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A Q&A with PhD students Harry Allbrook and Hunter Geist-Sanchez, INSTAAR’s 2025 summer scholarship recipients. The scholarship will go toward the students’ continued research in marine biology and grassland restoration throughout the summer.
Martha Andrews spent 30 years of her exceptional career in library science and polar environmental record-keeping at INSTAAR. She will be missed by family, friends and former students and colleagues.
And the winner is… INSTAAR presented four awards and three summer scholarships at the annual spring celebration luncheon last week. Recipients were commended for their impactful efforts at the institute, in the scientific community and beyond.
The Boulder Apple Tree Project, led by INSTAAR fellow Katharine Suding, has broken ground on a new apple orchard on 30th Street in Boulder. The orchard will provide shade, fruit and a site for agroecology research. It is supported by a $90,000 sustainable CU grant.
The chancellor recently visited the Mountain Research Station, where INSTAAR faculty gave a primer on climate and ecological science at the site. The group also made a trip up to the tundra lab, a remote research station at 11,500 feet above sea level.
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program committed $77,000 in grants for CU undergraduates to work with INSTAAR faculty this summer and next school year. The awards will catalyze opportunities for students to contribute to critical research in earth and environmental science.
ATLAS students visited INSTAAR's mountain research station to learn about the City of Boulder Watershed from field technician Jennifer Morse. The visit was part of a class on infrastructure and design through the lens of apocalyptic narratives.
More than 200 students from Angevine Middle School recently visited INSTAAR, where researchers led hands-on demonstrations. The goal of the showcase is to inspire future scientists at an impressionable age.
Vriend, an expert in avalanches and sand dunes, will join INSTAAR as a senior member of the directorate. Institute leadership hopes her appointment will strengthen ties with the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
INSTAAR researchers investigate fundamental questions about ecosystems, climate systems and landscapes. These six stories highlight the environmental research that the institute is doing in 2025.