CO-LABS Conference
Showcasing Colorado's Federal Research Labs: Governor's Award for Research ImpactPROGRAM • AGENDA
CO-LABS held a one-day conference on Wednesday, February 18, 2009
at the Sheraton Denver West Hotel to
• Energize Colorado’s political and scientific community for the new administration’s research agenda
• Increase awareness of Colorado’s federal research labs and their research
• Recognize and highlight the Labs’ leadership and excellence
• Make and publicize awards linking scientific research to global impact
Each of Colorado’s 24 federal laboratories was invited to nominate a case study of a technology or scientific discovery that was recently implemented that had an impact on a global challenge. Projects at eleven federal laboratories were finalists. These labs are:
• Centers for Disease Control Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Ft. Collins
• Cooperative Institute for Research on the Environment, NOAA/CU, Boulder
• Earth Systems Research Lab, NOAA, Boulder
• Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, US Department of Commerce, Boulder
• JILA and National Institute for Standards and Technology, CU/US Department of Commerce, Boulder
• National Center for Atmospheric Research, NSF, Boulder
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Golden
• National Wildlife Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Ft. Collins
• Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center, USGS, Lakewood
• Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Ft. Collins
CONFERENCE FORMAT:
• Opening speech by Dan Arvizu, NREL lab director, with observations on the federal laboratory system.
• Small group panel discussions on topical issues with representatives of multiple labs. Objective is to
provide opportunity for participants to learn how labs use their specialized expertise to work together
on common challenges, and to understand the current state of the research.
• Announcement of Governor’s Award for Research Impact to lab leaders.
THE GOVERNOR PRESENTED THE GOVERNOR’S AWARDS FOR RESEARCH IMPACT AT A SPECIAL CEREMONY ON FEBRUARY 17, 2009.
The five awards and their recipients are:
2009 Governor’s Award for Research Impact: Climate Science
Community Climate System Model
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Peter Gent, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
The Community Climate System Model (CCSM) is one of the world’s leading climate models. CCSM experiments provide insights into many aspects of the Earth's climate system by simulating the complex influences of the oceans, atmosphere, land surface, and sea ice on global climate. Using the CCSM, scientists are able to project how temperatures and precipitation are likely to change in response to continued increases in greenhouse gas concentrations. The model, developed over the past decade at NCAR through a large collaboration of scientists, uses open source code and data making it freely available for use by a variety of entities. Predictions from this model are used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
NCAR contact: Rachel Hauser, 303.497.1117, rhauser@ucar.edu
2009 Governor’s Award for Research Impact: Information Technology
NIST Internet Time Service
JILA and National Institute of Standards and Technology
Judah Levine, PhD, Developer
Judah Levine received the Information Technology Award for his development of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Internet Time Service, which allows users to synchronize computer clocks via the Internet. Levine is a Fellow of NIST and a Fellow of JILA, a joint institute of NIST and CU Boulder. Since he spearheaded the development of the first automated computer time service in 1988, Levine has participated in the transformation of global timekeeping. Working with other scientists at NIST, he invented services that offer the precision of atomic-clock-based time to the public and to such high-tech systems as the nation’s electric power grid and telecommunications networks. NIST Internet Time Service now provides the exact time in response to more than 3 billion inquiries each day from clients such as the global positioning system (GPS), the stock market, and other financial institutions that rely on electronic transactions. In addition, millions of people use NIST radio broadcasts to synchronize wall clocks, clock radios and wristwatches with atomic time.
NIST contact: Laura Ost, 303.497.4880, laura.ost@nist.gov
2009 Governor’s Award for Research Impact: Renewable Energy
Thin Film Solar Cells
National Center for Photovoltaics
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Most of the design innovations for solar cells over the past 30 years have led to dramatic increases in efficiency. NREL’s National Center for Photovoltaics, along with university and corporate partners, is rapidly improving and finding new uses for Thin Film Solar Cells. These films of special photovoltaic material use much less material than crystalline silicon cells and have relatively high conversion efficiencies. Some are manufactured in layers using ink jet technologies and are applied directly to building materials such as glass, steel and shingles. While the power delivered per square foot is not as high as traditional silicon panels, the ability to place these cells over large areas at low cost promises to one day turn buildings into solar power plants.
NREL contact: Janice Rooney, janice_rooney@nrel.gov, 303.275.3859 or 303.275.4090
2009 Governor’s Award for Research Impact: Public Health
Inhaled Aerosol Vaccines
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science
Robert E. Sievers, PhD, Principal Investigator
Building on their development of methods to create dry, inhalable vaccines and pharmaceuticals, scientists at CIRES, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Colorado are playing a leading role in an international collaboration to provide a dry powder containing live, inhalable measles vaccine together with inexpensive single-dose inhalers. This vaccine has the advantage of easy needle-free administration, low shipping costs, and no need for refrigeration. Working with Aktiv-Dry, a spin-out company from CU, and the World Health Organization, researchers are now field testing this technology. If the vaccine can be successfully administered in developing countries, the demand for it is estimated to be 400 million doses per year, which will save many thousands of lives. Inhalable tuberculosis antibiotics are also being researched.
CIRES contact: Adriana Bailey, 303.492.6289, adriana.bailey@colorado.edu
2009 Governor’s Award for Research Impact: Natural Resources
Oral Contraceptive for Wildlife
USDA National Wildlife Research Center
Kathleen Fagerstone, Ph.D., Manager, Invasive Species and Technology Development Program
Lowell Miller, Ph.D., Research Reproductive Physiologist
The population of Canada Geese in North America has grown six fold in the last fifty years to nearly six million birds. Many no longer migrate and are considered nuisances. They create health risks from droppings and are a danger to aircraft. Because many of these geese live in urban environments, lethal control is not an acceptable option. In response, scientists at the National Wildlife Research Center and their industry partners have developed an oral contraceptive that reduces egg production and viability. The result, OvoControl®, is fed to Canada geese during breeding season. Its effects are temporary, and it does not harm the birds, other animals, or people. The Center carried out trials over seven years to develop standards for the contraceptive’s use and test its effects on the environment. Today it is being successfully used in more than 25 communities to humanely manage goose, duck, and pigeon populations.
NWRC contact: Gail Keirn, 970.266.6007, gail.m.keirn@aphis.usda.gov
