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore, were deliberate and in line with CU’s larger goals for its students.

“We want CU-Boulder students to be both knowledgeable and engaged in the world they live in,” said Moore. “So the goal for us was never to make journalism go away, but to pair it with a discipline that would add the depth of knowledge of a liberal arts degree to the skills developed in a journalism curriculum. I think this is going to answer a call we’ve heard from media professionals — don’t just send us skilled graduates, send us graduates who can interpret and understand the information they gather with some depth and context.”

At a practical level, Braider says, this will mean better, more contextual reporting to inform and shape our democratic society.

“In this model, science writers will possess first-hand knowledge of the sciences they report on,” Braider said. “Reporters covering government or business will bring an in-depth knowledge of political science and economics to the events they chronicle. Advertisers and graphic designers will explore the full range of expressive arts on which their professions rely.”

As Journalism Plus is implemented, more students will be admitted directly to Journalism and Mass Communication as freshmen.

The university is continuing on a path to creating a new interdisciplinary college or school of information, communications, journalism, media and technology, which will one day house journalism and companion disciplines in an environment of sharing, innovation and scholarship.

Journalism and Mass Communication continues to be accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education for Journalism and Mass Communications. In two years, the accrediting council will make a determination on accreditation for the following four years.

Photo Courtesy: B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor

BOULDER – It came only two games into an 18-game Pac-12 Conference schedule, but it was a huge early test nonetheless – and the Colorado Buffaloes aced it. 

CU overcame an erratic start Thursday night to dispose of Washington 87-69 at the Coors Events Center, winning for the fifth consecutive time and remaining unbeaten in the Pac-12.

“I thought that was a really good win for our program, for where we are right now . . . I have such respect for Lorenzo Romar and the Washington program; they’ve got good players,” said Buffs coach Tad Boyle, who after his team’s 40-point blowout of Utah last weekend in the conference opener had termed UW’s upcoming visit a “measuring stick” for his program.

With that in mind, the Buffs measured up nicely, particularly in the areas of composing themselves after falling behind 7-0, overtaking the Huskies by halftime with determined defense, then never allowing their talented visitors back in the game.

“You’ve got to give credit to Colorado,” Romar said. “They guarded us. We got out to a 14-5 lead and then they really clamped down defensively. They made shot after shot. They were very efficient offensively; they did a great job.”

The Buffs (10-4, 2-0) got significant contributions from everyone who started or left the bench. Five CU players scored in double figures, topped by senior Carlon Brown’s 18. Freshmen guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker adding 13 and 12, respectively. Seniors Austin Dufault and Nate Tomlinson chipped in 13 and 11. And sophomore Andre Roberson got his conference-leading rebounding average (12) along with eight points.

But the Buffs’ list of contributors kept going. Junior Sabatino Chen was instrumental in the first-half rally, hitting three twisting layups. Sophomore Jeremy Adams also had six points and five rebounds, playing what Boyle termed Adams’ “best game as a Buff.” Sophomore Shane Harris-Tunks didn’t score, but made a pair of blocks and two steals against one of the Pac-12 most athletic teams.

The Huskies (8-6, 2-1) were led by Tony Wroten’s 21. C.J. Wilcox (19) and Terrence Ross (13) were the only other UW players in double figures.

The Buffs controlled the opening tip then proceeded to lose control for their next three possessions, committing three consecutive turnovers that helped send the Huskies quickly up 7-0 and on their way to a 14-5 lead.

“I was telling everybody to relax and handle the pressure – that’s what (the Huskies) do,” Brown said. “It’s nothing we haven’t seen or been through in practice. Just calm down and play our game; we kind of played into their hands, speeding up and not taking care of the ball. Once those first five to seven minutes were behind us, we were able to show our true game and what we’re made of.”

It was the right stuff, but it took long enough to materialize.

CU didn’t score until Brown hit a layup and was fouled just under 4 minutes into the game.  Yet once the Buffs calmed themselves, their shoddy start was forgotten.

Trailing by nine, they launched a 7-0 run and closed to 14-12 on Dinwiddie’s trey with 11:29 before the break. Chen hit the first of his three acrobatic layups to tie the score at 16-16, and CU took its first lead (19-16) on a three-point play by Adams.

“Our bench played great,” Brown said. “‘Sab’ did his thing with his spin move. He’s a hard guy to guard, and I’m sure they hadn’t scouted him . . . then Jeremy and Shane had some big (plays). Hats off to them; we gave a lot of credit to them at halftime and after the game. I’m glad they were ready when their numbers were called.”
Then it was Brown’s turn again. After the Huskies had regained a one-point lead, Brown submitted an early season highlight reel entry. He beat the shot clock by passing to himself off the backboard, catching the ball and sinking a layup to push the Buffs back up by one, 23-22.

And over the first half’s final 4:43, Brown scored eight of the last 11 points to help CU take a 40-30 halftime lead – its largest advantage of the opening half. Fortunately, CU’s first half finish bore no resemblance to its start.

“We started the game a little frazzled,” Boyle said. “But our defense created offense for us . . . we showed good heart and unbelievable toughness.”

After hitting only two of their first seven shots, the Buffs finished the half shooting 47.1 percent (16-of-34) from the field, and the game at 49.1 (27-of-55). The Huskies, meanwhile, were held to 32.5 percent (13-of-40) in the first 20 minutes and finished at 37.5 (27-of-72).

CU didn’t open the second half error-free, but at least through the miscues focus was never lost. The Huskies switched to a 2-3 zone less than 5 minutes into the half, but the Buffs stayed patient and got a stretch of six consecutive free throws – two each by Dinwiddie, Dufault and Roberson – to open a 14-point lead (57-43) with 12:34 remaining.

Boyle said UW going to the zone “really helped us . . . I don’t know if they were tired or what.” But Booker made the visitors pay. When the advantage went to 63-43 on back-to-back treys by Booker, the Huskies had two choices – one of them being to roll over.

They didn’t, but it didn’t matter.

CU maintained its composure, getting a third trey from Booker, one from Tomlinson and a transition layup from Dinwiddie to open a 22-point lead – 72-50 – with 7:11 to play.

UW never got closer than 17 points in the final 8:27, and CU’s largest lead of the night was 24 points. If it was an advantage that perhaps surprised the Buffs, it undoubtedly served as a confidence builder.

“It was a big victory for us, a confidence boost,” Roberson said. “I feel like we’re a top contender in this league, and if we keep striving in practice we’ll be where we want to be.”

Brown, however, added perspective. “You can take confidence (from the win), but if we sit here and say, ‘We beat Washington,’ but we come out and lose Saturday, what does that mean? We have to take this win and be happy about it, but in this conference you turn around and play the next day. We’ll come to work (Friday) and get ready for Saturday.”

The Buffs conclude their eight-game home stand on Saturday (2 p.m., FSN) against Washington State, which lost 62-60 Thursday night in overtime at Utah. Tickets, with prices starting at $10, can be purchased at CUBuffs.com/tickets or by calling 303-49-BUFFS.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU

Official box score

Exhibit by internationally recognized artist

brings together art, science, lichens and “footprints of the sky”

Jan. 17-Aug. 8, 2012

Boulder, CO.– Art, science, lichens, smog, a 16’ video wall, emissions testing, paintings, photographs, puzzles, sculpture, stickers, statistics, and metaphors come together in a timely and thought-provoking exhibit “the invisible connectedness of things,” January 17 – August 8, 2012. The exhibition was created by internationally recognized, Los Angeles-based visual artist Kim Abeles, whose work has been shown in 22 countries.

This multi-faceted art/science/transportation exhibit explores the impacts that our transportation choices have on Boulder’s air quality. It was inspired by the spectacular structure, colors and longevity of lichens and the fact that they are biomonitors of pollution. Abeles notes that lichens are collected and studied in the lab to compare carbon, lead, and other pollutants and she writes, “Once you really look at lichens, you never see the world the same again.”

The project has been created over the last year in collaboration with atmospheric scientists, emissions specialists, lichenologists, transportation professionals and middle and high school students, among others. The exhibit is commissioned by EcoArts Connections (EAC) and co-presented by the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History and EAC in collaboration with Envirotest – Air Care Colorado, Manhattan Middle School and Spark: UCAR Science Education at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Patrick Kociolek, director of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, explains, “The museum is excited to provide the venue for Kim Abeles’ work. She has an extraordinary ability to make the invisible, visible, and to make what we take for granted appear freshly before our eyes.” Marda Kirn, EAC Executive Director, adds “Connecting Abeles over this past year with community participants, and seeing the works she has created, I am constantly amazed at how she captures the essence of complex topics so deeply, and with such a wry, mischievous sense of humor and compassionate love of life.”

To create the invisible connectedness of things Abeles gathered information from science experts and the community, she experienced Boulder’s transportation choices first hand, by riding the bus, morning and night, and observing walkers, biker and sk8ers. She chose the RTD 206 bus route because it includes a stop at Manhattan Middle School, and gave her the opportunity to study riders of all ages as they rode through urban, suburban, and rural areas. With Abeles’ guidance 80 Manhattan Middle School science and art students created many of the “smog collector” plates for the exhibition.

The smog collector process

“Smog collectors” create images from polluted air. A stencil is created and placed on plates and then exposed to the air. When the stencil is removed an image is revealed from collected smog. Manhattan Middle School students’ plates were placed on top of the school roof for seven months, collecting particulate matter from Boulder’s air.

The plates will be on display, divided among the various exhibition sites. Photographs of all of the plates will be published together in a book created by Abeles and available at all the exhibition sites. As the Green Museum website explains of Abeles’ past work, “Smog Collector images have been described by others as ‘footprints of the sky.’ Since the worst in the air can’t be seen, Smog Collectors are both literal and metaphoric depictions of the current conditions of our life source.”

Through the invisible connectedness of things, Abeles hopes to “inspire people to be more attentive to nature, to see the links between art and science, and to encourage people to use their sustainable transportation options.” With her artwork deeply rooted in facts and observable evidence, she says, “sometimes if you think of things in a more poetic sense, it affects you more deeply.”

Learn more.

About Kim Abeles

Kim Abeles’ installations and community projects cross disciplines and media to explore broad social issues. Her work brings together biography, geography and environment. She has created artwork in conjunction with a unique range of collaborators such as the Bureau of Automotive Repair, Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, California Science Center, Natural History museums in California and Colorado, and the Lakota Indians of South Dakota. In 1987, she innovated a method to create images from the smog in the air, and Smog Collectors brought her work to national and international attention.  

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder could be a wake-up call for parents of toddlers: Daytime naps for your kids may be more important than you think.

The study shows toddlers between 2 and a half and 3 years old who miss only a single daily nap show more anxiety, less joy and interest and a poorer understanding of how to solve problems, said CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Monique LeBourgeois, who led the study. The results indicate insufficient sleep alters the facial expressions of toddlers — exciting events are responded to less positively and frustrating events are responded to more negatively, she said.

“Many young children today are not getting enough sleep, and for toddlers, daytime naps are one way of making sure their ‘sleep tanks’ are set to full each day,” she said. “This study shows insufficient sleep in the form of missing a nap taxes the way toddlers express different feelings, and, over time, may shape their developing emotional brains and put them at risk for lifelong, mood-related problems.”

LeBourgeois and her colleagues assessed the emotional expressions of healthy, nap-deprived toddlers one hour after their normal nap time, and tested them again on another day following their normal nap. The study, believed to be the first to look at the experimental effects of missing sleep on the emotional responses of young children, indicates the loss of a nap — in this case in just 90 minutes — may make toddlers unable to take full advantage of exciting and interesting experiences and to adapt to new frustrations, she said.  

“Just like good nutrition, adequate sleep is a basic need that gives children the best chance of getting what is most important from the people and things they experience each day,” said LeBourgeois of the integrative physiology department.

In the study, the toddlers’ faces were videotaped while they performed “kid-friendly” picture puzzles, including those of farm animals, sea creatures and insects.  One puzzle each child worked had all of the correct pieces, which gave him or her the opportunity to experience and express positive emotion, she said.  A second puzzle had a “wrong” piece and therefore was frustrating to the toddlers in the study because it was unsolvable.

Facial expressions of the toddlers were coded on a second-by-second basis for emotions like joy, interest, excitement, sadness, anger, anxiety, disgust, shame and confusion.

The study showed nap-deprived toddlers completing the solvable puzzles had a 34 percent decrease in positive emotional responses compared to the same children completing similar puzzles after their usual midday naps. The study also showed a 31 percent increase in negative emotional responses of nap-deprived toddlers when they attempted to complete unsolvable puzzles when compared with puzzle-solving attempts after they had napped.

In addition, the study found a 39 percent decrease in the expression of “confusion” when nap-deprived toddlers attempted to put together unsolvable puzzles. “Confusion is not bad — it’s a complex emotion showing a child knows something does not add up,” said LeBourgeois. “When well-slept toddlers experience confusion, they are more likely to elicit help from others, which is a positive, adaptive response indicating they are cognitively engaged with their world.”

A paper on the subject recently appeared online and will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Sleep Research.  Co-authors included Rebecca Berger and Ronald Seifer of Bradley Hospital in East Providence, R.I., Alison Miller of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Stephanie Cares of Boston College. The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.  The study participants were from Providence, R.I.

“The non-adaptive emotional effects we saw in toddlers who missed a single nap make us wonder how young kids who consistently don’t get enough sleep deal with their complicated social worlds,” said LeBourgeois, who undertook the study with colleagues while at Brown University.

The toddlers were kept on a strict sleep schedule of at least 12 and a half hours of nighttime and daytime sleep for at least five days before the emotion-testing sessions. Having children follow a set sleep schedule before testing is important because it synchronizes their circadian cycles and makes sure the participants are well-slept prior to the nap and no-nap emotional assessments.

“A sleepy child in a classroom or daycare environment may not be able to engage with others and benefit from positive interactions,” she said. “Their coping skills decrease and they may be more prone to tantrums or frustration, which would affect how other children and adults interact with them.  This study shows that missing even a single nap causes them to be less positive, more negative and have decreased cognitive engagement.”

Similar interactions in the home setting could affect parent-child relationships and a child’s quality of life, LeBourgeois said.

The toddlers in the study all wore devices on their wrists that measured their sleep patterns. The parents also kept daily diaries documenting their toddlers’ sleep.

“The goal of our study was to understand how losing sleep affects the way young kids respond emotionally to their world,” said LeBourgeois. “This is important because toddlerhood is a sensitive period for developing strategies to cope with emotions and a time children naturally lose some sleep as they begin giving up their daytime naps.”

Le Bourgeois and her colleagues are now recruiting 40 families with 2-year-olds from the Boulder area for a toddler-sleep study that involves how sleep restriction may affect not only emotion, but also higher levels of cognition known as executive function, which includes working memory and inhibitory control. “These are the building blocks for lifelong learning,” she said.

LeBourgeois currently has eight undergraduates working in her CU-Boulder lab. “My students are incredible,” she said. “The work we do here gives them a hands-on opportunity to learn about research with children and families, to think critically, and to analyze and present their findings at scientific meetings. They are very important to me, and their insight and passion keep me young.”

Whether you live in Shanghai or San Francisco, there are many ways to engage with CU-Boulder and our 270,000-strong Forever Buffs family. Get involved in the following ways:

• Network with other Forever Buffs through our dozens of alumni groups around the nation and world and online through Facebook and Twitter at www.cualum.org/social;
• Celebrate your CU pride by attending our events and pregame parties before athletic games in Boulder and throughout the West as we travel to Pac-12 territory;
• Gain career guidance from our alumni career counselor, Lea Alvarado, through workshops, one-on-one counseling and teleclasses. Or seek advice and share jobs with 14,000 Forever Buffs in our LinkedIn group. We just launched our first topical group focused on sustainability. More to come!

As a reminder, under our Forever Buffs initiative, all alumni and students are members of the Alumni Association without paying annual dues. That’s right! You receive a lifetime of services and programming.
 
So, grow your Buff family and shrink the world. Take a look at www.cualum.org and find a variety of ways to engage with alumni, students and CU. Thanks for being a Forever Buff!

Here’s our photoset from the event.
 
Read Alumni Association board chair Karin Rutstein’s (Bus’87) speech to the grads on Friday, Dec. 16 during winter commencement:

Karin Rutstein speaks at winter commencement 2011

You stand today on the shoulders of thousands of accomplished CU-Boulder alumni. Like you, they walked in sight of the majestic Flatirons to attend this ceremony as students and leave as graduates.

They include 18 astronauts, Chipotle founder Steve Ells, Oscar-winning co-producer Sarah Siegel-Magness, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, ambassador Vicki Huddleston, professional football player Alfred Williams and thousands of Peace Corps volunteers.

You are one of them now, part of our 270,000-strong Forever Buffs family that aims to help students and alumni build robust professional and social networks while celebrating their CU pride. It is made up of outstanding people who are shaping the world in which we live.

Whether you move to Shanghai or San Francisco or stay in the Boulder area, there are many ways to engage with our Forever Buffs family to find job leads, make friends and possibly even find a date. Here’s how:

• Network with other Forever Buffs through our dozens of alumni groups around the nation and world through local events and online through Facebook and Twitter.

• Celebrate your CU pride by attending our events and pregame parties before athletic games in Boulder and throughout the West.

• Gain career guidance from our alumni-only career counselor, through alumni career workshops and one-on-one counseling. Or seek advice and share jobs with 14,000 Forever Buffs in our LinkedIn group.

Being a part of the Forever Buffs family means you receive a lifetime of services and programming.

But it comes with a responsibility. Be true to yourself. Remember the people, the memories, the mistakes and successes you experienced here as they will shape your future. Stand for things of the spirit, as CU President George Norlin once wrote. Give back to the university with your time and money. Have a heart large enough to match your successes. Because life will continue to test your heart and challenge your mind. 

And lastly, take the buffalo by the horns and stay connected with other Forever Buffs ─  students and alumni alike.

Congratulations on all of your wonderful accomplishments during your CU career and know, as you go forth in life, you will always be a reflection of the university’s soul.

The University of Colorado Boulder will hold its winter commencement ceremony on Friday, Dec. 16, in the Coors Events Center on campus.

The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public.

Due to traffic delays and the possibility of adverse winter weather, early arrival is strongly advised. Guests should plan to be seated by 9 a.m. People entering the events center are asked not to bring large purses or bags to the ceremony.

During the ceremony, 2,171 degrees will be conferred. Degrees to be awarded include 1,593 bachelor’s degrees, 414 master’s degrees, 150 doctoral degrees and 14 law degrees.

The commencement address will be given by Harvey Segur, a CU-Boulder professor of applied mathematics and this year’s recipient of the Hazel Barnes Prize, the highest faculty recognition for teaching and research awarded by the university.

Segur has been a CU-Boulder faculty member since 1989. Recognized for his highly cited and influential research on nonlinear waves along with his exceptional teaching record, Segur is helping to transform undergraduate education at CU-Boulder, focusing on improved student performance in lower-division calculus. He has received the Boulder Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, is a President’s Teaching Scholar and gave the 2005 Distinguished Research Lecture.

City and campus roads may be congested for approximately one and a half hours before the ceremony and about an hour afterward. Parking lots and gray meters near the Coors Events Center are free for commencement parking. Traffic officers and parking supervisors and attendants will be available to assist campus visitors.

Additional information about commencement, including a campus parking map and information for people with disabilities, is available at www.colorado.edu/commencement/. The website also will feature a live webcast of the ceremony on Dec. 16.

Happy holidays wherever you may roam.

See the holiday card here.

University of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore today announced that a search committee for the vice chancellor for student affairs has named Deborah J. “Deb” Coffin the sole finalist for the position. Coffin has served in the post in an interim capacity since July 2011.

“The search committee has forwarded Deb’s name to me as sole finalist,” said Moore. “I want to congratulate the committee on its good work. Deb is an outstanding colleague, a highly qualified and talented administrator, and a person who brings student, campus and community stakeholders together in everything she does.”

Coffin on Monday, Dec. 12, will meet with various campus constituent groups in a series of five sessions to outline her vision for the post and to answer questions. The provost will be soliciting feedback from the groups on her candidacy.

The 10-member internal search committee was chaired by Anne Heinz, associate vice chancellor for summer session, outreach and engagement and dean of continuing education. The committee represented constituencies that included Parent Relations, Housing and Dining Services, Intercollegiate Athletics, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, University of Colorado Student Government and the Office of Student Affairs.

“The committee was unanimous in its selection of Deb Coffin as a finalist,” said Heinz. “Her performance in previous key CU posts – including as interim vice chancellor for student affairs – has created a record of high achievement and success that has transformed our Student Affairs division. The committee believes it is vital to continue this important work under her vision and leadership.”

Prior to her service as interim vice chancellor for student affairs, Coffin served as associate vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students from 2008-11, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and executive director of Housing and Dining Services from 2006-08 and executive director of Housing and Dining Services from 2001-2006.

Coffin also served in various housing leadership capacities at the University of Northern Colorado (1982-95; 1998-2001) and the University of Wyoming (1995-98).

She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in community health education (1977), a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology education (1985) and a Master of Arts in human communication theory from the University of Northern Colorado.

She also served a mission in the United States Peace Corps (1977-78) in the Philippines.

Do you sing, do you dance, do you entertain? Do you know someone who entertains with world-wide flair? Would you/they like to do this for students? CU Dining Services is hosting a series of World Street Food events and they are looking to schedule entertainment in the new Center for Community dining facility through April 2012. If you have a specialty in Italian, Latin, Asian, Persian or just love to perform, please contact Janice Torkildsen. Learn more about the dining services in the Center for Community on their Facebook page.

As part of the Forever Buffs initiative, the CU-Boulder Alumni Association is beginning a new tradition by providing “legacy cords” to graduating students whose parent(s) and/or grandparent(s) is a CU alum. The black and gold cords will be worn with the student’s graduation gown to recognize his or her tie to a CU legacy family.

Graduating students can pick up their complimentary legacy cord at the Koenig Alumni Center, on the northwestern edge of campus, December 5 – 15. For more information, contact Clark Oldroyd at 303-492-5640 or at clark.oldroyd@colorado.edu.

Eight Buffs Named To All-Pac-12 Teams

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — University of Colorado Cross Country coach Mark Wetmore has been named the 2011 Pac-12 Men’s Coach of the Year, announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon. CU also placed eight Buffs, four men and four women, on the All-Pac-12 First and Second Teams.

Wetmore coached the men’s team to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21. Colorado finished just five points behind Oklahoma State at the championship (139-144). The Buffs placed second to BYU (49-55) at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships after winning the Pac-12 Championship on Oct. 29. CU defeated Stanford by seven points to capture the inaugural conference title (46-53).

Richard Medina and Andy Wacker were named to the All-Pac-12 First Team while Joe Bosshard and Christian Thompson earned second team honors. Medina finished eighth at the NCAA Championships and Wacker took 20th overall. Bosshard placed 24th overall and Thompson was the 49th overall runner to cross the finish. Medina, Wacker and Bosshard each earned All-American honors as they finished in the top-40.

On the women’s side Shalaya Kipp and Emma Coburn picked up first team honors. Lara Darco and Rachel Baptista were second team selections. Kipp and Coburn finished 19th and 20th, respectively, at the NCAA Championship to each earn All-American status. Darco placed 97th and Baptista took 170th at nationals.

The complete Pac-12 release can be viewed at Pac-12.org.

2011 All-PAC-12 Men’s Cross Country Teams

Coach of the Year

Mark Wetmore

First Team

Richard Medina
Andy Wacker

Second Team

Joe Bosshard
Christian Thompson

2011 All-PAC-12 WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS

First Team

Shalaya Kipp
Emma Coburn

Second Team

Lara Darco
Rachel Baptista

Anthony Hull (PolSci’11), featured in the March 2011 Coloradan, appears in a cell phone commercial. Check him out:

Click here to view the embedded video.