Colorado State University announces 100 percent wind energy commitment

The CSU Green Power Project, a wind farm in Northern Colorado that will generate more power than the University consumes.

Colorado State University in March announced plans to convert its entire Fort Collins campus energy use to 100 percent wind power.

The University, already a worldwide leader in developing and disseminating clean and renewable energy solutions, has committed to developing the CSU Green Power Project, a wind farm in Northern Colorado that will generate more power than the University consumes. The project - to be completed within eight years - will also serve as a unique outdoor laboratory for researchers across campus in areas ranging from clean energy technology development to a variety of related environmental impact studies.

The Colorado State University Research Foundation or CSURF, the private, non-profit advocacy arm of the university, recently finalized a deal with Wind Holding LLC to develop the facility on the University's 11,000-acre Maxwell Ranch near the Wyoming border.

The wind farm furthers the University's dedication to practicing, researching, and developing clean-energy solutions and environmental stewardship. It also provides unsurpassed opportunities to study both energy systems and environmental systems that encompass a variety of University departments and societal interests.

"The Colorado State University Green Power Project is just another step in the University's overall goal to develop reliable and ecologically sound energy alternatives to fossil fuels and to continue groundbreaking research in this area," said Colorado State President Larry Edward Penley. "Colorado State is a leader in global renewable energy solutions, whether that involves running our snowplows on biofuels or installing clean-burning, electricity-generating cookstoves in the underdeveloped world."

For decades, the University has taken steps to reduce its environmental impact, converting heavy equipment and snowplows to run on biofuels, increasing recycling efforts 23 percent in the past three years and decreasing water use 17 percent despite increases in building square footage and student enrollment. In 2001, Colorado State also joined the Talloires Declaration - a pact signed by more than 300 higher education institutions in a global commitment to incorporate sustainability and environmental literacy. In 2004, as a result of student efforts, Colorado State became one of the first universities in the nation to offer residence hall and university apartment students the option to purchase wind power. For more information about the University's many on-campus green efforts, visit www.fm.colostate.edu/sustain.

In the research arena, Colorado State is internationally recognized for developing clean energy solutions such as alternative fuels, clean engines, photovoltaic or solar-powered devices, smart electric power grids and wind and water resources. More detailed information about these research efforts is available online.

Wind Holding LLC has two years to begin construction and up to eight years to complete the CSU Green Power Project, which would include a minimum of 65 megawatts or about 25 wind turbines with the potential of up to 200 megawatts. At peak demand, Colorado State currently uses about 16 megawatts of power.

"This is an unprecedented opportunity for a private sector wind power company to combine its years of practical expertise with the world-class green energy research capabilities of Colorado State University," said Bruce Morley, CEO of Wind Holding LLC. "This synergy could result in a quantum technology advance in developing solutions for a pressing domestic energy challenge."

For next steps, representatives of Wind Holding plan to:

• tap the numerous wildlife and environmental experts at Colorado State to address environmental questions as part of the process of building the wind farm;
• work with Colorado State and outside experts regarding the aesthetics of the wind turbines with careful site planning;
• solicit input from residents in the area and the general public about the project;
• demonstrate the financial benefits for typical ranching operations that enhance and stabilize their agricultural revenues through farming the wind;
• seek to offer other area landowners the opportunity to also host wind turbines on their property as a way of supplementing rural or ranching income.

In addition to its environmental benefits, the wind farm will provide researchers and students from across the University - departments such as atmospheric science, mechanical engineering, construction management, economics and wildlife biology - with an unprecedented opportunity to conduct cutting-edge wind systems and environmental sciences research at the large-scale outdoor laboratory, said Tony Frank, provost and senior vice president. Since the CSU Green Power Project will generate more wind power than the electrical needs of campus, it could produce up to an additional $30 million in revenue for the University over the life of the project, which is about 25 years. In addition, Colorado State can become a net exporter of green power.

"This wind farm will be an incredible addition to our commitment to research and discovery as well as teaching and learning," Frank said. "The University is already a leader in developing renewable energy solutions that address health and environmental concerns around the world."

"By powering the University with wind and opening its wind farm to University students and researchers, Colorado State is demonstrating a commitment to developing renewable energy technologies that can provide our nation with secure and clean domestic sources of energy," said Stan Bull, associate director at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Researchers develop sustainable eco-tourism plan in Kenyan national reserves

Tourism destinations provide habitat for elephants, giraffes, and zebras and serve as important areas for biodiversity conversation.

Colorado State University researchers are working with local Kenyan agencies to develop a sustainable eco-tourism plan that preserves local culture and natural habitat while supporting tourism.

Growing tourism destinations such as the Samburu Heartland region of Kenya and the Samburu, Buffalo Springs, and Shaba national reserves located north of the capital city of Nairobi provide habitat for elephants, giraffes, and zebras and serve as important areas for biodiversity conversation.

Tourists flock to the reserves to see such rare species as Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk, Somali ostrich, and the Beisa oryx, but the influx of tourists has placed the area's ecological, social, and cultural sustainability increasingly at risk, creating a critical need for effective visitor management and long-term planning.

Researchers Adam Beh and Brett Bruyere from CSU’s Department of Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism interviewed locals in the Samburu region, rangers in Kenyan parks, and tourists to understand the perceptions each group had about conservation and tourism. They used the results to train rangers in basic principles of visitor education and economic initiatives.

The study results have provided the people in Samburu with information to plan for long-term sustainable tourism and suggest opportunities for new economic development that considers the local culture and ecology, said Bruyere.

The researchers will present a complete sustainable tourism plan for the region, addressing socio-cultural, economic, and ecological sustainability issues as well as recommendations for further action.

Nature’s wake-up call in jeopardy

A warm winter could cause hibernating animals such as marmots, groundhogs, and ground squirrels to wake up sooner, possibly before there is an adequate supply of food available in their environment.

A changing, warmer global climate may have a detrimental effect on hibernating animals, says Greg Florant, a professor of biology at Colorado State University. A warm winter could cause hibernating animals such as marmots, groundhogs, and ground squirrels to wake up sooner, possibly before there is an adequate supply of food available in their environment.

Recent warm winter temperatures are expected to raise the metabolic rate of the ground-hibernating 13-lined squirrel, which uses fats and other nutrients to hibernate and regulate energy metabolism. Florant has found a correlation between temperature and the protein hormone leptin, which plays a crucial role in regulating an animal's body weight, metabolism, and reproductive functions.

The concentration of leptin decreases in ground squirrels living in warm ambient temperatures, regardless of whether they are in hibernation, Florant says. These temperatures speed the animals’ metabolism, causing a rapid drop in fat reserves, which decreases plasma leptin. Decreased leptin levels stimulate food intake and is usually associated with the coming of spring. Ground squirrels exposed to normal cold winter temperatures have abundant fat deposits, usually have higher plasma leptin concentrations, and do not feed.

Hibernating animals such as groundhogs are often seen traditionally as predictors of weather. These animals can teach researchers more about the complex behavior of hypometabolism - a regulated decrease in metabolic rate - where the animal can turn off their appetites and slow their breathing to a point that would be lethal to other animals.

Colorado leads new energy economy

Bryan Willson inspects beta cribs containing colonies of algae. CSU researchers are working with Solix Biofuels to create a system to economically produce biodiesel from algae.

Becoming a world leader in renewable energy research and rapidly transferring technologies to the private sector is the mission of the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, a unique partnership that combines the strengths of Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

In February, Colorado State President Larry Edward Penley and leaders from the three partnership institutions signed an agreement in Denver creating the alliance that will advance world-class research and commercialization of new energy technologies.

Each of these Colorado institutions has strong research programs in renewable energy, but by working in collaboration, they will enhance the state’s reputation as a renewable energy and energy efficiency leader, attract new renewable energy enterprises at a greater pace, and add to the Colorado's continuing economic vitality.

"This is a significant step forward in positioning our state and Colorado State University at the forefront of research on clean and renewable energy," said Penley. "Colorado State has an outstanding track record in renewable energy research - from developing specialized energy crops to creating a more robust, integrated, and renewable electrical power system."

Signed into law June 2006 with House Bill 1322 and endorsed by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and members of the Colorado delegation, the Collaboratory will receive up to $2 million a year for three years, beginning in 2007. The bill requires that the money be spent only on research-related expenses. The funds can be used only as matching funds to enable the Collaboratory to qualify for federal and private research projects, and any state monies used as matching funds must be repaid to the state as the Collaboratory earns income from technologies developed and transferred to private industry. The universities and NREL will pay all overhead expenses from their existing budgets.

The Collaboratory in November submitted a $21.8 million, three-year proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy to establish a Center for Revolutionary Photoconversion. With $1 million a year in matching state money in addition to university contributions, the center would attract more than $8 million a year for solar research. If funded, the proposal will support projects involving 30 NREL scientists, 34 university faculty members, 36 postdoctoral fellows, and 31 graduate students. A decision is expected in May.

Support for such renewable energy research comes from the top. In a campaign speech, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter outlined a seven-point plan to transition Colorado to a cleaner, more secure energy future. "This is our chance to build a new energy economy in Colorado," said Ritter.

While Ritter acknowledged that fossil fuels will continue to be a major part of Colorado’s energy economy, renewable energy will play an important role. "It’s how we create new jobs and stimulate the ailing economies of the Eastern Plains and San Luis Valley. It’s how we breathe new economic life into our farms. It’s one way to give new economic relevance to our colleges and universities. It’s how we prepare our workforce for 21st century industries," Ritter wrote in his energy proposal.

"Now we must do everything possible to ensure that the futuristic technology coming from the labs and the classrooms is transferred to the marketplace," said Ritter.

Experts weigh in on Colorado’s economy

Colorado’s economy likely will mirror the national economy in 2007, say Colorado State University economists Martin Shields and David Keyser. They project the state will experience a 1.7 percent increase in employment - about 39,600 new jobs - in 2007.

Shields and Keyser expect positive growth in nearly all industries except manufacturing. Professional and business services are expected to slow in 2007 from a 4 percent growth rate in the last three years to about 2.1 percent, or 7,000 new jobs. Private education and health services should continue to grow by 2.5 percent in 2007, essentially the same as its average since 2002.

Manufacturing is an important part of the state's economic portfolio, says Shields. Diversified economies tend to have lower unemployment rates. Manufacturing not only provides workers with relatively high wages and benefits, but often provides advancement opportunities youth, whether or not they go to college.

Two variables that could affect Colorado jobs: energy costs and the housing market. Rising energy costs can problematic, but Colorado's employment benefited from the recent fuel price increases with gains in energy production, say Shields and Keyser. Currently, the Northern Colorado housing market has an oversupply of new residential construction. Significant interest-rate hikes could harm the sector, even if the state's population continues to grow as expected.

CSU launches interactive model to evaluate funding needs for Colorado higher education  

Colorado's future depends on the state's ability to link its aspirations for economic prosperity and quality of life with the transforming capacity of its colleges and universities, says Colorado State University President Larry Edward Penley.

Penley’s comments were in response to the need for change in funding higher education after a study last year by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems found that Colorado’s educational institutions receive 63 percent of the funding of their national peers, among other findings.

Before lawmakers and educators can reach agreement on an appropriate, stable, long-term funding source for higher education and other essential state infrastructure needs, they must more effectively determine the funding needs of individual institutions as they relate to institutional mission, program cost, and peer funding levels, says Penley.

Using the recent NCHEMS study data, CSU developed a new online tool to assess real financial needs. Access the funding worksheet at http://www.president.colostate.edu/index.asp?page=funding and select the template for research institutions, community colleges, or state colleges.

Major study explores water-use policy that sustains rural communities while meeting urban needs

The water study will be conducted by a 14-member, multidisciplinary Colorado State team from three departments in the College of Agricultural Sciences in addition to the Water Resources Research Institute, and Colorado State University Cooperative Extension offices.

A major water study - the first of its kind in Colorado - will examine ways to sustain irrigated agriculture while meeting the increasing water demands of the state, providing crucial information that can be used in the development of water policy from both agricultural and urban perspectives.

The three-year, $1 million-plus project launched jointly by Parker Water and Sanitation District in Parker, Colo., and Colorado State University will develop and investigate cropping system options - techniques in crop planting and watering - to determine how much water can be saved. The water saved can be made available for possible urban use while at the same time sustaining viable economic returns to the agricultural and rural communities.

The project will provide valuable information in the development of optimal water policy in Colorado, said Tom Holtzer, head of the Colorado State research team and professor and department head of the Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management. It also will offer opportunities for students in agricultural economics, cropping systems, soil science, irrigation management, and pest management to observe agronomic and economic principles in a real-world case.

Cropping system options include rotational cropping (fallowing of a portion of the land); deficit and partial season irrigation (applying less water, but gaining maximum yield from the water applied); water conserving practices and drought-tolerant crop varieties; adoption of optimal irrigation technology; and alternative farming practices, crops, and markets.

The study will be conducted by a 14-member, multidisciplinary Colorado State team from three departments in the College of Agricultural Sciences in addition to the Water Resources Research Institute, and Colorado State University Cooperative Extension offices. Parker Water and Sanitation District will fund the research. The study experiments will be carried out on land owned by the water district near Iliff, Colo., and on local farms.

Finding a win-win model that can keep farmers farming and sustain rural communities while meeting urban water needs is the goal, said Frank Jaeger, director of the Parker Water and Sanitation District.

The cropping system strategies will be studied from the perspectives of farm profitability and economic activity in the agricultural and rural communities, the amount of water made available for other uses, and practical feasibility.

State investment accelerates biosciences R&D to market

The Governor's Office of Economic Development and International Trade has awarded grants to five Colorado State University projects to further research in the biosciences and ultimately to accelerate the development of new products and services. State law last year created the new Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program to speed the commercialization of new bioscience discoveries at Colorado research institutions. CSU must match the state funds through institutional and private sources.

"These funds will assist Colorado State's leading scientists to more quickly turn their scientific findings into products that could lead to new ventures and job creation," said Bill Farland, vice president for research at Colorado State. "One of the University's major goals is to fully realize the potential impacts of discovery and contribute to economic prosperity."

CSU researchers will study:

• The effect of sustained release of anticancer chemotherapy from a biodegradable implant made of polymer, focusing on breast cancer and lymph nodes. If successful, the device could spark additional development of similar devices to dispense treatment for other cancers and non-cancer diseases that spread to the lymphatic system.
• The development of novel forms of nonlinear optical microscopy that offer the potential to acquire images of the inside of living organisms with molecular specificity. Scientists will study Prion-based proteins, which exist in healthy individuals, but if misfolded, can cause mad cow disease, chronic wasting disease, and scrapie in sheep.
• A device that could correct functional mitral valve regurgitation. If surgically implanted on the exterior of the heart to correct mitral valve function, it could eliminate the need of open-heart surgery and cardiac bypass.
• An improvement to the Caspar pin distractor - a device that opens the space between two adjacent vertebrae during cervical spine surgery - that could assist surgeons during an operation to decide whether to perform a fusion or motion-preserving operation such as disc replacement.

Proposed bill would boost power production – and the economy – from renewable energy

Developing Colorado’s renewable energy resources is a better investment than building more coal-fired power plants, say the sponsors of House Bill 1281. Implementation of the bill would create jobs, stabilize energy prices, and reduce the long-term economic and environmental risk from global warming.

The bill extends the renewable energy standard established under Amendment 37, raising the state mandate for using renewable resources to generate electricity from 10 percent to 20 percent by 2020 for large utilities.

Boosting the amount of power from renewable resources would lead to more jobs, higher wages, and an increased gross domestic product for Colorado, reports the Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center in a report issued in February. Expanding Colorado’s renewable energy standard would increase the total wages paid to Colorado workers a net cumulative total of $570 million through 2020. This is four times the positive impact and twice the wage impact of Amendment 37, the report states.

According to the report, increasing the renewable energy standard through 2020 also would:

• Increase Colorado’s share of gross domestic product by a net of $1.9 billion.
• Supplement landowner income with cumulative total lease payments of $50 million.
• Save 18 billion gallons of water that otherwise would be used for steam and cooling in coal- or gas-fired plants.
• Reduce soot, smog, mercury, and global warming pollution by 11 percent.
• Provide 10 times more local tax revenue than coal-fired power plants.

Connecting the dots:  The Juvaris case

By Hunt Lambert

KPCB….Dow….Liposomal-DNA….Bosio….NK….$12 million….CSU

"Connect the dots" has always been a favorite game of mine. As a kid, I waited eagerly to see the picture that emerged. As a professional, I have spent most of my life connecting practical and conceptual dots to draw pictures of things that did not yet exist, ultimately turning those connections into a working company. In different words, I strive to find unseen relationships between things that can be put together to create new value. The result is often in the form of innovation and start-ups.

Juvaris BioTherapeutics is a CSU technology licensee that develops therapeutic vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases using a technology platform of cationic lipids and non-coding DNA complexes. In the Juvaris case, the dots that I watched connect for Colorado State University are a great example of the goals of our new Supercluster.

• KPCB is Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of the most respected venture capital firms in the world. 
• Dow is Dr. Steven Dow, a CSU scientist who co-invented a liposome/nucleic acid immunostimulatory compound that includes a non-coding DNA that has proved extremely effective in stimulating immune responses against cancer, allergy, viral infections and TB, and other bacterial infections in a variety of different studies carried out at CSU.  
• Liposomal delivery is the process of surrounding DNA and other immune stimulatory factors with fat globules to allow directed delivery to a tumor or infection site, which results in stimulation of strong innate immune responses. In short, the process tricks the immune system into attacking the cancer cells.
• Bosio is Dr. Catherine Bosio, who was a CSU scientist working with Juvaris under a $1-million Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop a prophylactic and therapeutic approach for Tularemia, a category A pathogen important in biodefense.  
• NK cells are natural killer cells, which are activated by the liposome/DNA complexes. When the liposome/DNA complexes are also mixed with antigens, they result in the activation of CTL (cytotoxic T lymphocytes).
• $12 million is the private investment commitment of KPCB and the Biodefense Fund in Juvaris that started in January with the closing of the first $6 million. 
• CSU is Colorado State University, a global leader in infectious disease and biodefense research, which licensed technology to Juvaris through its research foundation.

What do you get when you connect that set of dots? A CSU-invented technology that when put into a company with a team of experts and connected with other technologies has created an opportunity for significant vaccination and immunotherapy against a variety of infectious diseases and cancer.

How nice is the picture? Nice enough to attract several million dollars of Small Business Innovation Research funding and a $12 million private equity investment that is now funding even more research at CSU.

This is what we plan to do much more of as we grow our infectious disease Supercluster and MicroRx. Please help us connect the dots you see to create great commercialization pictures. 

Hunt Lambert is the director of the Office of Economic Development at Colorado State University. He can be reached at hunt.lambert@colostate.edu.

Innovative research-to-market model challenges traditional technology transfer approach

When Colorado State University in February unveiled MicroRX, an enterprise formed to speed the transition of life-saving research on infectious diseases from the academic world into the global marketplace, it was announcing more than a new venture. CSU was introducing a unique approach to the traditional concept of technology transfer.

Technology transfer, which assigns the rights to another party to use and commercialize new innovations resulting from scientific research, brings intellectual assets to the world marketplace. According to the Association of University Transfer Managers, nearly 600 universities in the United States support technology transfer offices, which bring innovations to industry for consideration, protect the innovations using patents and copyrights, and license the innovations to companies. University technology transfer helps create new industries, opens new markets, and adds billions of dollars to the economy – nearly $25 billion in 1996, reports the AUTM.

Inventions that emerge from university laboratories are not commercially complete products. They require a significant investment of time, energy, and financial resources to unlock their potential – a process best realized through a strategy of attracting commercial sector involvement. The traditional transfer tech model relies on scientists to gauge the marketability of research, often at the end of the discovery process.

With the announcement of MicroRX, Colorado State was in effect announcing a new model for technology transfer that will allow business experts to gauge marketability of an invention early in the research stage, while considering the full market potential of new products and services resulting from that innovation.

"By using multidisciplinary research and sound business approaches, CSU will expedite the commercialization of innovative research outcomes and intellectual property and ease the challenges traditionally experienced when moving research from academia into the marketplace," says Larry Edward Penley, Colorado State University president. Researchers can focus on their area of expertise, while leaving the issues of transfer, patenting, and licensing to business experts.

In the research phase, scientists frequently involve undergraduate students in these projects, but the discovery, learning, and innovation are often disjointed activities, says Wade Troxell, associate director of Colorado State’s College of Engineering. Research is published, students complete coursework, and innovations might have a market application, he notes, "but this approach to technology transfer is a one-way process of a tech transfer officer looking for an interested party to adopt the technology and eventually take it to market."

Instead, Troxell proposes an interdependent model that engages faculty members and private sector entities in which discovery, learning, and innovation are interconnected within the laboratory. He suggests that the important linkage is between the researchers and the private sector enterprise.

"Intentionally engaging the private sector in the technology transfer process and realizing technological solutions that truly have real market value can have a significant global impact. This interdependency is a two-way interchange involving a dynamic interplay between market opportunity, discovery, learning, and innovation," says Troxell.

Troxell’s interdependent model, which has been submitted for publication at the annual conference of the American Society for Engineering Education, recognizes this process and provides for various mechanisms for interaction between a university laboratory and the private sector.

Cluster theory forms basis of University’s Supercluster initiative

After considerable research, Colorado State President Larry Edward Penley and other University leaders coined the term "Supercluster" to describe an alliance between experts in research, engineering, business, and economics that aims to expedite the commercialization of innovative research outcomes and intellectual property for global society’s benefit.

Business leaders might find the term Supercluster familiar: The Supercluster model is patterned after Michael Porter’s theory of economic clusters, exemplified by Silicon Valley’s technology hub and the California wine cluster.

In an economic cluster, a critical mass of production facilities develops, attracting ancillary industries such as shipping, packaging, and tourism.

Porter, who is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School, first introduced his ideas on clusters in 1990. Harvard created the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness dedicated to furthering Porter’s work.

According to the Institute’s Web site, "clusters are geographically concentrated groups of interconnected companies, universities, and related institutions that arise out of linkages or externalities across industries. Regions and clusters are analyzed at various geographic levels including states, economic areas, and metropolitan areas."

At Colorado State, academic Superclusters apply that cluster theory to aggregate a critical mass of academic research talent. This serves as a magnet for scholars in other disciplines and additional organizations or industries that benefit from that academic research or connection.

During his tenure as president at Colorado State, Penley has highlighted the significant dependence of the economy and quality of life on higher education and its research and productivity.

As early as January 2004, in a speech to the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp., Penley talked about the link between university-based research and commercial products.

"CSU and other research universities must take responsibility for focusing their research capability on the major global challenges," he said. "The essential elements of economic prosperity have changed. They are linked intimately with the prosperity of the American research university – with its essential contributions to human and intellectual capital. And it is human and intellectual capital that will retain this country’s global competitiveness and the competitiveness of this region of the country."

That fall, Penley called on business leaders to support the university in creating an Office of Economic Development. In his fall address, he also called on the campus to create an economic development office that will "promote, attract and retain businesses by linking our intellectual capacity with our contributions to the community and economy."

He also urged the adoption of a "sector approach" to technology transfer, with business specialists and research faculty working together in cluster areas to speed intellectual property deployment.

Out of CSU’s strategic planning process, the University created the Office of Economic Development. In 2006, campus leaders further determined technology transfer opportunities could be enhanced if research focused on specific areas where Colorado State already excelled, such as infectious disease.

Colorado State mapped the University’s expertise against regional economic growth clusters and global problems, leading Penley to coin the word "Supercluster". MicroRx, the first Supercluster focusing on infectious disease, was announced in February 2007.

University’s Office of Economic Development matches industry needs to technological expertise

The Colorado State University Office of Economic Development, created in 2005 to help grow the economic health of the state of Colorado, systematically brings University innovations and industry together.

"Close industry partnerships leverage world class inventions into global innovation networks," says Hunt Lambert, the office’s associate vice president. These partnerships match industry needs to technological expertise, delivering talent and technology to benefit Colorado’s economy and the global society.

In addition to working collaboratively with other Colorado State units, the Office of Economic Development partners with an external economic development network to enhance the economic vitality of the region and the state. The following organizations provide resources to address a variety of business needs:

• The State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Advance Colorado Center assists companies starting, expanding, or relocating in Colorado, encourages quality economic development through financial and technical assistance, and houses many of the state’s industry associations: www.state.co.us/oed/business-development/colorado-data-book.cfm.
• The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation promotes business and economic development for the eight-county Metro Denver area and has added Larimer County to its support network, generating new opportunities for the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation and the region: www.metrodenver.org.
• The Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation leverages public and private funds to strengthen existing employers, support business expansion projects, provide critical research for decision-making, and attract new employers who create primary jobs, invest capital, and add vitality to the economy. NCEDC has funded a CSU partnership for regional economist Martin Shields: www.ncedc.com.
• The Colorado BioScience Association provides services and support for Colorado’s growing biosciences industry and through a partnership with Colorado State helps the University open core labs to industry users with pre-approved contracts: www.cobioscience.com.
• The Colorado Small Business Development Center combines information and resources from federal, state, and local governments with those in the educational system and the private sector to meet the specialized and complex needs of the small business community: www.advancecolorado.com/small-business/index.cfm.
• Colorado Workforce Centers provide access to employment and training services. The U.S. Department of Labor recently awarded $15 million to develop a pipeline of workers for the region’s fast-growing aerospace, bioscience, energy, and information technology industries: www.coworkforce.com/EMP/WFCs.asp.
• CTEK (Capital, Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship, Knowledge) is a statewide partnership of independent, non-profit community Venture Centers that provides innovative entrepreneurs with the expertise, resources, capital sources, and the largest angel investor network in Colorado: www.coworkforce.com/EMP/WFCs.asp.

Access the Colorado State University Office of Economic Development for more information about how the organization can work with industry and support start-up ideas: www.oed.colostate.edu.

Startups at Colorado State address global health issues

Recent bioscience startups are making a difference in medical care and treatments throughout the world.

Advanced MicroLabs LLC
Technology: Lab-on-a-Chip
Lead scientist: Professor Charles Henry, College of Natural Sciences
Advanced MicroLabs LLC commercialized methods to rapidly test blood for signs of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which could save patients and physicians significant time and money. Blood from a simple finger prick instead of a blood draw can be analyzed for markers of health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Aurogen, Inc.
Technology: IGF treatments for neurological disorders
Lead scientist: Professor Doug Ishii, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Created in 1996, Aurogen's technology involves breakthrough medicine that can reduce health-care costs in global markets with multibillion dollar potential. The lead products are patented pharmaceutical treatments for the use of neurotrophic insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II) to treat Alzheimer's disease and diabetic neuropathy in humans. IGF-I and IGF-II are neurotrophic proteins that are normally produced in the body to maintain the nervous system and regulate learning and memory.

Mycos Research LLC
Technology: Development of vaccines for tuberculosis and other diseases
Lead scientists: Professors Ian Orme and John Belisle, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Founded in 1997, Mycos Research provides mycobacterial-derived biochemicals to the research community, contract research, animal models for tuberculosis and other BSL3 organisms, and novel monitoring or vaccine products in the area of mycobacterial infection.

Cytomation GTX Inc.
Technology: Genotoxicity assays
Lead scientists: Professors Michael H. Fox and retired Professor Charles Waldren, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Cytomation GTX was established in 2000 as a collaborative enterprise between scientists at Colorado State University and business leaders at Dako (formerly Cytomation). The technology measures mutations in cells. Genotoxicity is the ability of a chemical or physical agent to directly or indirectly induce genetic damage in cells. Compounds or agents that test positive in genotoxicity assays have the potential to be carcinogens or mutagens. The FDA and EPA require drugs and chemicals to be tested for genotoxicity when humans are exposed.

Innovative degree program uses business as force for global change

A new degree program ultimately will help some of the world's three billion people who live on less than $3 a day. The Colorado State University College of Business is launching an 18-month master’s degree program in Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise that will teach students to use entrepreneurial, sustainable approaches to address the global challenges of poverty, environmental degradation, and poor health.

The new Master of Science in Business Administration is unique because it uses business as a force for change, providing students with the training to create new enterprises in the developing world, said Ajay Menon, dean of the College of Business. "Imagine if we double the $1 a day that people are earning. You're suddenly dealing with a huge market opportunity," Menon said.

The program, which begins August 2007, requires summer field work - most likely in the developing world - in partnership with international companies, NGOs, and microfinance organizations. Students will work closely with colleagues, faculty, and experienced field partners, researching, planning, and building an enterprise that will address a global problem. Students also will take traditional master's level courses in marketing, finance, leadership, and entrepreneurship, but the courses will provide deeper coverage of cross-cultural issues, nonprofit perspectives, and environmental and social policy implications, emphasizing entrepreneurial approaches in developing world markets.

"At the core, this program is about studying, creating, and leading innovative new organizations that see these great challenges as great opportunities," said Paul Hudnut, entrepreneurship instructor in the college and acting director of the new degree program.

A distinguishing strength of the GSSE approach is its partnerships with leading international organizations - project partners that work in such areas as environmental conservation, microfinance, public health, alternative energy, and agriculture. The program is designed to empower students with the skills, experiences, networks, and attitudes to take business to an environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and profitable level where innovations lift up the human condition and rebuild the planet’s natural capital.

Colorado State students already are putting that philosophy to work. Business and engineering students were in India in January testing an innovative cook stove that captures wasted thermal energy and converts it to electricity.

Traditionally, the business component has been an afterthought when considering international development, said Hudnut. "When people say the world has to change, they rarely think about how central business will be in driving that change. In a global economy, business is an important piece of international development. We want to start changing that. We want to focus the energy of innovation and entrepreneurship on addressing these challenges."

The Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise program is not an average M.B.A. or graduate program, noted Menon. The program aspires to teach the next generation of leaders how to create, build, and grow enterprises that have a global impact.

Colorado State University has a long history of creating international enterprises. "The roots of the Peace Corps started at CSU in the 1950s. The Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise degree continues that tradition," said Menon.

For more information about the Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise program, go to www.csugsse.org.

Students bring change - and eventually profits - to developing world

A student-developed cookstove will have a positive health and economic impact on people in the developing world.

Enterprising Colorado State University engineering and business students are working together, using business strategies to tackle global problems.

Improving the lives of people in developing countries using a business approach is the model for the University’s new Global Social and Sustainable masters degree program, said Ajay Menon, dean of CSU’s College of Business. "The program builds on CSU’s Peace Corps legacy by applying innovative business approaches to international development. It allows students to help people in the villages of underdeveloped nations to build private enterprises - enterprises that will eventually become profitable - to address a market need."

One such project, Bright Light Innovations, designed by entrepreneurship students in the College of Business, is on track to make a difference the lives of people in such countries as the Philippines, India, and Vietnam. Students discovered that in village homes the indoor smoke from traditional cooking methods is the leading cause of miscarriages in women and respiratory ailments in children, said Paul Hudnut, an entrepreneurship instructor in the college and acting director of the new degree program. Their solution was create a cookstove that produces lower emissions, uses less fuel, heats the home, and provides electricity.

The CSU student-designed cookstove uses two-thirds less wood to cook, takes smoke out of the house, generates enough electricity to provide light for up to four hours, and empowers villagers to run their home businesses longer. By burning cleaner and venting smoke outside, the stove has a beneficial health impact, particularly for women and infants.

"These projects are about giving people tools that generate income or reduce drudgery in their lives," said Hudnut. The students-designed cookstove uses much less wood to cook meals and boil water, so less time goes into collecting firewood.

"The stove also generates electricity, which can be stored in a battery for lighting at night so the family can use night time to make jewelry, go over their books, listen to the radio or study. Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal, until you consider that more than 2 billion people cook with biomass, don't have access to conventional grid electricity, and live where it is dark almost 12 hours a day. Figuring out how to get stoves to all these people calls for business thinking, not just charity," he said.

This fall, several students traveled to India’s Gujarat region to test the stoves in households and establish relationships with microfinance organizations and companies that can build, distribute, and service the stoves.

Hudnut visited India in early January with several students to assess if the users found the stoves effective, technically sound, and helpful in generating additional income.

"Our students have done some amazing work on campus that is translating directly into saving human lives," Menon said. "These are the kinds of projects we want for students enrolling in the Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise program."

The GSSE program will teach students how to design businesses that perform well at a "triple bottom line" level, creating a positive impact on people, the planet, and profits. The focus will be on solving global challenges in energy, agriculture, health, environmental management, and economic development.

The projects will also empower the students, who learn that they can make the world a better place through business, said Menon.

A ‘deliberate’ move: New center focuses on public discourse

Creating forums for the community to discuss important issues in a non-partisan environment is the focus of Colorado State University’s new Center for Public Deliberation, which held its first community issues forum in January. 

Through public discourse - talking and, more important, listening to people who disagree with you in a civil environment - issues can be addressed and solutions can result, says Martin Carcasson, director of the new center and assistant professor of speech communication at Colorado State.

"It is human nature for us to be selective listeners and selective learners and to surround ourselves with people who agree with our views, which can lead to polarization and cynicism," Carcasson says.

The center, however, counters that comfortable but divisive approach, and supports deliberation, an approach to politics in which citizens, not just experts or politicians, are involved in community problem-solving and public decision-making. Working with trained facilitators who use a variety of deliberative techniques, citizens come together to consider relevant facts and values from multiple points of view, says Carcasson. They listen to one another to think critically about the various options, consider the perspectives of public issues, and ultimately come to a reasoned resolution for action.

Public deliberation is the cornerstone of democratic and community politics and encourages people - even those with opposing views - to address problems, notes Carcasson. "Pundits from both sides of the political spectrum too often talk past each other, preach to their own choirs, misrepresent their opponents, oversimplify complicated issues, and focus on politically rewarding issues rather than the publicly important ones. Such communication only fuels apathy and polarization."

Carcasson plans to help change such environments so that contentious or partisan tactics are not as frequent, starting in the local community where the public can more easily connect with lawmakers.

The Center for Public Deliberation will moderate conversations about national and international topics, host moderator workshops, sponsor debates on state and local issues, and partner with community organizations, the Poudre School District, the city of Fort Collins, and Larimer County. Much of the work is completed by student associates - undergraduates working with Carcasson who receive class credit for their efforts. Carcasson trains the students as third-party facilitators, who then moderate and plan the forums.

"Part of what we are trying to do is convince local institutions to incorporate the public more often in community problem-solving," Carcasson says.

For more information about the Center for Public Deliberation access http://www.cpd.colostate.edu/.

Addiction to oil

"We need to get rid of our addiction to oil."
-Ken Salazar, U.S. Senator, at the signing ceremony for the state’s new Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory

New energy economy

"We’ve only just begun to tap the potential of a new energy economy."
-Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, regarding a bill before the Legislature that requires utilities to generate 20 percent of their electric power from renewables by 2020

Superclusters step forward

"This is a significant step forward."
-U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, on CSU’s Supercluster concept that encourages interdisciplinary research and the delivery of research to the marketplace

Clean coal technologies in question

"Despite expectations that global warming rules are coming, almost none of the plants will be built to capture the thousands of tons of carbon dioxide that burning coal spews into the atmosphere."
-The New York Times, concerning the 150 coal plants that power companies will build in the next few years and the doubts among environmentalists about implementation of clean coal technologies

Polyester now environmental concern

Polyester, once only a controversial fashion choice, is now an environmental problem. Sweaters and T-shirts that often cost less than a sandwich are part of the quick-growing "fast fashion" industry, selling cheap garments that can be used and discarded without a second thought. The concept of fast fashion, pioneered by stores like Old Navy and Target, allows consumers to shift styles with speed on a low budget. But clothes – and fast clothes in particular – are a large source of the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming because of how they are both produced and cared for, say researchers at Cambridge University in the report "Well Dressed?" And because customers are concerned about environmental issues, retailers are starting to explore their options. The global textile industry must become eco-conscious, the report concludes, and should consider how to develop a more "sustainable clothing" industry - a seeming oxymoron in a world where fashions change every few months. The report suggests that people lease clothes and return them at the end of a month or a season, so the garments can be lent again to someone else - like library books - and that they buy more expensive and durable clothing that can be worn for years. Although the report highlights the benefits of synthetic fabrics - they require less hot water to wash and less ironing - it suggests that consumers air-dry clothes and throw away their tumble dryers, which require huge amounts of energy.
-The New York Times

Personal savings at historic low

People are saving at the lowest level since the Great Depression, revealing a 2006 savings rate of negative 1 percent – the worst showing in 73 years, says the Commerce Department. There have been only three other years in history that the savings rate has fallen into negative territory: 1932, 1933, and during the Great Depression. The negative rate means people are spending all of the money they have left after paying taxes - and then dipping into savings or increasing their borrowing to finance current spending. Last year's negative rate was attributed not to a lack of jobs but to good economic developments, including low interest rates that made it attractive to borrow money to make purchases and also to refinance home loans. Low interest rates helped to fuel a boom in housing purchases, which in turn helped to drive home prices higher. That led to a surge in mortgage refinancings with people using their higher home values to get money to spend on other things. Refinancings gave homeowners an additional $900 billion to spend last year, a big factor in driving the savings rate lower.
-The Associated Press

New problem for farmers: Few veterinarians

Veterinarians who care for the animals that provide the United States with food are in increasingly short supply. Since 1990, the number of large-animal veterinarians has dropped to fewer than 4,500 from nearly 6,000, which is less than 10 percent of private-practice vets, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. A recent study predicted that by 2016, 4 out of every 100 food-animal veterinary jobs would go unfilled. The reason for the decline? Large-animal care can be tough, even dangerous; fewer students are from farm backgrounds, and fewer students gravitate to rural jobs; more veterinarians are women, generally less inclined toward large animals; and generally more money can be made caring for cats and dogs. It is a crisis, said Dr. Roger Mahr, the association’s president, who cited serious consequences not only for the well-being of farmers and animals, but also potentially for food safety and the impact of non-native diseases like bird flu. Of all the emerging diseases in people in the last 25 years, 75 percent of those were transmitted from animals, said Mahr. Veterinarians are the ones to identify those diseases in animals first. The dearth of food-animal veterinarians reflects seismic shifts in farming, veterinary medicine, the economy, and American culture.
-The New York Times

Leaf litter contributes to global change studies

Decomposing leaf litter has helped U.S. scientists develop a set of equations to calculate how much nitrogen is released into soil during decomposition. The University of California, Berkeley and Colorado State University researchers say their findings might significantly improve the accuracy of global climate change models. The researchers found the dominant drivers of nitrogen release are the initial concentration of nitrogen and the remaining mass of the leaf and root litter.
-United Press International

Inflation rises slightly higher than expected

Consumer prices accelerated in January nudging the overall rate of inflation higher than expected, the Labor Department reported. Overall inflation climbed 0.2 percent in January after a rise of 0.4 percent in December. Even though inflation rose in January, it did so at a slower pace than in December, making paychecks for the average worker go a little further. Wages for workers in non-supervisory positions rose 2.1 percent last month after inflation was taken into account. Inflation-adjusted wages increased 1.7 percent in December. Price increases also slowed in housing and energy.
-The New York Times

Cyber Samaritan: Robot offers rescue solution in disasters

An award-winning robot designed to locate and identify humans who are trapped in urban disaster areas offers a global rescue solution through engineering excellence. Called Good Samaritan by its young creators - a 12-member design team of mechanical engineering students at Colorado State University - the robot is equipped with a thermal camera to detect body heat using infrared light and a microphone to track human voices. The Colorado State design team has taken both national and international award honors, including top honors at the RoboCup U.S. Open in Atlanta; placed fourth at the World RoboCup Championship competition in Bremen, Germany; and won Most Realistic Deployment at the international competition.
-Colorado State University