天美传媒 Technology and Discovery News

New quantum navigation device uses atoms to measure acceleration in 3D

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:23:13 +0000

New quantum navigation device uses atoms to measure acceleration in 3D Daniel Corbin 鈥� Wed, 06/11/2025 - 14:23

Licensing Opportunities for Quantum and Photonics Technologies

Quantum technology represents one of the most promising frontiers of modern science, potentially revolutionizing industries from computing to healthcare and beyond. The university is at the forefront of this exciting field, leveraging its robust academic and research capabilities to push the boundaries of what quantum technologies can achieve.

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Read this full article at colorado.edu/today

In a new study, physicists at the 天美传媒 have used a cloud of atoms chilled down to incredibly cold temperatures to simultaneously measure acceleration in three dimensions鈥攁 feat that many scientists didn鈥檛 think was possible.

The device, a new type of atom 鈥渋nterferometer,鈥� could one day help people navigate submarines, spacecraft, cars and other vehicles more precisely.

鈥淭raditional atom interferometers can only measure acceleration in a single dimension, but we live within a three-dimensional world,鈥� said Kendall Mehling, a co-author of the new study and a graduate student in the Department of Physics at 天美传媒 Boulder. 鈥淭o know where I'm going, and to know where I鈥檝e been, I need to track my acceleration in all three dimensions.鈥�

The researchers published their paper, titled 鈥�Vector atom accelerometry in an optical lattice,鈥� this month in the journal Science Advances. The team included Mehling; Catie LeDesma, a postdoctoral researcher in physics; and Murray Holland, professor of physics and fellow of JILA, a joint research institute between 天美传媒 Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

In 2023, NASA awarded the 天美传媒 Boulder researchers a $5.5 million grant through the agency鈥檚 Quantum Pathways Institute to continue developing the sensor technology.

The new device is a marvel of engineering: Holland and his colleagues employ six lasers as thin as a human hair to pin a cloud of tens of thousands of rubidium atoms in place. Then, with help from artificial intelligence, they manipulate those lasers in complex patterns鈥攁llowing the team to measure the behavior of the atoms as they react to small accelerations, like pressing the gas pedal down in your car.

Today, most vehicles track acceleration using GPS and traditional, or 鈥渃lassical,鈥� electronic devices known as accelerometers. The team鈥檚 quantum device has a long way to go before it can compete with these tools. But the researchers see a lot of promise for navigation technology based on atoms.

鈥淚f you leave a classical sensor out in different environments for years, it will age and decay,鈥� Mehling said. 鈥淭he springs in your clock will change and warp. Atoms don鈥檛 age.鈥�

天美传媒 Boulder Today鈥擨n a new study, physicists at the 天美传媒 have used a cloud of atoms chilled down to incredibly cold temperatures to simultaneously measure acceleration in three dimensions鈥攁 feat that many scientists didn鈥檛 think was possible. The device, a new type of atom 鈥渋nterferometer,鈥� could one day help people navigate submarines, spacecraft, cars and other vehicles more precisely.

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Carson Bruns explores nanotech that turns plastic into fertilizer with RIO seed grant

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:03:15 +0000

Carson Bruns explores nanotech that turns plastic into fertilizer with RIO seed grant Daniel Corbin 鈥� Wed, 06/11/2025 - 14:03

Read this full article at colorado.edu/atlas

Licensing Opportunities for Climate, Energy and Sustainability

Climate, energy and sustainability innovations are shaping the most urgent frontier of science and society鈥攖ransforming how we power our world, manage resources and respond to environmental change. At the University of Colorado, groundbreaking research is driving not just new insights, but practical solutions to the global climate crisis.

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Plastics are a problem. They are made with petroleum, are rarely recycled, and turn into microplastics over time鈥攁n increasingly intractable global environmental and health concern.

Current bio-based alternatives have yet to see widespread adoption for a number of reasons. Carson Bruns, associate professor (ATLAS Institute, Mechanical Engineering), aims to change all that with a new line of research in his Emergent Nanotechnology Lab focused on turning agricultural materials into bio-based plastics that can be more easily recycled, composted or even used as fertilizer.

Bruns was recently awarded a 2025 Research & Innovation Seed Grant from 天美传媒 Boulder鈥檚 Research and Innovation Office for this work.

We discussed the thinking behind this research and possible applications (interview lightly edited for clarity):

What are the challenges with bio-based plastics?

The biggest challenge that everybody is dealing with in sustainable plastics right now is that the current options for bio-based and compostable plastics are not actually very good. They don't compete with the oil-based plastics in terms of how tough and flexible they are, so people don't like to use them as much because they crack and they're brittle.

And in reality, you cannot throw such plastics onto your backyard compost pile. They need special conditions to properly break down. You need a composting facility that heats the compost up to 60掳C and it has all these fans and equipment to circulate it, and even then, it still doesn't work that well. [Note: This is one of the reasons why A1 Organics, Boulder, Colorado鈥檚 main composting partner, stopped accepting these biodegradable plastics.]

The ATLAS Institute鈥擯lastics are an increasingly intractable global environmental and health concern, and bio-based alternatives have yet to see widespread adoption. Carson Bruns aims to change all that with a new line of research focused on turning agricultural materials into bio-based plastics that can be more easily recycled, composted or even used as fertilizer.

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Tiny robot team could be a gamechanger for safety inspections

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Wed, 21 May 2025 16:58:14 +0000

Tiny robot team could be a gamechanger for safety inspections Daniel Corbin 鈥� Wed, 05/21/2025 - 10:58

天美传媒 Boulder Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering鈥斕烀来� Boulder engineers have developed a team of palm-sized robots designed to work together to inspect and monitor dangerous environments like ship ballast tanks and storage vessels. The innovation could transform industrial safety by reducing human risk and enabling faster, more efficient inspections.

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WATCH: Twin 天美传媒 Denver sisters develop tool to help users outsmart phishing scams

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Thu, 01 May 2025 21:26:31 +0000

WATCH: Twin 天美传媒 Denver sisters develop tool to help users outsmart phishing scams Daniel Corbin 鈥� Thu, 05/01/2025 - 15:26

Denver7鈥擜s phishing scams continue to rise, two graduating sisters from 天美传媒 Denver are turning their capstone project into a tool to help people avoid phishing scams.

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WATCH: 天美传媒 Boulder researchers building shape-shifting robots

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 21:46:01 +0000

WATCH: 天美传媒 Boulder researchers building shape-shifting robots Daniel Corbin 鈥� Tue, 04/29/2025 - 15:46

FOX31鈥擪aushik Jayaram (天美传媒 Boulder Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering) received more than $1 million in grants to build shape-shifting robots the size of an insect.

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Aircrafts of the future: Boosting aerodynamic performance by engineered surface vibrations

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 19:17:16 +0000

Aircrafts of the future: Boosting aerodynamic performance by engineered surface vibrations Daniel Corbin 鈥� Mon, 03/24/2025 - 13:17

天美传媒 Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science鈥擜s the principal investigator of a $7.5 million, five-year Department of Defense Office of Naval Research (ONR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI), Hussein is leading an effort to reshape the fundamental character of fluid-structure interactions to reduce drag on high-speed aerospace vehicles鈥攖he focus of the project.

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鈥婲ew technology turns waste heat into electricity, defies physical limit

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 19:51:59 +0000

鈥婲ew technology turns waste heat into electricity, defies physical limit Daniel Corbin 鈥� Mon, 02/17/2025 - 12:51

天美传媒 Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science鈥擜 team of engineers and material scientists in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at 天美传媒 Boulder has developed a new technology to turn thermal radiation into electricity in a way that literally teases the basic law of thermal physics.

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Venture Partners annual report highlights a record year for innovation

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:06:32 +0000

Venture Partners annual report highlights a record year for innovation Daniel Corbin 鈥� Thu, 01/09/2025 - 06:06

FY 2023-24 was another tremendous year for innovation and entrepreneurship at the 天美传媒. University researchers, inventors and creators began working with Venture Partners at 天美传媒 Boulder to advance 144 breakthrough innovations, and 36 天美传媒 startups were launched through Venture Partners based on campus discoveries.

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A vaccine against weight gain? It鈥檚 on the horizon

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 18:53:52 +0000

A vaccine against weight gain? It鈥檚 on the horizon Daniel Corbin 鈥� Tue, 01/07/2025 - 11:53

New 天美传媒 Boulder research suggests a surprising tool that could help with weight loss: Exposure to beneficial bacteria. With assistance from Venture Partners, a new startup Kioga will pursue new microbe-based ingredients for preventing weight gain and promoting health.

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Colorado鈥檚 life sciences ecosystem raised $1.47 billion in 2023

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 20:22:37 +0000

Colorado鈥檚 life sciences ecosystem raised $1.47 billion in 2023 Daniel Corbin 鈥� Sat, 12/21/2024 - 13:22

Colorado Bioscience Association鈥擟olorado's life sciences ecosystem raised $1.47 billion in 2023, demonstrating the resilience of life sciences companies and organizations in the state during a challenging year for U.S. life sciences fundraising.

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