Colorado State University research expenses were reportedly more than $300 million for the seventh year in a row. The National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey ranked CSU in the top 10 percent of universities in the country.
Vice President of Research at CSU, Dr. Alan Rudolph, said the university is particularly excelling in sustainable research, appearing eleventh in the Sierra Club’s ranking of school’s commitment to upholding high environmental standards.
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“That speaks to how we operate, but it also speaks to how we think about the environment and think about our discovery and products of our discoveries in regards to the environment and sustainability,” Rudolph said.
In fact, more than 75 percent of CSU’s faculty members are engaged in sustainability-related research, according to CSU communications coordinator Kortny Rolston.
Check out a few of Rudolph’s top picks for research done at CSU, which also include those in the agricultural and health fields.
Sustainability
CSU is part of a new 10-year international research initiative called Future Earth that will look into responding effectively to global environmental change.
“Leading the dialogue about the importance to study climate change, especially to this region that has seen significant events around fires and floods, I think this is a great opportunity for us to act locally and think globally,” Rudolph said.
The Prieto Battery was created in part by Amy Prieto, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at CSU. This innovation means a battery that has a very high power density, long cycle life, greater energy density and is made using highly recyclable materials that don’t produce toxic acid. It is referred to as the “next-generation battery.”
Health
The BioMARC Manufacturing facility located on the foothills campus will allow CSU and its industry partners to manufacture vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, translating research into product. The facility will work on fundamental problems related to infectious disease, according to Rudolph.
Agriculture
CSU has always been associated with agriculture and continues its legacy with one of the largest wheat breeding programs in the nation.
“We’re really well poised given our long history of agriculture to really move fast and be impactful around new trait development,” Rudolph said.
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The University will also be hosting an Agriculture Innovation Summit in 2015.
Collegian Green Beat Reporter Laren Cyphers can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @larenwritesgood.
