Expanding CU's Science Reach

Waleed Abdalati

CU's focus on science has led our students and faculty to every continent and beyond. Now, our reach is continuing to expand. In December, Waleed Abdalati, an associate professor in CU-Boulder's geography department, was named NASA's chief scientist. In the position, he will be the chief advisor to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on matters relating to NASA science programs, investments in science programs and strategic planning. At CU, he also is a fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), a joint institute between CU and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He directs the Earth Science Observation Center at CIRES, where he, his students and colleagues use satellites to study ice sheets, glaciers and their role as predictors of climate change.

President Barack Obama in April named CU Nobel Prize winner and distinguished professor Carl Weiman as associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. A leading proponent of effective science teaching and reform of science education, Weiman won the Nobel in 2001 for his work in creating a new form of matter. He was named U.S. Professor of the Year in 2004. Weiman splits time between CU-Boulder and the University of British Columbia, directing collaborative science education initiatives at each aimed at improving undergraduate science education.

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