A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE BRILLIANT RESEARCH

YOUR TAX DOLLARS SUPPORT IN COLORADO:

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Public Safety Communications Research (NIST PSCR) division in Boulder has revolutionized emergency response by developing interoperability standards that enable seamless communication between different public safety agencies, advancing next-generation 911 systems that improve location accuracy for first responders and producing cutting-edge technologies like augmented reality applications for firefighters, ultimately saving lives by enabling faster response times and better coordination during emergencies.

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The USGS-operated National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF) in Denver has revolutionized our understanding of Earth's climate history by storing, curating, and studying more than 10 miles of ice cores sampled from around the globe. These ice samples serve as frozen archives containing detailed records of past atmospheric conditions, enabling scientists to analyze ancient climate patterns, volcanic eruptions, and atmospheric composition changes spanning hundreds of thousands of years.

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Meanwhile, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder has made major contributions to hurricane forecasting, air quality modeling, and severe weather prediction, leading to improved early warning systems that have saved lives and mitigated disaster impacts worldwide.

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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado has spearheaded America's transition to clean energy by conducting cutting-edge research in solar photovoltaics, wind energy, biofuels, and hydrogen technologies, developing breakthrough innovations in modeling that helps policymakers and utilities integrate renewable energy into the grid, ultimately driving down costs and making clean energy more accessible while strengthening America's energy security and economic competitiveness.

The USDA Center for Agricultural Resources Research (CARR) in Fort Collins has secured America's agricultural future by preserving critical genetic resources including plant, animal, insect, and microbial material. By maintaining comprehensive genetic collections that serve as a vital repository for agricultural biodiversity, CARR is ultimately ensuring food security by safeguarding the genetic foundation of American agriculture while providing farmers with cutting-edge research and tools to meet growing global food demands.

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When a hurricane forms over the Atlantic, the Cooperative Insitutute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins processes high-resolution satellite data from NOAA's GOES satellites in near real-time. This allows meteorologists to track the storm's exact path, measure its intensity, and predict where it will make landfall. CIRA's main goal with severe weather imagery is to better guide forecasts and public safety warnings.

 

The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder provides real-time monitoring of solar storms and their effects on Earth’s electrical grids, GPS systems, droughts & communications networks.

Colorado Springs is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy's 24 Research Centers and Institutues providing cadets with the knowledge, skills, and responsibilities necessary to succeed as leaders in the Air Force and Space Force; in the past 5 years alone, the Academy has submitted 30 invention disclosures and has received 30 patents.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) conducts essential research on spectrum sharing and wireless communications, helping to shape policies that support national defense, public safety & commercial telecommunications.

 

When the sun erupts with a solar flare or coronal mass ejection, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder

helps protect Earth's technology infrastructure through its space weather monitoring instruments, such as the EXIS sensors aboard NOAA's GOES satellites. These instruments monitor for solar flares and energetic particle events that can disrupt communication systems, cause power outages, and interfere with satellites (think all of our cellphones and internet connections) giving critical advance warning to protect both space-based and ground-based technology systems from potentially damaging solar storms.

This is just a few of the world-class scientific programs happening in Colorado.