Celebrate

Regents honor William King, Alice Mortenson with honorary degrees

Megan M Rogers — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:29:21 +0000

Regents honor William King, Alice Mortenson with honorary degrees Megan M Rogers Mon, 03/30/2026 - 08:29

The University of Colorado Board of Regents has announced its selection of recipients of honorary degrees, distinguished service awards and university medals for 2026, including two �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder affiliates.

Given since 1882, the regent awards include:

Honorary degrees, which recognize outstanding achievement in one or more of the following areas: intellectual contributions, university service, philanthropy and/or public service.
Distinguished service awards, which recognize those persons whose achievements and contributions are particularly associated with the state and/or nation.
University medals, which recognize those persons whose achievements and contributions are particularly associated with the university.

The 2026 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder awardees are William King, the second tenured African American professor at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder, and Alice Mortenson, a renowned philanthropist and community leader who co-founded the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience.

William King, honorary degree

King, professor emeritus at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder, is a distinguished scholar, educator and community leader. He was the second tenured African American professor at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder and the university’s longest-serving Black professor (1972–2012) in history, known for pioneering contributions to Black studies, transformative teaching and dedication to social justice.

During his 40-year career, King played a pivotal role in establishing �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’s Black studies curriculum, which later evolved into the Department of Ethnic Studies. He designed and taught numerous groundbreaking courses, including Black Religious Life in America and The Civil Rights Movement, inspiring generations of students. A founding member of the National Council for Black Studies, King also served as its chairman and historian, shaping the discipline nationally.

An accomplished author, King has published books, scholarly articles and essays that explore African American history, science and public policy. His widely cited work has enriched academic discourse.

Beyond academia, King has served as chairman of the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver and contributed to organizations such as the Black American West Museum and Colorado Historic Preservation Review Board.

Alice Mortenson, honorary degree

Mortenson is a renowned philanthropist and community leader who has made exceptional contributions to education, public service and global development. Her enduring legacy of advocacy, collaboration and generosity has left a profound impact on �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder and communities worldwide.

Mortenson—alongside her late husband, M.A. “Mort” Mortenson Jr.—co-founded the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder in 2009. The center has impacted over five million lives globally through innovative solutions addressing water, sanitation and resilience challenges.

The center and its affiliates are involved in such international research programs as the Sustainable WASH Systems partnership, Bill Gates’ Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, and the Drought Resilience Impact Platform. Graduate students participating in field practicums benefit from partnerships developed in over 80 countries.

Beyond �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder, Mortenson has made significant contributions to education and community development. She and Mort co-founded the Mortenson Family Foundation, which focuses on expanding opportunities for children and families, sustaining environmental systems and strengthening developing communities.

She established the Alice D. Mortenson/Petrovich Chair in Russian History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has served in leadership roles for numerous organizations, including Macalester College, Westminster Presbyterian Church and the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches.

The �鶹��Ѱ��Board of Regents announced its selection of recipients of honorary degrees, distinguished service awards and university medals for 2026. William King was the second tenured African American professor at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder. Alice Mortenson, who co-founded the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience, is a renowned philanthropist and community leader.

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4 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder professors honored as AAAS fellows

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:30:31 +0000

4 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder professors honored as AAAS fellows Megan M Rogers Thu, 03/26/2026 - 06:30

Two professors from the College of Arts and Sciences—Rebecca Safran and Tin Tin Su—and two professors from the College of Engineering and Applied Science—Aaron Clauset and R. Steven Nerem—have been elected 2025 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

They are among nearly 500 scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized this year for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements by one of the world’s largest general scientific societies and publisher of the Science family of journals. They also join a cohort of more than 80 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder faculty members who previously received the honor.

Safran is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who has led groundbreaking research on the evolution of new species; Su is a professor and the chair of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, whose research is leading to novel cancer therapies. Clauset is a professor of computer science and an internationally recognized expert on network science, data science and complex systems; Nerem is a professor of aerospace engineering and an expert in satellite remote sensing and geodesy.

A tradition dating back to 1874, election as an AAAS fellow is a lifetime honor, and all fellows are expected to meet the commonly held standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity. Distinguished past honorees include Alan Alda, Steven Chu, W.E.B DuBois, Thomas Edison, Grace Hopper, Ayanna Howard, Irwin Jacobs, Mae Jemison, Maria Mitchell and Ellen Ochoa.

“This year’s AAAS fellows have demonstrated research excellence, made notable contributions to advance science, and delivered important services to their communities,” said Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science journals. “These fellows and their accomplishments validate the importance of investing in science and technology for the benefit of all.”

Read more about �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder's latest AAAS lifetime fellows.

Read more

College of Arts and Sciences: �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder scientists honored as AAAS fellows

College of Engineering and Applied Science: AAAS honors two �鶹��Ѱ��Engineering researchers as lifetime fellows

Aaron Clauset

Clauset has been a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and the BioFrontiers Institute since 2010. Clauset’s research interests are broad, from using computational analysis to predict ovarian cancer outcomes, to shining light on potential biases in journal paper acceptance.

In 2025, he made Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers list for demonstrating “broad and significant influence” in his field. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the Erdos-Renyi Prize in Network Science. Clauset also serves as an external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute.

Clauset said he is honored to be elected as a fellow of AAAS, a group that has long championed the role of science in society.

“Science offers the best way to find order and meaning in the complex and often chaotic world we live in. My research shows how powerful computational tools can reveal the hidden structures of complex systems, and helps us use that understanding for the public good,” he said.

“I am grateful to my students and colleagues at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder. This honor reflects our shared commitment to using data-driven science to understand and, ultimately, improve the complex social structures we all inhabit.”

Aaron Clauset, Professor, Computer Science

R. Steven Nerem

Nerem is an aerospace engineering expert with over 30 years of experience. He was recruited to �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder in 2000 as a full professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and currently serves as director of the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research.

Nerem uses satellite-based techniques to monitor changes in Earth’s shape and gravity field due to shifts in sea level, distribution of water and ice planetwide, and vertical crustal motion. The AAAS election makes Nerem the second member of his family to be part of the prestigious body.

“This is a great honor. I really enjoy doing research—it’s like a hobby,” Nerem said. “The most important thing to me about my selection is that my father, who passed away in 2020, was also an AAAS fellow, so it’s nice to follow in his footsteps.”

Nerem has been part of multiple NASA missions, including the ongoing GRACE-FO and Sentinel 6B satellites. He leads an active research group, with more than 480 publications, including 12 in 2025 alone. He is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and was the inaugural recipient of the Earth Science and Applications Award from the American Astronautical Society.

R. Steven Nerem, Professor, Aerospace Engineering Sciences

Rebecca Safran

Safran, whose passion for biology took root in a plant taxonomy class during her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, is a professor in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She and her research team study the evolution of new species, focusing on the causes and consequences of individual variation across different scales of time and space.

Because studying the formation of new species can be difficult—since most species are millions of years old and what caused them to diverge from their ancestors often can’t be determined—Safran and her team study barn swallows, a very closely related group of populations of migratory birds that are currently diverging. This allows Safran and her team to study the process of speciation in real time.

Safran won a National Science Foundation Early Career Development award to study speciation in barn swallows across their entire, expansive breeding range throughout the Northern Hemisphere and Middle East. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when it wasn’t possible to conduct research in other countries, Safran and her team began focusing on the rapid decline in the population of barn swallows and its implications—using a highly integrative approach including behavioral, physiological and genetic perspectives.

Her team’s research has been published in more than 120 peer-reviewed journals, including Science, Nature and Current Biology. Safran also co-edited a recent book on speciation.

“None of this work is possible without the incredible collaboration with students, colleagues at �鶹��Ѱ��and around the world, private landowners who allow us to study populations of barn swallows on their properties and continuous funding support by the National Science Foundation and other agencies,” Safran says.

“I am especially honored to have worked with so many talented undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students.”

Rebecca Safran, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Tin Tin Su

Su is a professor in the department of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology. Su, who attended Woodstock School in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, credits her experiences there, in part, with helping her understand that her ideal environment is one in which “you do respect the elders or people who have had more experience or authority. But at the same time, if it doesn't seem right, you question it.”

Throughout her career, Su and her research colleagues have sought to develop new ways of attacking cancer. Through research on how tissues and organs regenerate after being damaged by X-rays in fruit flies, they synthesized the chemical SVC112, which helps prevent cancer cells from regrowing following radiation exposure. Su and her colleagues focused on the fruit fly because this insect shares more than 70% of disease-relevant genes with humans.

SVC112 is based on the chemical bouvardin found in the firecracker bush (Bouvardia ternifolia) that grows in the Southwest U.S. and Mexico. Su and her colleagues discovered that bouvardin can prevent regeneration of tissues in fruit flies.

More recently, Su, who also is a member of the �鶹��Ѱ��Cancer Center, and her colleague Antonio Jimeno, used SVC112 to target cancer stem cells in head and neck cancers. They are in the process of applying to the FDA to test SVC112 in human trials.

Su also has participated in the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Community Perspectives Program, conducting outreach in several rural Colorado communities that led to a research collaboration with Colorado State University Pueblo to assess the effect of heavy metals on the genome in fruit fly and human cells.

“I do what I do because I love science,” Su says. “The potential to help cancer patients in Colorado and beyond makes it even better. So, to be named an AAAS fellow is really the cherry on top!”

Tin Tin Su; Professor and Chair; Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology

Aaron Clauset, R. Steven Nerem, Rebecca Safran and Tin Tin Su have been recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for excellence in research, teaching and interpreting science to the public.

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Ralphie's Green Stampede claims zero-waste honors for 3rd straight year

Megan M Rogers — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 20:28:12 +0000

Ralphie's Green Stampede claims zero-waste honors for 3rd straight year Megan M Rogers Wed, 03/25/2026 - 14:28

The University of Colorado Athletic Department's signature sustainability program, Ralphie's Green Stampede, continues to achieve national recognition, earning 2025 GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge honors from the National Wildlife Federation.

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BFA announces Excellence Awards winners, celebratory ceremony April 7

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:11:33 +0000

BFA announces Excellence Awards winners, celebratory ceremony April 7 Megan M Rogers Thu, 03/05/2026 - 10:11

The Boulder Faculty Assembly is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 BFA Excellence Awards and invite members of the campus community to attend this year’s in-person ceremony in celebration of the recipients. BFA Excellence Awards recognize outstanding contributions by faculty in the areas of teaching; service and leadership; and research, scholarly and creative work.

The awards, which are peer-nominated, are presented in three categories. The 2026 BFA Excellence Award categories and winners are:

Excellence in Leadership and Service

Professor Jennifer Fluri, Geography
Clinical Professor of Law Violeta Chapin, School of Law
Associate Teaching Professor Dan Riffell, Mechanical Engineering

Excellence in Research, Scholarly and Creative Work

Professor Michael McGehee, Chemical & Biological Engineering
Professor Juliet Gopinath, Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering
Professor Bhuvana Narasimhan, Linguistics

Excellence in Teaching

Assistant Professor Natalie Mendoza, History
Teaching Professor Abby Hickcox, Arts & Sciences Honors
Associate Professor Chase Raymond, Linguistics

If you go

Who: Campus community
What: 2026 BFA Excellence Awards ceremony and Hazel Barnes address by John Cumalat
When: Tuesday, April 7, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Where: UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom

Hors d'ouerves and host bar to follow

In addition to honoring this year’s winners, the ceremony on April 7, will feature a faculty address by 2025 Hazel Barnes Prize awardee John Cumalat. A reception will follow afterward for attendees to share personal congratulations with each of the award winners.

The campus created the BFA Excellence Awards in the early 1980s to recognize outstanding work and concerted effort in advancing the mission of the university and the academy at large.

These prestigious awards are made possible through financial support from the chancellor, enabling the BFA to grant each recipient a $5,000 monetary award.

The Hazel Barnes Prize is the largest and most prestigious single faculty award funded by �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder. It was established in 1991 by former Chancellor James Corbridge in honor of Philosophy Professor Emerita Hazel Barnes to recognize “the enriching interrelationship between teaching and research.”

Hazel Barnes, one of our campus’s most accomplished scholars, received a BFA Excellence in Teaching Award in 1983.

Find out who received this year's Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence Awards, and plan to celebrate at an upcoming ceremony featuring the Hazel Barnes faculty address.

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�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder's Nathan Mertens awarded National Endowment for the Arts grant

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 20:44:45 +0000

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder's Nathan Mertens awarded National Endowment for the Arts grant Megan M Rogers Thu, 02/19/2026 - 13:44

College of Music

The College of Music is proud to announce that Assistant Professor of Saxophone Nathan Mertens has been awarded an NEA Grants for Arts Projects award. This is the college's first GAP grant, representing an important step forward for �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder in national arts funding.

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3 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder faculty named Sloan Research Fellows

Greg B Swenson — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:12:15 +0000

3 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder faculty named Sloan Research Fellows Greg B Swenson Wed, 02/18/2026 - 09:12

Kelsie Eichel, Andres Montoya-Castillo and Erica Nelson have received Sloan Research Fellowships—awards that provide $75,000 in funding for early career researchers in fields including chemistry, physics, neuroscience and mathematics.

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3 faculty members elected to National Academy of Engineering

Daniel William Strain — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 23:15:22 +0000

3 faculty members elected to National Academy of Engineering Daniel William… Thu, 02/12/2026 - 16:15

This week, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced that three faculty members at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder were elected to the ranks of this prestigious organization. Dana Anderson, Iain Boyd and Bob Erickson are among the 130 scientists and engineers from around the country who will be inducted as members of the NAE at a meeting this fall.

According to an announcement: “Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education.”

Richard Obermann, senior technical advisor for the Colorado Space Policy Center at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder, was also elected as a member of the NAE.

The new members of the Class of 2026 join Scott Diddams, Hanspeter Schaub, Dan Frangopol and Charles W. Hull, engineers with ties to �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder, who were elected to the NAE last year. More than 20 engineers with ties to the College of Engineering and Applied Science at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder have been elected to the NAE over the years.

Dana Anderson

Dana Anderson (Credit: Infleqtion)

JILA Fellow; Professor, Department of Physics; appointment to the Department of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering

Anderson was recognized for "for contributions to optical quantum engineering of ultracold atoms."

He joined the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder faculty in 1984 and has long been at the forefront of translating laboratory science into real-world impact. As founder and chief science officer of Infleqtion (formerly ColdQuanta), he has helped lead the development of practical quantum systems including clocks, inertial sensors, radio frequency sensors, networks, and quantum computing platforms. Infleqtion systems are currently operating on the International Space Station through NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory mission, with continuous operation for over five years.

Anderson's academic research spans quantum optics, atomic physics, atom-chip technologies and precision measurement, areas in which his group has developed integrated atom interferometers and practical devices based on ultracold atoms. He earned his doctorate in physics from the University of Arizona and is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America.

Reflecting on his election to the NAE, Anderson emphasized the community that helped make it possible: “I owe much to the support that �鶹��Ѱ��Physics, JILA and Engineering have given me over the years to transition atom-based quantum technology into the ‘real’ world.”

Iain Boyd

H.T. Sears Memorial Professor, Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences; Director, Center for National Security Initiatives

Boyd is recognized "for contributions to the computational simulation of high-temperature gases and plasmas using kinetic methods for hypersonics and space propulsion."

He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of aerothermodynamics. Boyd's research focuses on physical and computational methods for analysis of nonequilibrium gas and plasma dynamics processes that occur around hypersonic vehicles and in space propulsion systems.

He has authored over 250 journal articles, more than 450 conference papers, and a book titled "Nonequilibrium Gas Dynamics and Molecular Simulation." He joined �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder in 2019 following positions at the University of Michigan, Cornell University and NASA Ames Research Center.

Boyd earned his doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Southampton in England. He is a fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), the American Physical Society and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

"Hypersonics is so engaging to me because it involves so many different disciplines including gas dynamics, chemistry, materials, structures and propulsion," Boyd said. "Interest in hypersonic systems has never been greater with major activities in national security, space exploration and the evolving space economy."

Bob Erickson

Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering

Erickson is recognized "for advances in modeling, control, education and massive open online courses in power electronics."

He is a pioneering figure in power electronics whose innovative research has transformed the field and set new standards for efficiency and performance in electric vehicles, as well as in inverters for solar power, wind power and battery energy storage systems. He joined the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder faculty in 1982 and served as chair of the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering from 2002-06, 2014-15 and 2018-2020.

Erickson is a life fellow of IEEE, a fellow of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder and is the author of the textbook Fundamentals of Power Electronics. He received the IEEE William E Newell Power Electronics Award in 2021, the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Inventor of the Year award in 2015, the Holland Teaching Excellence Award in 2010, and the IEEE Power Electronics Society Transactions Prize Paper Award in 1996.

His research interests include modeling and control of power conversion systems, modular and multilevel converter systems and power electronics for electric vehicles, renewable energy sources, and data centers. Erickson received his doctorate in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

“I am most grateful for this honor, and I very much appreciate the support and collaboration of my colleagues in ECEE, the college and �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder through the years," Erickson said.

Dana Anderson, Iain Boyd and Bob Erickson will join the ranks of the prestigious organization, one of the highest honors engineers can receive.

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14 students recognized as Graduating Leaders of the Year

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:14:50 +0000

14 students recognized as Graduating Leaders of the Year Megan M Rogers Thu, 02/12/2026 - 07:14

The Center for Leadership is proud to celebrate the outstanding contributions of �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder's Graduating Leaders of the Year. This award honors individuals who have exemplified the transformative power of leadership education and demonstrated exceptional commitment to their communities.

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John Cumalat named Big 12 Faculty of the Year Award winner

Megan M Rogers — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 14:19:41 +0000

John Cumalat named Big 12 Faculty of the Year Award winner Megan M Rogers Wed, 02/11/2026 - 07:19

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

John Cumalat, a professor of distinction in the Department of Physics, and fellow honorees represent "what makes college campuses thrive as places of learning and growth."

John Cumalat, a professor of distinction in the Department of Physics, and fellow honorees of the Big 12 Faculty of the Year Award represent "what makes college campuses thrive as places of learning and growth."

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Karolin Luger wins Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:53:42 +0000

Karolin Luger wins Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science Megan M Rogers Thu, 02/05/2026 - 09:53

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

The �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder biochemist has been awarded for her career dedication to the study of nucleosomes and groundbreaking discoveries.

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Celebrate

Regents honor William King, Alice Mortenson with honorary degrees

William King, honorary degree

Alice Mortenson, honorary degree

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