Economic global impact of cancer

$100 billion - Annual direct costs of cancer treatment throughout the world

10 percent - Percentage of all healthcare costs spent on cancer treatment in the United States

70 percent - Estimated new cancers that will emerge in developing countries

65 - CSU faculty members involved in cancer research

12 - Number of CSU departments involved in cancer research

Source: Colorado State University. See related story, "Cancer Supercluster launched."

High-tech hub

"For every Karachi, which is on pace to double its population every 20 years but mired in poverty and violence, there's a Shanghai, the emerging creative engine for an entire continent ... For every St. Louis, a spot as bland as a flat Bud Light, there's a hip joint like Fort Collins, Colo., a high-tech hub that's also the microbrew capital of America."

—Fast Company magazine, "Fast Cities 2007," on how urban centers are shaping our future

Real estate watch

"This area, with its quality of life and talented workforce, often ends up on corporate 'short lists' when multinational companies are shopping for space and regional facilities. The world is watching."

—Steven P. Laposa, new director of CSU’s Everitt Real Estate Center, on Fort Collins and how real estate affects the urban competitiveness of a region

Economic catch

"The Rams have passed the ball; it's up to Fort Collins residents to make the catch."

—Fort Collins Coloradoan editorial, on Game Day Fort Collins and Ram Town, the collaboration between the city and Colorado State to promote CSU athletics and infuse the city with more economic energy

Fast city

Research and discovery at Colorado State University contribute significantly to Fort Collins’ recent ranking as one of 30 "Fast Cities 2007" worldwide, reports Fast Company magazine. The magazine named Fort Collins one of three cities worldwide as a research-and-development "hot spot" for generating 11.4 patents per year for every 10,000 people, nearly four times the U.S. city average. "Colorado State University spins out world-class work in realms from bacterial diseases to sustainable energy, feeding a patent stream that's growing by 21 percent a year," the Fast Company article noted. Fort Collins is the only Colorado city on the list.

Real estate expert

Internationally renowned real estate consultant Steven P. Laposa has been named the new director of the Everitt Real Estate Center for Colorado State University's College of Business. A former director in the Global Strategic Real Estate Research group at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Laposa brings 26 years of national and international project management, real estate development, and research experience to the position.

Business maker

Dave Larsen, a Broomfield entrepreneur, has been named the new program director of the Colorado State University Denver Executive M.B.A. program. Larsen, who obtained his M.B.A. through Colorado State, has worked as a small-business owner, developed and managed outpatient counseling programs, and served as president and program director of Family Recovery Centers in Denver. CSU’s Denver Executive M.B.A. program, located in the heart of downtown Denver, is designed to help emerging business leaders build on their professional experience and advance their careers.

Spare tire

Some of Colorado's 40 million stockpiled tires can be used to bolster road bases and mitigate the effects of expansive soils, says CSU’s Antonio Carraro, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. Carraro is leading an experiment with the city of Loveland to test a mixture of expansive soil and scrap tire rubber on a stretch of road near I-25. Only about 2 percent of scrap tire rubber products are reused in civil engineering applications in the EPA region that includes Colorado, while other regions reuse more than 25 percent, says Carraro. "It's a major solid waste problem."

Hurricane strength

Colorado State will conduct a first-of-its-kind study on the force of hurricane-strength waves and their damage to wood-frame residential buildings. CSU is collaborating with Oregon State University at its gymnasium-sized tsunami wave tank in the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, part of the world's largest experimental facility specifically designed for tsunami research. The Oregon State custom-built wavemaker will recreate scaled hurricane waves. The study will help researchers better understand the behavior of residential buildings during storm surge, the first step in making American homes safer during hurricanes in coastal areas.