This week, thousands of the world’s top scientists, educators, students and journalists are converging in Denver, shining a mile-high spotlight on some of the most incredible scientific advances impacting our world today.

A “who’s who” of Nobel Laureates, leading academics and rising stars are gathering for the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society, which formed in 1848.

In an era of misinformation, distrust, and disregard for evidence, the work of scientists is more critical than ever. That’s why CU Boulder is a proud sponsor of this year’s AAAS meeting – and why our state and national leaders must sustain and deepen investments in the pursuit of knowledge that improves lives.

Currently, the federal government provides $31.5 billion in academic research and development funding to America’s top research universities.

CU Boulder attracted a record $684.2 million in research funding last fiscal year, which we used to conduct an array of groundbreaking research tied to health, climate, space, and quantum science, among many other fields. The CU system – which includes the Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Anschutz medical campuses – exceeded $1.5 billion in sponsored research during that same time period.

Meanwhile, the four-campus CU system also ranked 30th on a list of universities worldwide that were granted utility patents in 2023, according to a new analysis released Thursday by the National Academy of Inventors.

Day after day, University of Colorado researchers are working in laboratories, classrooms and in communities to find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems, and they are translating their findings to products, processes and policies that help everyday people like you and me. The process is working – but the needs don’t stop. University researchers need steady or increased funding to continue addressing the world’s most critical issues.

The AAAS meeting taking place in Denver this week is the latest example of translational science at work. More than a dozen CU Boulder faculty members are among those sharing their expertise as speakers and organizers this year.

Distinguished Professor Tom Cech, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discoveries on RNA, will describe how the COVID-19 pandemic put the wonders of RNA science into the public consciousness.

Professor Alexis Templeton, an expert in geological sciences, will join colleagues on a panel discussing how hydrogen might be harvested from the Earth for use as fuel and in fertilizer – a topic that Science magazine identified as a top breakthrough in 2023.

Other sessions at this year’s meeting will explore new malaria vaccines poised to save tens of thousands of children each year, the observation of gravitational waves from supermassive black holes in motion, and the development of a new class of drugs that targets obesity and related diseases.

On Friday, CU Boulder archaeologist William Taylor, along with researchers from multiple countries and Native American groups, will accept the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for their outstanding paper published in Science. Their work drew on archaeology records, DNA evidence and Indigenous knowledge to shed new light on the history of horses and humans in North America.

Coloradans can watch some of science talks for free or attend in person for fees ranging from $125-$545.

The breadth and depth of the science being highlighted this week is impressive, and Coloradans should feel proud that their flagship public university is a major player in top-tier research collaborations that are positively impacting humanity. And we should be mindful that we, as a state and nation, continue supporting the labs and classrooms where these developments are seeded.

Where there is a question, science is finding answers. And where there is a need, America’s public research universities are providing solutions.

Philip P. DiStefano is chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder.

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