Innovation

The Making of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Quantum Valley

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:42:06 +0000

The Making of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Quantum Valley Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:42

Dan Strain

Qizhong Liang (PhDPhys’25) squeezes around a worktable tucked into the back corner of a ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ physics lab. Spread out in front of him is an intricate arrangement of mirrors, lenses and tubes. But what draws Liang’s attention is what seems to be an empty plastic bag.

“Want to guess what it is?” asks Liang, a doctoral student at JILA, a joint research institute between ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The bag isn’t, in fact, empty but contains something almost precious: breath. Researchers at Children’s Hospital ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ collected the sample from a child hospitalized with pneumonia. Liang’s tabletop apparatus will generate a powerful laser, known as a frequency comb, to scan the breath sample and identify the unique chemical fingerprints of the molecules floating inside.

Ultimately, Liang and his colleagues hope the laser can serve as a tool to diagnose children with asthma and pneumonia.

But he and his advisor, Jun Ye (PhDPhys’97), aren’t medical professionals. They’re researchers working at the forefront of a field called quantum physics, or the study of matter and energy at its most fundamental level, which deals in the bizarre behavior of things like atoms and electrons.

“This is brand new stuff,” said Liang. He notes that transforming such fundamental science into new technologies is thrilling, but also lonely. “You don’t have many [other experts] to talk to,” he said.

Yet the discipline may soon be a lot less lonely. Across the country, and particularly in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ, the momentum around quantum physics is gathering speed. Scientists and engineers are channeling their understanding of the field into technologies that could improve people’s lives.

“It’s a natural progression of the revolution that’s been ongoing since the 1960s,” said Ye, a JILA and NIST fellow and a professor adjoint of physics. “We are just getting faster.”

In ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ alone, quantum technology companies employ roughly 3,000 people, a number that may jump to more than 10,000 across the Mountain West over the next decade, according to one estimate. Sitting at the center of this revolution is ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder, where researchers have spent decades trying to lasso the quantum realm — earning four Nobel Prizes in physics in the process. The university has launched a suite of programs to turn quantum advancements into real-world technologies. ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ is also nearly unmatched among public universities when it comes to training students to become the next generation of quantum workers.

“The reason the state of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ has been so successful in quantum has been ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder,” said Heather Lewandowski (PhDPhys’02), a JILA fellow and professor in the Department of Physics. “It goes back to our foundational research and to our training and preparation of students.”

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s quantum future

This year marked a milestone for ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and the Mountain West in the global race for quantum innovation and leadership. In July, the coalition Elevate Quantum unlocked more than $127 million in federal and state funding for quantum advancements.

Elevate Quantum is a consortium of 120 organizations across ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ, New Mexico and Wyoming (ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder is the powerhouse partner), with the mission of growing the Mountain West’s prowess as a global leader in the quantum industry.

After applying to the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Tech Hubs program, the coalition gained its official Tech Hub designation in 2023. Only 31 out of nearly 200 consortia were awarded the designation and could proceed to the program’s second phase: competing for implementation grants. In July, the federal government named Elevate Quantum one of the 12 Tech Hubs that would be awarded funding.

“It’s been a wild year,” said Scott Sternberg, executive director of the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶbit Quantum Initiative, which “convenes, coordinates and catalyzes” the quantum activities on campus. “The challenge is now to continue the fundamental discovery while also engineering quantum products and solutions for economic gain.”

The potential applications are vast. Ye, for example, leads a $25 million effort funded by the National Science Foundation called Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering (Q-SEnSE). The bread and butter of his lab are atomic clocks — devices that tell time not with gears and hands, but by tracking the natural behavior of electrons. They’re so precise they can measure the change in gravity if you lift them up by just a fraction of a millimeter. One day, he envisions that scientists could use similar quantum devices to, for example, track magma flow deep below Yellowstone National Park, the site of a supervolcano.

Recently, he and his colleagues made groundbreaking work on a type of atomic clock known as a nuclear clock. It uses lasers to trigger, then measure, extremely small shifts in energy occurring within the nuclei of thorium atoms.

Another team of engineers at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ is using frequency comb lasers, similar to those in Ye’s lab, to detect methane leaks above oil and gas operations. Still others are using quantum sensors to map out the activity of the human brain and even search for elusive dark matter — the seemingly invisible substance that binds the universe together.

Quantum work is now expanding on ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s East Campus as well, in an initiative funded by the NSF and led by ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Scott Diddams, professor of electrical, computer and energy engineering. The $20 million grant will launch a new facility, the National Quantum Nanofab, where researchers and quantum specialists from ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ and around the country can prototype and build new quantum technology.

The university is also helping to bring something else to ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ: the next generation of quantum experts.

Quantum leaders of tomorrow

Denali Jah (EngrPhys’25), a senior studying engineering physics and applied math, found his way to physics in high school. He was having a hard time at home, and his physics teacher noticed and made a point of showing Jah how exciting science could be.

“I really appreciated his approach to life in general — it was one of curiosity,” Jah said.

In 2023, Jah joined the university’s first-ever cohort of Quantum Scholars, one of several ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ programs encouraging students to take an interest in quantum physics. As part of that program, Jah and fellow undergrad Annaliese Cabra (Math’23) helped to organize the university’s first Quantum Hackathon, in which teams of students compete against each other to solve tricky problems in quantum computing.

Another ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ experience, the Quantum Forge, is a year-long course offered through the university’s Department of Physics. It partners students with real quantum businesses in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ. Over the span of a year, the students lead a hands-on project for those businesses, such as designing components for an advanced cooling machine known as a “dilution refrigerator.”

Lewandowski, a member of the university’s Physics Education Research Group, noted that the quantum industry is in its infancy — companies are still trying to get a handle on what kind of employees they’ll need. ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder, she said, trains students to be flexible in the field.

“Students can still have their core engineering or physics degree, but you supplement that with a few quantum technology courses, and that can make you very employable,” said Lewandowski.

Jah, for his part, wants to use his new skills to study quantum loop gravity, a trippy theory that seeks to explain how gravity works. He said that quantum physics takes a lot of work, but it’s a path that anyone can follow — as long as they have enough wonder.

“I hope other people can engage in this exploratory process of: How does the world work? Let’s see,” Jah said.

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Illustrations by Brian Stauffer

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and Elevate Quantum partners are ready for $127M regional quantum boost. Here’s how it’s all coming together.

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Fall 2024

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How Ancient Viruses Fuel Modern-Day Disease

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:23:01 +0000

How Ancient Viruses Fuel Modern-Day Disease Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 10:23

Lisa Marshall

Peek inside the human genome and, among the 20,000 or so genes that serve as building blocks of life, you’ll find flecks of DNA left behind by viruses that infected our primate ancestors tens of millions of years ago.

Scientists have long considered these ancient hitchhikers, known as endogenous retroviruses, as inert or "junk" DNA that were rendered harmless millennia ago. But new ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ research shows that, when reawakened, they can play a critical role in helping cancer survive and thrive. The study also suggests that silencing certain endogenous retroviruses can make cancer treatments work better.

“Our study shows that diseases today can be significantly influenced by these ancient viral infections that, until recently, very few researchers were paying attention to,” said Edward Chuong, an assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute.

After slipping into the cells of our primate ancestors, these invaders coaxed their unknowing hosts into copying and carrying their genetic material — passing their DNA on to future generations.

While endogenous retroviruses can no longer sicken their hosts or spread like live viruses, they can act as switches that turn on nearby genes, with both good and bad results.

On the plus side, they contributed to the development of the placenta, a critical milestone in human evolution. Chuong’s research also shows they can switch on genes that help us fight infection.

However, endogenous retroviruses also have a dark side.

Chuong’s latest study found that a lineage known as LTR10 is remarkably active in about a third of colon cancer tumors, where it appears to fire up genes that inflame cancer.

The good news: When those viral relics are silenced, the cancer-promoting genes go dark too, and tumor-shrinking treatments become more effective.

As a leading researcher in the burgeoning field, Chuong hopes that by better understanding these oft-neglected bits of the genome, scientists can come up with new ways to treat modern-day illnesses.

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Photo by Glenn Asakawa

Tens of millions of years ago, ancient viruses infected our primate ancestors, leaving flecks of DNA that made their way into the human genome. A new study suggests these “endogenous retroviruses” may not be as harmless as once believed.

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Fall 2024

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Wearable Gelatin: Fashion’s Newest Textile

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:21:59 +0000

Wearable Gelatin: Fashion’s Newest Textile Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 10:21

Dan Strain

Approximately 92 million tons of textile waste is generated globally per year, according to research. ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ researchers envision a different future for fashion.

A team led by Eldy Lázaro Vásquez (PhDCTD’25), a doctoral student in the ATLAS Institute, is busy developing methods to make recyclable clothes from gelatin, the common foodstuff in products like Jell-O and marshmallows.

The team developed a DIY machine that spins textile fibers made from gelatin. These “biofibers” feel a bit like flax fiber and dissolve in hot water within a few minutes to an hour.

“When you don’t want these textiles anymore, you can dissolve them and recycle the gelatin to make more fibers,” said Michael Rivera, a co-author of the research and assistant professor in the ATLAS Institute and Department of Computer Science.

The machine, which is small enough to fit on a desk and costs just $560 to build, heats up the gelatin and uses a plastic syringe to squeeze out droplets of the mixture. Two sets of rollers in the machine then tug on the gelatin, stretching it out into long, skinny fibers — not unlike a spider spinning a web from silk.

“With this kind of prototyping machine, anyone can make fibers,” Lázaro Vásquez said. “You don’t need the big machines that are only in university chemistry departments.”

She added that across the U.S., meat producers often discard gelatin that doesn’t meet quality control standards. Lázaro Vásquez bought her own gelatin, which comes as a powder, from a local butcher shop.

Lázaro Vásquez envisions that designers could tweak the chemistry of the fibers to make them a little more resilient — you wouldn’t want your jacket to disappear in the rain. They could also experiment with spinning similar fibers from other abundant natural materials like chitin, a component of crab shells, or agar-agar, which comes from algae.

“We’re trying to think about the whole lifecycle of our textiles,” said Lázaro Vásquez. “That begins with where the material is coming from. Can we get it from something that normally goes to waste?”

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Photo courtesy Utility Research Lab

Researchers at the ATLAS Institute at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder hope their DIY machine will help designers around the world experiment with making their own, sustainable fashion and other textiles from a range of natural ingredients—maybe even the chitin in crab shells or agar-agar from algae.

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Fall 2024

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75 Years of LASP: Missions Across the Cosmos

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:18:56 +0000

75 Years of LASP: Missions Across the Cosmos Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 10:18

Kelsey Yandura

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is the university’s first and highest-budget research institute — and the only organization of its kind to have sent scientific instruments to every planet in our solar system, plus the sun and a host of moons.

Founded in 1948 as a collaboration between the U.S. Air Force and the university’s physics department, LASP’s initial experiments included launching instruments mounted on captured German V-2 rockets in order to study the sun. Today, over 75 years later, the institute is made up of more than 100 research scientists who specialize in designing, building and operating spacecraft and spacecraft instruments.

As LASP looks ahead to the next 75 years, its dedication to innovation keeps it at the leading edge of space science. Here are just a few of the many missions LASP has helped propel forward.

Sun

2010–30

EVE on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory examines variations in the sun’s extreme ultraviolet light over time.

Mission Highlight: Recorded enormous solar 'tornadoes,' ultra-hot plasma plumes swirling above the sun’s surface.

Mercury

2004–15

LASP Spectrometer on NASA MESSENGER first detected magnesium in Mercury’s exosphere.

Mission Highlight: Confirmed the presence of ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters at Mercury’s poles.

Venus

1978–92

Ultraviolet Spectrometer on NASA’s Pioneer Venus Orbiter identified sulfur dioxide in the clouds, indicating potential volcanic activity.

Mission Highlight: Pinpointed the highest point on Venus — Maxwell Montes stands 10.8 km high.

Earth

Scheduled 2027

LASP radiometers on NASA Libera will record how much energy leaves our planet’s atmosphere on a day-by-day basis, providing crucial information about how Earth’s climate is evolving over time.

Moon

2013–14

Lunar Dust Experiment on NASA’s LADEE gathered and analyzed lunar dust particles.

Mission Highlight: Revealed tiny meteoroids deliver water to the Moon’s exosphere.

Mars

2013–14

Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph on NASA MAVEN discovered an aurora caused by proton precipitation in Mars’ atmosphere.

Mission Highlight: Determined that solar wind has significantly stripped Mars’ atmosphere, altering its climate from warm and wet to cold and dry.

Jupiter

1989–2003

Ultraviolet Spectrometer on NASA Galileo observed the impacts of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 fragments on Jupiter.

Mission Highlight: Found evidence of a subsurface ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Saturn

1997–2017

Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph on NASA Cassini measured emissions from gases emitted by volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io.

Mission Highlight: Detected an icy plume of salt-rich organic chemicals erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

Uranus

1977–Current

Photopolarimeter Subsystem on NASA Voyager 2 discovered Uranus’ rings are younger than the solar system.

Mission Highlight: Identified an irregular magnetic field, highly tilted from Uranus’ spin axis.

Neptune

1977–Current

Photopolarimeter Subsystem on NASA Voyager 2 found Neptune’s rings are incomplete circles created by dust knocked off tiny moons.

Mission Highlight: Performed the first mission to fly past Neptune and detect its irregular magnetic field.

Pluto

2006–Current

Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter on NASA New Horizons was the first student-designed instrument to launch on an interplanetary mission.

Mission Highlight: Discovered the largest known glacier in the solar system.

And beyond…

LASP has been involved in missions beyond our solar system, including operations for NASA’s exoplanet-hunting Kepler mission and the IXPE mission, which studies extreme space environments.

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Images courtesy NASA

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is the university’s first and highest-budget research institute. Here are just a few of the many missions LASP has helped propel forward.

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Fall 2024

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Microalgae as Bio-Cement

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Microalgae as Bio-Cement Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/10/2023 - 00:00

Joshua Rhoten

Formed by researchers at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder in 2021, Prometheus Materials is becoming a leader in an ongoing effort to decarbonize the construction industry in the face of climate change. Inspired by nature, the company uses living microalgae to produce bio-cement. This new product offers an alternative to the traditional cement-making process, which currently accounts for 8% of annual global carbon dioxide emissions and consumes 9% of annual industrial water on a global basis.

When mixed with aggregate, the bio-cement forms a zero-carbon bio-concrete with mechanical, physical and thermal properties that rival those of traditional cement-based concrete. It also emits little to no CO2 and recycles 95% of the water used during its production. It can even sequester embodied carbon, which represents emissions released during the lifecycle of building materials, including extraction, manufacturing, transport, construction and disposal throughout its lifespan.

The effort dates to 2016 when a team of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder researchers began work on an engineered-living materials project for the Department of Defense. Associate professor Wil Srubar led that research from within the civil, environmental and architectural engineering department and the materials science and engineering program. He serves as co-founder and chief technology advisor for the company and pointed to Venture Partners at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder — the university’s commercialization arm — as a key resource in bringing it to life.

“Not only were the terms of licensing the IP from ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ very founder-friendly, Venture Partners provided matching funds for us to continue R&D at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ,” he said.

Srubar is enthusiastic about the interest so far.

“I’ve dedicated my career to transforming buildings in carbon sinks by blurring the boundaries between the built environment and the natural world,” said Srubar. “Prometheus is the first of hopefully many other impactful contributions my work will have on healing the planet.”

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Photos by Glenn Asakawa

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder spinout Prometheus Materials is becoming a leader in sustainable building materials.

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Summer 2023

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The Fashion Industry, Unspun by ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Alum

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

The Fashion Industry, Unspun by ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Alum Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/11/2022 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

Perfect-fitting jeans exist.

Unspun, a fashion and robotics company co-founded by Kevin Martin (MechEngr’16), makes personalized pants in custom colors, fabrics and styles — and uses 30,000 infrared data points from an iPhone body scan to create an individually tailored fit.

After a person chooses their pants, which cost around $200, and scans their lower body using an app, Unspun gets to work. And as soon as this year, the jeans will be spun in 10 minutes with a 3D-weaving machine, eliminating nearly every aspect of the traditional manufacturing process for a pair of pants.

The company earned recognition on Time magazine’s best inventions list twice — in 2019 for its body-scanning technology and in 2021 for its 3D process.

Martin and fellow co-founders Beth Esponnette and Waldon Lam — Stanford friends and fashion industry innovators — have an ambitious goal with Unspun: to reduce the world’s carbon emissions by 1%.

“It costs $150 billion a year to make stuff, move it across the world and then light it on fire,” said Martin, 27, who grew up in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Springs and moved to San Francisco in 2017. “And that’s just wasted product.”

The EPA estimates that of the 13 million tons of clothing and footwear produced in 2018 (the latest year with data), only 1.7 million were recycled.

Unspun, based in San Francisco with a store in Hong Kong, hopes to eliminate the mass-production model for clothing and, instead, offer personalized products through its 3D-weaving technology and partnerships with major fashion labels.

“We were inspired by the Tesla model of doing things,” said Martin, who was hired by Esponnette and Lam in 2016 after he responded to a job ad seeking an engineer to help start their new company. “We said, ‘Let’s figure out how to automate apparel manufacturing.’”

Martin’s experience at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder became the foundation for the company’s early production model, with roots in the university’s Idea Forge — a prototyping, design and innovation lab.

As a senior, Martin took a capstone course held in the Idea Forge. After joining Esponette and Lam in 2016, he sponsored the same class, engaging ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ students — including Unspun’s first employee, Brian Gormley (MechEngr’17) — to build a 3D-weaving machine for the company. Gormley drove the machine in a U-Haul from Boulder to San Francisco in the summer of 2017.

Martin’s longtime friend Stephen Thoma (CompSci’16) joined Unspun as software director and created the scanning algorithm and software, first funded by a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation and Research grant.

HAX, a venture capital firm in Shenzhen, China, was also an early Unspun supporter and trained Martin and Gormley for four months in China in the fall of 2017 to help build a more advanced 3D-weaving machine.

H&M became an early collaborator in 2018, offering a line of customizable jeans. By 2019, customers could purchase jeans directly from Unspun’s website, and the company gained traction.

This year, with more than $7.5 million in seed funding and 20 employees, Unspun aims to unveil its 3D-weaving technology in partnership with yet-to-be-announced major fashion labels.

The founders keep their 1% goal at the forefront of the business.

“To get to the impact and scale that we want, we need to become the new standard in apparel manufacturing,” said Martin.

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Photo by Patrick Campbell

Kevin Martin hopes to transform the waste-heavy manufacturing process of the fashion industry, starting with made-to-order pants.

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The Imig of Innovation

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

The Imig of Innovation Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/18/2021 - 00:00

Kelsey Yandura

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s College of Music celebrated its 100th birthday in style last year with a stunning 64,000-square-foot, $57 million expansion funded by numerous private donors and a university matching capital grant.

The Imig Music Building expansion was a long time coming. Students struggled to find enough practice rooms, and rehearsal and concert spaces were too tight.

The expansion includes brand-new rehearsal and recital facilities, an upgraded chamber hall, a rehearsal-performance space with retractable seating, a state-of-the-art recording studio and a dance studio.

Innovation was at the forefront of this project, with spaces specifically devoted to exciting new arms of the department: Entrepreneurship, wellness, music technology and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Showing off ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s trademark sandstone brick, limestone trim and red clay roof tile, the new building offers beautiful gathering places for students, faculty and music lovers complete with sweeping views of the iconic Flatirons.

Construction broke ground in early 2019 and wrapped just in time for students to cross the new sandstone entrance on 18th Street to start the Fall 2020 semester.

Photos by Skylar Miller

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Hello, I'm Mark Kennedy

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Hello, I'm Mark Kennedy Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/01/2019 - 00:00

Mark Kennedy

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ's new president, a former congressman who later led the University of North Dakota, talks about his small-town youth, the future of work and his vision for ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ.

Early bird or night owl?
Early bird. During high school, I worked summers in a small-town bakery starting at 1 a.m. Since then, I have always found it valuable to get an early jump on things.

Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Born caffeinated, I did not start drinking coffee until later in life. I now find it indispensable to the start of every day.

Favorite ice cream?
Häagen-Dazs’ rum raisin.

Book you can’t forget?
I am haunted by Kai Fu Lee’s AI Superpowers. I am left with grave concerns that the United States is not taking the actions necessary to preserve our innovative edge, and that losing that edge will have profoundly negative consequences for our prosperity and security. This leaves me even more motivated to work hard to ensure America has the talent and the discovery necessary to keep our technological lead.

How would you describe yourself in one word?
360° — I have always striven to gain an ever-broader view.

Is there a “ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ thing” you’re still getting used to?
I may never get used to driving along cliffs with no guardrails.

We hear you grew up in a small town...
I began life in Murdock, Minn., population less than 300, and at age 4 moved to Pequot Lakes, population around 450. I began working at age 14 picking strawberries, washing dishes and pumping gas. I was in band, choir, plays, student government, Boy Scouts and played in the area jazz ensemble. I lettered in basketball, track and field, setting a school record in the mile run, and managed the football team. In 4-H, I won trips to the state fair with my beef, electric and photography exhibits. My wife and I met as 4-H Ambassadors. It is hard to match the breadth of experiences available in a small town.

You served in Congress. What do you and don’t you miss?
I miss being in the midst of the debate on the most serious issues facing our nation. I enjoy raising money and advocating for policies I believe are important, both of which I do in my role as president of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ. I don’t miss purely partisan groups poised to attack every time you reject the extremes.

What about you tends to surprise people?
Those who travel by car with me are surprised that I regularly sing during the journey, normally beginning with “I am just a plain old country boy...”

If you could go to college again, what would you do differently?
Focus a little less on extracurricular activities and a lot more on striving for A’s. As a first-generation college graduate, I had no one to coach me. My undergraduate activities included work-study, dishwashing in the cafeteria and shelving books in the library, touring with the chorus, playing in the pep band, organizing an undefeated co-ed volleyball team, being captain of an intramural basketball team and serving on the student senate. My acceptance to Michigan’s MBA program provided a second chance. I took off Friday or Saturday evening, never both.

What do you think ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ should do more of?
With most of today’s students likely to work during their lifetime in jobs not yet invented, it is ever more important that ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ cultivates students’ critical thinking, team-working skills and cultural awareness by getting students to wrestle with difficult questions and fostering an environment of inquiry and debate. We should seek every opportunity to embrace adaptive learning technologies that supplement classroom dialogue led by knowledgeable professors with digital offerings that know what learners already understand, what they struggle with, how they respond to different teaching methods, what incentives drive them to excel. Today’s digital natives will increasingly rebel against being forced to learn at the same speed, in the same way, at the same place and at the same time.

What do you want to be remembered for?
As a president who called ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ to stay true to its heritage of taking bold steps into the future, challenging it to not be trapped by rigid historical constraints, but instead to embrace technology to enhance the quality of a ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ education, to make it more accessible and to keep it affordable.

Condensed and edited. Read the full interview here .

Illustration by Sean McCabe

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ's new president, a former congressman who later led the University of North Dakota, talks about his small-town youth, the future of work and his vision for ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ.

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Innovation

The Making of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ’s Quantum Valley

ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ’s quantum future

Quantum leaders of tomorrow

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How Ancient Viruses Fuel Modern-Day Disease

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Wearable Gelatin: Fashion’s Newest Textile

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75 Years of LASP: Missions Across the Cosmos

Sun

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Moon

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Pluto

And beyond…

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Microalgae as Bio-Cement

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