CO-LABS Announces Winners of Governor's Award for High-Impact Research

DENVER - Sept. 29, 2015 - PRLog -- CO-LABS has announced four winners of the Governor's Award for High-Impact Research. Now in its 7^th year, the event gathers scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, business leaders and government officials to celebrate the exceptional and groundbreaking work of Colorado’s scientists and engineers.

"These projects highlight the diversity and impact of the science and technology coming out of Colorado’s labs that make our state and the world a better place,” said Governor John Hickenlooper. “These awardees prove that collaboration, innovation and incredible vision between the labs, Colorado’s research universities and private sector partners can result in remarkable achievements that make Colorado and our world smarter, safer, healthier and more sustainable."

This year's winners are:

Earth Systems and Space Sciences:

Winner: Mars Mission Scientific Discoveries (MAVEN, Dr. Bruce Jakosky and team members, LASP)

Foundational Science and Technology:

Winner: Magnetic Innovations: Pushing the Earth’s Limits (CIRES)

Public Health and Life Sciences:

Winner: NIST MRI Precision Biomedical Imaging (NIST)

Sustainability:

Winner: Next Generation Weather Model Allows First-Ever Hyper Local Forecasts (NOAA, Earth System Research Laboratory)

Honorable Mentions:

(a) NIST Precision Signal Measurement Team (NIST) (Foundational Science and Technology)

(b) Getting Useful Climate Science to Decision Makers (CIRES) (Sustainability)

"We are honored by this recognition from CO-LABS and the Governor, and proud of our team—which includes federal and academic partners—for their very high-impact research on the HRRR,” said Stephen Weygandt, Ph.D., Research Meteorologist for NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory. “They have put a high-resolution weather model in the hands of forecasters across the country, who are using it to help save lives and property by getting more accurate weather guidance to emergency managers, pilots, wind farm operators and others."

Stephen E. Russek Ph.D., Project Leader on Biomagnetic Imaging Standards at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said, "We are honored that our work on MRI standards has been recognized. Our calibration artifacts and work understanding image accuracy and comparability across the U.S. are a small but important part of a revolutionary change in medical imaging, which is transforming medical imaging into a precise measurement of structure, function, and disease state of the human body."

The winners will be formally recognized and celebrated Thursday, October 8, 2015 from 6:00pm-8:00pm at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The event is hosted by CO-LABS, the Alliance for Sustainable Energy and NREL.

CO-LABS invites you to join the nearly 200 attendees including many of the state’s academic, research, business and community leaders in honoring top research scientists. Register and learn more at www.CO-LABS.org.

About CO-LABS

CO-LABS is a non-profit consortium of federal laboratories, research institutions, businesses and economic development organizations that provide financial and in-kind support for programs that promote the retention and expansion of Colorado scientific resources. Through events, economic analyses, strategic communications and networking activities we work to:

• PROMOTE Colorado as a global leader in research and technology
• EDUCATE the public about the labs’ impact and importance of sustained funding for research

• CONNECT the labs, universities and businesses to facilitate partnerships and technology transfer

Since 2009 the Governor’s Award for High-Impact Research has honored Colorado scientists and engineers from the state’s federally funded research laboratories for outstanding achievements. Each year a special committee appointed by the CO-LABS Board of Directors reviews nominations from Colorado’s labs and selects projects that have had a significant global, national or state impact resulting from a scientific breakthrough, change in public policy or development of a new technology. To learn more, visit www.CO-LABS.org.