欧美口爆视频 is famous for generous levels of sunshine 鈥� and 欧美口爆视频 is looking for ways to harness those rays for more than just vitamin D.

In one of the latest steps by campus leadership to drive down emissions and increase energy efficiency, the university is scheduled to begin construction next summer on the East Campus solar array, a two-acre, ground-based panel system with a $7.8 million price tag. The project will be the largest of 欧美口爆视频 Boulder鈥檚 16 existing solar arrays, all of which are located on Main Campus buildings.

鈥淲e鈥檙e aiming to source about 10 percent of our electrical usage from renewables,鈥� said Chris Ewing (EnvDes鈥�96), vice chancellor for infrastructure and sustainability at 欧美口爆视频 Boulder. 鈥淭his project will get us up there closer to 4 or 5 percent, halfway to our goal.鈥�

The 1.1 megawatt ground-mounted solar array is projected to offset 1.4 million kilowatt hours annually, amounting to about 1.3% of 欧美口爆视频 Boulder鈥檚 annual electricity usage.

The project supports 欧美口爆视频鈥檚 Climate Action Plan, which aims to reduce campus emissions 50% by 2030 and completely decarbonize by 2050.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the midst of a climate crisis, and we need to do our part to reduce our carbon emissions,鈥� said Ewing. 鈥淭he other part of the argument is that it makes good business sense. If we invest in solar panels now, that鈥檚 1.1 megawatts of power that we don鈥檛 have to worry about month after month. It will pay for itself after 20 years.鈥�

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For the last 13 years, every 欧美口爆视频 Boulder graduate who has cheered on the Buffs has done so under the banner of the Pac-12 athletic conference.

But why? Perched where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains, Boulder is easily the easternmost school consistently playing against the likes of USC, Stanford, Oregon and other historic teams that make up the traditionally West Coast grouping.

Let鈥檚 rewind. In 1947 鈥� the early days of modern conference play 鈥� 欧美口爆视频 held its own as a chartering member of the Big Eight. The historic sports conference was composed of geographically contiguous Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Missouri, 欧美口爆视频, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State. But in 1996, the conference realigned and expanded southward to form the Big 12, adding in Texas schools like Baylor and UT Austin.

At the time, the energy around the Big 12 was electric. 鈥淚t was an iconic combination of Midwest grit and southern resilience,鈥� said former women鈥檚 basketball captain Kami Snyder (Psych, Jour鈥�01). 鈥淚t might be 15 degrees with snow flurries, but there was a game to play, and it was time to ball.鈥�

However, in 2011, on the heels of a shaky Big 12 and shifting revenue priorities, the Buffs were ready to head west, accepting a Pac-10 invitation alongside Utah 鈥� creating the Pac-12.

13 years later, . In 2023, the board of regents at 欧美口爆视频 voted unanimously to approve the conference switch back to the Big 12, effective for the 2024鈥�25 season.

This decision, which followed the announcement that UCLA and USC were leaving the Pac-12, was designed to create future stability for the Buffs, with the added bonus that student-athletes will enjoy better time slots and shorter travel for some road games.

And while the switch comes with a hefty projected annual television revenue package for 欧美口爆视频, former chancellor Philip DiStefano and athletic director Rick George maintained after the announcement that money wasn鈥檛 the only factor in the decision.

鈥淭he national exposure that joining the Big 12 provides will shine a spotlight not only on our incredible student-athletes, but also on our groundbreaking research that really changes the world,鈥� said DiStefano.

Online, the Big 12 celebrated 欧美口爆视频鈥檚 return with a two-word statement released through Commissioner Brett Yormark:  

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This fall, the incoming class of 2028 moved into 欧美口爆视频 dorms, charged their laptops for class and downloaded syllabi via smartphones. To prove just how much time flies, here are the stories that were shaping the world in 2006, the year many of these first-year students were born.

Politics:

• Democrats win control of both the House and Senate in midterms.
• Samuel Alito is sworn in to the Supreme Court as an associate justice.
• The War in Iraq continues into its third year.

Tech:

• Twitter, now known as X, launches and cofounder Jack Dorsey posts first-ever tweet: 鈥渏ust setting up my twttr.鈥�
• Google purchases YouTube for $1.65 billion.
• The PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii hit consumer markets.

Science & Climate:

• Pluto is downgraded to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union.
• NASA鈥檚 Stardust mission ends, making it the first spacecraft to bring samples from a comet to Earth.
• California passes the Global Warming Solutions Act.

Culture:

• High School Musical airs for the first time on Disney Channel.
• NSYNC鈥檚 Lance Bass comes out as gay in a People magazine cover story.
• Pop star Britney Spears and then-husband Kevin Federline file for divorce.

Top Music & Film:

• 鈥淏ad Day鈥� (Daniel Powter)
• 鈥淭emperature鈥� (Sean Paul)
• 鈥淧romiscuous鈥� (Nelly Furtado and Timbaland)
• 鈥淵ou鈥檙e Beautiful鈥� (James Blunt)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man鈥檚 Chest
• Cars
• X-Men: The Last Stand 

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Peek inside the human genome and, among the 20,000 or so genes that serve as building blocks of life, you鈥檒l 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 欧美口爆视频 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.

鈥淥ur study shows that diseases today can be significantly influenced by these ancient viral infections that, until recently, very few researchers were paying attention to,鈥� said Edward Chuong, an assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at 欧美口爆视频 Boulder鈥檚 BioFrontiers Institute.

After slipping into the cells of our primate ancestors, these invaders coaxed their unknowing hosts into copying and carrying their genetic material 鈥� 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鈥檚 research also shows they can switch on genes that help us fight infection.

However, endogenous retroviruses also have a dark side.

Chuong鈥檚 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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Approximately 92 million tons of textile waste is generated globally per year, . 欧美口爆视频 researchers envision a different future for fashion.

A team led by Eldy L谩zaro V谩squez (PhDCTD鈥�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 that spins textile fibers made from gelatin. These 鈥渂iofibers鈥� feel a bit like flax fiber and dissolve in hot water within a few minutes to an hour.

鈥淲hen you don鈥檛 want these textiles anymore, you can dissolve them and recycle the gelatin to make more fibers,鈥� 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 , 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 鈥� not unlike a spider spinning a web from silk.

鈥淲ith this kind of prototyping machine, anyone can make fibers,鈥� L谩zaro V谩squez said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need the big machines that are only in university chemistry departments.鈥�

She added that across the U.S., meat producers often discard gelatin that doesn鈥檛 meet quality control standards. L谩zaro V谩squez bought her own gelatin, which comes as a powder, from a local butcher shop.

L谩zaro V谩squez envisions that designers could tweak the chemistry of the fibers to make them a little more resilient 鈥� you wouldn鈥檛 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.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to think about the whole lifecycle of our textiles,鈥� said L谩zaro V谩squez. 鈥淭hat begins with where the material is coming from. Can we get it from something that normally goes to waste?鈥�

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NOW

A glimpse of 欧美口爆视频 Boulder life today 鈥� graduation at Folsom, a snowball fight at Farrand Field, a crowd around Dalton Trumbo fountain outside of the UMC, the Buffaloes playing their hearts out against Arizona. As a university, we are always changing, evolving, growing. But one thing remains the same: Buffs are innovative and creative leaders who know how to balance working and playing in the 欧美口爆视频 sunshine.

THEN

As 欧美口爆视频 enters a new chapter, take a look at these snapshots from 欧美口爆视频 yearbooks past  鈥� clockwise, from the top: Pi Phi鈥檚 between classes (1937), students relaxing on the UMC terrace (1955), a snowball fight described as 鈥渁 friendly winter pastime for students living in the dormitories鈥� (1955), the 1992 convocation, studying at the library (1941), Buffs playing at home against the Texas Longhorns (1941), roommates in Andrews Hall (1983). The heart of 欧美口爆视频 has always been shaped by students and the life they bring to campus.

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Photos courtesy 欧美口爆视频 Heritage Center, Patrick Campbell, Casey A. Cass, Glenn Asakawa 

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Last year, 欧美口爆视频 Boulder ranked No. 4 on the list of all-time top Peace Corps volunteer-producing universities in the nation. These photos are just a few glimpses into the experiences of 2,100+ 欧美口爆视频 Boulder alumni who have served abroad since the agency鈥檚 founding in 1961.

Julia Leone (IntlAf鈥�22) currently works in Madagascar as a health volunteer.

Pamela Civins (Engl鈥�86) served in Nepal as an education volunteer.

Lee Belstock (A&S鈥�63; Law鈥�66) volunteered in Peru doing community economic development.

Ryan Van Duzer (Jour鈥�03) worked in youth development in Honduras.

Page Weil (CivEngr鈥�05; MS鈥�15) helped design and construct local water systems in the Philippines.

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Photos courtesy Julia Leone, Lee Belstock, Page Weil, Pamela Civins, Ryan Van Duzer

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(LASP) is the university鈥檚 first and highest-budget research institute 鈥� 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鈥檚 physics department, LASP鈥檚 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鈥�30

EVE on  examines variations in the sun鈥檚 extreme ultraviolet light over time.

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

Mercury

2004鈥�15

LASP Spectrometer on  first detected magnesium in Mercury鈥檚 exosphere.

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

Venus

1978鈥�92

Ultraviolet Spectrometer on  identified sulfur dioxide in the clouds, indicating potential volcanic activity.

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

Earth

Scheduled 2027

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

Moon

2013鈥�14

Lunar Dust Experiment on  gathered and analyzed lunar dust particles.

• Mission Highlight: Revealed tiny meteoroids deliver water to the Moon鈥檚 exosphere.

Mars

2013鈥�14

Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph on  discovered an aurora caused by proton precipitation in Mars鈥� atmosphere.

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

Jupiter

1989鈥�2003

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

• Mission Highlight: Found evidence of a subsurface ocean on Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa.

Saturn

1997鈥�2017

Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph on  measured emissions from gases emitted by volcanoes on Jupiter鈥檚 moon Io.

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

Uranus

1977鈥揅耻谤谤别苍迟

Photopolarimeter Subsystem on  discovered Uranus鈥� rings are younger than the solar system.

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

Neptune

1977鈥揅耻谤谤别苍迟

Photopolarimeter Subsystem on found Neptune鈥檚 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鈥揅耻谤谤别苍迟

on  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鈥�

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

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In 1933, Wilma Howard Garrison (A&S鈥�35) helped the 欧美口爆视频 women鈥檚 field hockey team win the junior class championship 鈥� an accomplishment that gained her praise for an excellent play, and the likely reason why she acquired this laurel wreath pin from the Women鈥檚 Athletic Association (WAA).

Established by women students passionate about athletics, the WAA strove to promote interest in women鈥檚 sports. Membership was based on points, which were earned by participating and competing in the association鈥檚 sports. Members could then acquire accolades such as pins, letters and sweaters.

From its inception in 1905 to Garrison鈥檚 membership in the early 1930s, the organization experienced hard-earned growth. It expanded the variety of sports in which 欧美口爆视频 women could participate, adding options like volleyball, baseball, swimming and dance to the roster.

The association also helped 欧美口爆视频 women obtain a designated spot for their athletics. In 1912, women began using a space located on The Hill as an athletic facility (before this, they were required to schedule time at the Men鈥檚 Gymnasium). In 1928, the university built a dedicated Women鈥檚 Gymnasium.

Awards like Garrison鈥檚 pin reflect the history of 欧美口爆视频 women鈥檚 athletics and tell the story of women pursuing something greater.

Factoids:

Origins

Wilma Howard Garrison (A&S鈥�35) earned this pin as a wing player in field hockey.

Debut

In 1905 on Gamble Field, 欧美口爆视频 women competed in athletics for the first time, playing field hockey against the University of Denver.

School Spirit

Garrison鈥檚 other student involvements included drama, a sorority, an honorary society and several women鈥檚 organizations.

First Four

Four sports originally made up the WAA: basketball, field hockey, gymnastics and tennis.

Est.

The 欧美口爆视频 Women鈥檚 Athletic Association (WAA) formed in 1905. 

欧美口爆视频 Soulmates

Wilma married fellow 欧美口爆视频 alum, William Garrison (贰濒贰苍驳谤鈥�33).

Design

Prior to the 1930s, the university was typically referred to as UC.

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When Karen Shimamoto (Bio鈥�07) first heard about the Forever Buffs Network (FBN) Mentorship Program, she knew it would be a wonderful opportunity to give back and support a fellow Buff. The program offers a unique opportunity to connect with other Buffs through a guided mentor鈥搈entee relationship.

Shimamoto was paired with Gennah Penalosa (Fin鈥�23), a recent graduate who joined the program looking for help in navigating her new career.

鈥淭he program was the perfect opportunity to guide me,鈥� said Penalosa. 鈥淚n looking through the various alumni profiles, I was astonished to see the diversity of ethnicities, careers, interests and other identities across the community.鈥�

For Shimamoto and Penalosa, one of the biggest benefits of the mentorship program has been the opportunity to see the world through each other鈥檚 eyes.

鈥淪he has taught me so much. Her approaches to professional and personal situations have helped me widen my perspectives and find ways to be more inclusive,鈥� said Shimamoto.

The FBN Mentorship Program offers participants prompts and guided activities to help make the meetings more comfortable and intentional. For example, one prompt that Shimamoto and Penalosa had was to do a learning activity together. They chose to listen to a podcast episode on leadership in the professional setting which focused on women of color. After listening, they discussed their shared experiences as women of color and the different ways in which they approach leadership. The activity helped them learn about each other and deepen their relationship.

鈥淚t鈥檚 truly an honor to understand how a recent graduate is experiencing and navigating the workforce,鈥� said Shimamoto. 鈥淪he is also helping me understand how I can advocate, encourage and uplift women of color professionals.鈥�

Whether as a mentor or mentee, you can expand your knowledge and grow with a fellow Buff. Learn more about how to apply for the mentorship program here. 

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Photo courtesy Karen Shimamoto and Gennah Penalosa

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