Rachel Sauer

But how鈥檚 the atmosphere there?

Rachel Sauer — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 18:10:46 +0000

But how鈥檚 the atmosphere there? Rachel Sauer Wed, 06/04/2025 - 12:10

Rachel Sauer

In newly published research, 缅北禁地 scientists study a rocky exoplanet outside our solar system, learning more about whether and how planets maintain atmospheres

In June 2019, Harvard astrophysicists discovered a rocky exoplanet 22 light years from Earth. Analyzing data from the Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite (TESS), they and other scientists around the world learned key details about the rocky exoplanet named LTT 1445 A b: It is almost 1.3 times the radius of Earth and 2.7 times Earth鈥檚 mass and orbits its M-dwarf star every 5.4 days.

What they couldn鈥檛 ascertain from those data, however, was whether LTT 1445 A b has an atmosphere, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 a big general question even in our own solar system: What sets how much atmosphere a planet has?鈥� says Zach Berta-Thompson, a 缅北禁地 assistant professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences. 鈥淎tmospheres matter for life, so before we go searching for life on other planets, we need to understand a very basic question鈥攚hy does a planet have atmosphere or not have atmosphere?鈥�

Pat Wachiraphan (left), a PhD student in the 缅北禁地 Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, and Zach Berta-Thompson (right), an assistant professor in the department, collaborated with colleagues around the country to study JWST data about rocky exoplanet LTT 1445 A b.

Now, after detailed analysis of data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a lot more is known鈥�and was recently published鈥攁bout LTT 1445 A b, whether it has an atmosphere and what its atmosphere might be if it has one. 缅北禁地 researchers partnered with astrophysicists around the country to build on previous research that ruled out a light hydrogen/helium-dominated atmosphere but could not distinguish between a cloudy atmosphere, an atmosphere composed of heavier molecules like carbon dioxide or a bare rock.

The paper鈥檚 first author, Pat Wachiraphan, a PhD student studying astrophysical and planetary sciences, Berta-Thompson and their colleagues analyzed three eclipses of LTT 1445 A b from the JWST, watching the planet disappear behind its star and measuring how much infrared light the planet emits. From this, they were able to rule out the presence of a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere like the one on Venus, which has about 100 times more atmosphere than Earth. This highlights an important aspect of science: Sometimes just as much is learned from understanding what something isn鈥檛 as from defining what it is.

鈥淲hat I think should be the next step, naturally, is to ask whether we might detect an Earth-like atmosphere?鈥� Wachiraphan says.

Not like Venus

LTT 1445 A b is one of the closest-to-Earth rocky exoplanets transiting a small star, Wachiraphan notes, and thus one of the easiest to target when studying whether and how it and similar rocky exoplanets hold atmospheres.

The JWST is more sensitive to atmospheres of transiting exoplanets around smaller stars, and LTT 1445 A b transits one of the smallest known type stars鈥攁bout 20 to 30% the radius of Earth鈥檚 sun.

In November 2020, Berta-Thompson and several colleagues submitted a proposal to the Space Telescope Science Institute, the international consortium that decides where JWST is pointed and for how long, 鈥渂efore the telescope had even launched,鈥� he says. 鈥淪cientists from all over the world send in anonymized proposals where we make our case for why (JWST) should spend hours looking at this particular patch of the sky and what we would be able to learn from that.

鈥淎 panel reads through the proposals, ranks them, from which a lucky 5% to 10% will be selected as the best possible scientific use of the telescope. It is such a precious resource that we care really deeply that the choices about who gets to use the telescope are made fairly; every minute of its time is accounted for.鈥�

Rocky exoplanet LTT 1445 A b is in a three-star system; the star it orbits is an M-type star, also known as a red dwarf. (Artists' illustration: Luis L. Cal莽ada and Martin Kornmesser/European Southern Observatory)

Studying data from three eclipses sent back by JWST, Wachiraphan, Berta-Thompson and their colleagues were able to chart thermal emission consistent with instant reradiation of incoming stellar energy from a hot planet dayside. 鈥淭his bright dayside emission is consistent with emission from a dark rocky surface, and it disfavors a thick, 100-bar, Venus-like CO2 atmosphere,鈥� the researchers noted.

鈥淪o, you can imagine that if you have a planet that is just a rock, with no atmosphere, it would be hot on day side and cold on the night side, but if it has atmosphere, then the atmosphere could redistribute heat from day to night,鈥� Wachiraphan says.

In the case of LTT 1445 A b, 鈥渨e were basically putting an infrared thermometer up to the planet鈥檚 forehead and learned its average temperature is around 500 Kelvin,鈥� Berta-Thompson says. 鈥淭he whole planet is like the inside of a hot oven, basically.

Based on the data sent back by JWST, there could be several ways to detect atmosphere on LTT 1445 A b. 鈥淲e came up with an observation with this planet passing behind its star. When the planet is behind its star, we鈥檇 just get light from the star itself, but before and after the eclipse we鈥檇 get a little contribution from the planet itself, too.鈥� Wachiraphan explains. 鈥淏ut you can also detect an atmosphere when a planet passes in front of its star. 鈥淭he starlight coming out could pass through the atmosphere of the planet and get absorbed, and we could observe that absorption.鈥�

More observations are currently planned for LTT 1445 A b, led by other scientists and using this complementary method of observation, Berta-Thompson says鈥攐f collecting data as the planet transits in front of its star. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more we can learn using different wavelengths of light and different methods that allow us to more sensitively probe these thinner atmospheres.鈥�

Like the inside of a hot oven

One of the most fascinating questions for researchers studying exoplanets, Berta-Thopson says, is 鈥渨hat does it take for a planet to retain or maintain atmosphere? Learning more about that is an important step in the process toward finding a planet maybe like this one鈥攖hat has a surface, has an atmosphere, is a little farther away from its star, where you can imagine it has liquid water at the surface. Then you鈥檙e asking, 鈥業s this a place where life could potentially thrive? Is there a place where life is thriving?鈥�

These questions are so interesting, in fact, that they鈥檝e prompted the formation of the Rocky Worlds Program, with which Wachiraphan and Berta-Thompson will work closely, to support international collaboration on the next phases of exploration of rocky exoplanets using satellite data.

鈥淯sing this really magnificent telescope that is the collective effort of thousands of people over decades, let alone the broader community that found this planet, is the kind of thing that is under threat right now,鈥� Berta-Thompson says. 鈥淎ll of this science and this discovery requires a really long, big, sustained investment in telescopes, in scientists, in education.鈥�

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In newly published research, 缅北禁地 scientists study a rocky exoplanet outside our solar system, learning more about whether and how planets maintain atmospheres.

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Rocky exoplanet LTT 1445 A b tightly orbits its parent star, which in turn orbits two other stars in a three-star system. (Artist's rendering of LTT 1445 A b: Martin Kornmesser/European Southern Observatory)

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India and Pakistan once again step back from the brink

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 16 May 2025 16:44:25 +0000

India and Pakistan once again step back from the brink Rachel Sauer Fri, 05/16/2025 - 10:44

Rachel Sauer

缅北禁地 historian Lucy Chester notes that the recent tensions between the two nations, incited by the April 22 terrorist attack in Kashmir, are the latest in an ongoing cycle

When a gunman opened fire April 22 on domestic tourists in Pahalgam, a scenic Himalayan hill station in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 26 people, the attack ignited days of deadly drone attacks, airstrikes and shelling between India and Pakistan that escalated to a perilous brink last weekend.

A U.S.-brokered ceasefire Saturday evening diffused the mounting violence between the two nuclear-armed nations that increasingly seemed on a trajectory toward war. It was the latest in a string of escalations spanning many decades between India and Pakistan, which invariably led to the question: Why does this keep happening?

缅北禁地 historian Lucy Chester notes that the recent conflict between India and Pakistan is part of a broader history that includes not only religion, but water, maps and territorial integrity.

Lucy Chester, an associate professor in the 缅北禁地 Department of History and the International Affairs Program, has studied the region and relations between the two nations for many years; her first book, Borders and Conflict in South Asia, explores the drawing of the boundary between India and Pakistan in 1947.

Despite President Donald Trump鈥檚 assertion that the origins of the conflict date back a thousand years, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 not the case,鈥� Chester says. 鈥淚 would say it鈥檚 mainly about Kashmir, with some additional issues at play this time around that changed the dynamics a bit.鈥�

When more than a century of British colonial rule of India ended in August 1947, the Indian subcontinent was divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan鈥攁 bloody, devastating event known as Partition. An estimated 15 million people were displaced and an estimated 1 to 2 million died as a result of violence, hunger, suicide or disease.

The first Indo-Pakistani war ignited two months after Partition, in October 1947, over the newly formed Pakistan鈥檚 fear that the Hindu maharaja of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu would align with India. The Indo-Pakistani wars of 1965 and 1971 and the the Kargil War of 1999 followed, as well as other conflicts, standoffs and skirmishes.

Chester addressed these and other issues in a recent conversation with Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine.

Question: These decades of conflict are often framed as Hindu-Muslim conflict; is that not the case?

Chester: There鈥檚 an older dynamic of Hindu-Muslim tension that definitely plays a role in this, but a significant aspect of the conflict over Kashmir is a conflict over water, which is really important. It has to do specifically with Kashmir鈥檚 geopolitical position and how a lot of the water that is important to India, that flows through India into Pakistan, originates in Kashmir.

It was a lot about popular pressure this time鈥擧indu nationalist pressure鈥攐n (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, which is a dynamic that he has very much contributed to. So, in that sense, it could be framed as Hindu-Muslim tension.

But it鈥檚 also about territorial integrity鈥攖hat鈥檚 a phrase that kept coming up鈥攁nd it鈥檚 a very loaded phrase that does go back to 1947 and the kinds of nations that India and Pakistan were conceived of in the 1940s and the kinds of national concerns they鈥檝e developed in the years since.

Question: What role did Hindu nationalism, which has been very much in the news since Modi鈥檚 re-election last year, play in this recent conflict?

Chester: Hindu nationalism has been important in South Asia since the late 19th century, certainly, and it鈥檚 become more important since the 1930s. It鈥檚 one strand of the larger Indian nationalist movement鈥擨ndian nationalism was behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. So, it鈥檚 always been there, but Modi, of course, has really ramped it up. For a while he distanced himself from the BJP (the Bharatiya Janata Party political party associated with Hindu nationalism), but he鈥檚 since made it very clear that he is very much in line with Hindu nationalist ideals and played on those symbols and those dynamics centered to what Hindu nationalist voters wanted.

Colonel Sofiya Qureshi addresses the media about Operation Sindoor at the National Media Centre in New Delhi May 7, 2025. (Photo: Government of India Ministry of Defence)

This whole idea of Hinduness gets back to the various ways both India and Pakistan are conceived of as nations. Hindutva (a political ideology justifying a Hindu hegemony in India) conceives India as a fundamentally Hindu nation, and that idea has gotten so much more reinforcement from Modi and the national government over last 10 years. So, part of what happened with this awful terrorist massacre two weeks ago is that it created a lot of pressure on Modi to respond in a way that previous Indian administrations haven鈥檛 felt they had to respond.

Question: In the recent conflict, India accused Pakistan of perpetrating the attack, which Pakistan denied, and framed the response as a defense of 鈥楳other India.鈥� What does that mean?

Chester: Sumathi Ramaswamy explained it best in her book (The Goddess and the Nation: Mapping Mother India), where she talks about Mother India as this cartographed divine female figure who鈥檚 very much identified with the cartographic body of the nation. So, any attack on the territorial integrity (of India) is an attack on this woman, this mother figure.

The (recent) Indian Operation was called Operation Sindoor鈥攕indoor is the red coloring that married Hindu woman put in the part of their hair鈥攁 call-out to this idea of Mother India and a call to the nation鈥檚 sons to be willing to die for her or to kill for her in this case.

In 1947, with the Partition of British India into India and Pakistan, the conception for many in India was a really tragic carving up of the body of the nation, and for a number of Hindu nationalists, that was a specifically female body. For a lot of people in India to this day, the 1947 Partition is this massive failure and an amputation of key elements of the national body. On the other side in Pakistan, for many it鈥檚 this great narrative of victory, but on the Indian side there鈥檚 this recurring existential fear that further parts of the country could be carved off this way. I think a big part of why conflict keeps happening is that both sides feel very strongly about defending the national territory because it was torn apart in such a violent way, and I think that fear is just most vividly present in Kashmir.

Question: How does the history of Kashmir in terms of British rule and Partition come into play?

Chester: In terms of British India, there were areas that were directly ruled and areas that were indirectly ruled. The indirectly ruled areas were princely ruled, and this is important because Kashmir was a princely state with a Hindu maharaja and a majority-Muslim population. With princely states, in theory they could decide for themselves whether to accede to India or Pakistan, and the maharaja of Kashmir, most would say he was angling for some kind of autonomy or independence and delayed the decision on whether to accede to India or Pakistan.

In October of 1947, militia groups鈥攁lmost certainly supported by Pakistan鈥攊nvaded Kashmir and the maharaja appealed to India for help. India airlifted troops in, because there was no all-weather road efficient for deploying troops, which gives you a sense for both how remote Kashmir was and parts of it still are, and also that there weren鈥檛 a lot of infrastructure connections.

So, the first Indo-Pakistan war was in 1947 to 1948, then a second war in 1965 and a third in 1971. This reinforces that fear of the country fragmenting and losing parts of the national body, because it was after the 1971 war that Bangladesh became independent (from Pakistan).

In 1949, India and Pakistan established a Ceasefire Line that became the Line of Control in 1972 with the Simla Agreement. The Line of Control is significant because it鈥檚 treated as an international boundary鈥攏ot de jure (existing by law or officially recognized), but de facto. In 1972, officials came up with a textual description for the Line of Control and they define it up to NJ9842, which is the northernmost point on the map where it ends. The text of treaty says something like, 鈥淧roceed thence north to the glaciers.鈥� This territory is so remote, so geopolitically useless, that no one at the time thought spending time to define where boundary line ran was important.

In the mid-1980s, both India and Pakistan sent troops to the Siachen Glacier, creating one of the highest more-or-less permanent military bases at about 22,000 feet. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

So, north of NJ9842 is this really undefined area鈥攜ou鈥檝e got Pakistan-controlled territory, India-controlled territory, China is right there, the Karakoram Pass is right there. What happened in the late 1970s, and possibly earlier even into the late 1960s, was Pakistan began issuing permits to international climbing expeditions, and in the early 1980s Indian troops discovered evidence of these international climbing expeditions. India realized that Pakistan had been exercising a certain form of administrative control over this undefined territory, and that鈥檚 what triggered the mid-1980s sending of troops from India and Pakistan to the Siachen Glacier. It includes what I think is the highest more-or-less permanent military base at something like 22,000 feet.

As a map geek, I find it really interesting that maps have contributed in pretty direct ways to these conflicts. One of the really tragic elements is that we know that on the Indian side, 97% of conflict casualties in that area are due to terrain and weather, and we can assume similar numbers on the Pakistani side. You鈥檝e got these two countries fighting this battle, but they鈥檙e also fighting Mother Nature. In fact, the 1999 Kargil War happened because Pakistan tried to move some of its troops to a higher altitude where they could overlook an Indian road that supplied these high-altitude posts.

Question: What role did water play in the recent conflict?

Chester: All of the water that feeds the rivers that run downstream into western India and Pakistan originates in that region, which gives it real geopolitical value. One of the things that had me particularly concerned this time was India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty from 1960, which was a really landmark agreement governing the sharing of these waters. Some of these rivers flow through India before they get to Pakistan, and at this point India doesn鈥檛 have the infrastructure to turn off the water. But Pakistan has said if India starts building that infrastructure, they will consider it an act of war.

Question: Is there anything that makes you feel even slightly hopeful amid these ongoing tensions?

Chester: Over the last two weeks, both sides have been very carefully walking this fine line between being very visibly seen to acknowledge popular pressure on them to stand up strongly to their adversary, but also making very carefully planned choices that as far as possible avoided uncontrollable escalation. Everyone is keenly aware these are both nuclear-armed powers. I was very concerned that it escalated as much as it did on both sides, particularly in the use of airstrikes, but I think both sides were doing their best to leave themselves and their adversaries an off-ramp.

Part of the significance of (the Kargil War in) 1999 was both sides had just come out of the nuclear closet, so everyone was watching that conflict very closely, but both sides were able to walk back from edge. That gives us a lot of reason to hope and to believe that there are very professional people on both sides鈥攊n addition to people who are whipping up popular frenzy鈥攚ho have a good sense for what the limits are, what signals they can send, and who are saying to the population, 鈥淲e listen to you, we respect your grievances,鈥� but they also know where the edge is and aren鈥檛 crossing it.

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缅北禁地 historian Lucy Chester notes that the recent tensions between the two nations, incited by the April 22 terrorist attack in Kashmir, are the latest in an ongoing cycle.

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An apple a day? It鈥檚 the 缅北禁地 way

Rachel Sauer — Thu, 08 May 2025 17:18:27 +0000

An apple a day? It鈥檚 the 缅北禁地 way Rachel Sauer Thu, 05/08/2025 - 11:18

Rachel Sauer

Newly planted apple orchard on 缅北禁地 campus is a nexus of university and community partnerships and will be a living classroom for students and educators

For now, they are twiggy little things, all spindly adolescent limbs that nevertheless hint at future harvests. Saturday morning, one even wore a scattering of creamy white blossoms鈥攆lowers that, in years to come, once roots have gained hold and branches have stretched up and out, will grow into apples.

Is there anything more hopeful than planting a tree? Yes, planting a whole orchard of them.

On Saturday, years of planning, research and partnership-building bore fruit on an L-shaped plot in front of the 缅北禁地 30th Street greenhouse, where more than two-dozen volunteers planted 30 apple trees in what had previously been a scrubby patch of turf.

Funded by a $90,000 Sustainable CU grant, the apple orchard will not only be a classroom and a living lab, but a nexus for community, a carbon sink and a vibrant example that sustainability can be delicious.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so exciting to see this happening,鈥� says Amy Dunbar-Wallis, who this semester completed her PhD in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and collaborated with 缅北禁地 faculty and students and community partners to bring the idea of the first orchard on 缅北禁地 campus to fruition.

鈥淚t represents how so many people on campus, so many people in the community, have come together to plant this orchard that will be a place to learn and a place to preserve a really neat part of 缅北禁地鈥檚 history.鈥�

In search of old apple trees

The new apple orchard grew from the 缅北禁地 Apple Tree Project, an initiative that began almost 15 years ago with a simple observation: There seemed to be a lot of old apple trees in 缅北禁地.

Katharine Suding, a professor of distinction in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, had recently moved to the area, 鈥渁nd I was really surprised to see so many old apple trees everywhere,鈥� she recalled during the 2022 Apple Symposium. 鈥淚 realized I had no idea about the histories and particularly the history of apples, so looking into it a little more, it was clear there are trees here that are remnants of past histories starting in the turn of (20th) century.

Amy Dunbar-Wallis (left) and Tiffany Willis (right, EBio'22) consult a chart designating where each tree would be planted in the new apple orchard in front of the 30th Street greenhouse Saturday morning. Willis, who lives in 缅北禁地, took EBIO 1250 online during Covid lockdowns and was a lab assistant for the class in 2021.

鈥淭here are apple trees in Colorado and in 缅北禁地 that are remnants from old orchards that still exist. There are also remnants of trees that were planted when people came and built ranches or had farms here, and often they were bringing along apple trees from where they came from, whether it was Germany, whether it was the Midwest, whether it was Scandinavia.鈥�

In fall 2017, the 缅北禁地 Apple Tree Project (BATP) sprouted, combining historical sleuthing with cutting-edge genetic testing and grafting to not only locate and catalog 缅北禁地鈥檚 historic apple trees, but also to revive its legacy of apple growing. In the ongoing project, researchers gather data on the age and health of the trees, as well as the type and flavor of the apples, and the genetic diversity that the trees offer to future populations.

Suding and BATP co-principal investigator Lisa Corwin, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, have worked with undergraduate and graduate students not only to gather data, but also to develop the EBIO 1250 course, during which students conduct research on 缅北禁地鈥檚 apple trees; curricula and materials in partnership with the CU Museum of Natural History; a database and app in collaboration with computer science students; an interactive map of apple trees that have been tagged and studied; and the A Power of Place Learning Experience and Research Network (APPLE R Net), a multi-institution research network directed by Corwin that introduces students to field research by involving them in a project examining apple trees across the Rocky Mountain region.

BATP also is part of the Historic Fruit Tree Working Group, which connects Colorado researchers with other apple-exploring groups and researchers across North America.

Mia Williams (left) waters a newly planted apple tree Saturday morning. Williams, who will graduate this summer, is double majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology and environmental studies.

鈥淭his project has grown so much since our initial community engaged Apple Blitz in 2018,鈥� says Dunbar-Wallis. 鈥淲e've tagged over 1,000 trees and created a database, taught multiple course-based undergraduate research experiences at CU and at colleges across Colorado and northern New Mexico, started a data-collection app and interactive map in collaboration with CU computer science capstone students and installed a demonstration orchard in collaboration with 缅北禁地 Open Space and Mountain Parks.鈥�

The demonstration orchard, planted two years ago, functions as a teaching and research laboratory to explore how biodiversity affects the functioning of apple orchards and their services to human well-being, including efficient water use, pollinator habitat and structural complexity supporting natural pest control.

A part of the narrative

The idea for the 30th Street orchard was revived by a group of six undergraduate and two graduate students almost two years ago, who proposed resubmitting a grant application that hadn鈥檛 been accepted in 2019.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a group who really love what we do and love apple trees and working with the soil,鈥� says Katie Mikell, an ecology and evolutionary biology student who is graduating today and who was a member of the team that crafted and submitted the grant proposal.

鈥淏efore, (the orchard plot) was a lawn full of monoculture turf grass, so part of our argument was that if we put in an apple orchard, it would create a carbon sink (a system that absorbs more carbon than it releases), it would save the school money and anyone walking by could pick an apple. Plus, once the trees are producing, we can donate apples to the food pantry. Everyone can benefit from an apple orchard.鈥�

Deidre Jaeger (right, PhDEBio'22) and her sons Sage, 4 (left), and Cedar, 1 (center), plant apple trees at the 30th Street orchard Saturday morning. Jaeger was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and an advisor for the Center for Sustainable Landscapes and Communities and is a researcher with the 缅北禁地 Apple Tree Project.

Students prepared the 30th Street site during fall semester, working with departments and organizations across the university, as well as many community partners. The trees planted Saturday are about three years old and were obtained from Widespread Malus and Benevolence Orchard in 缅北禁地.

鈥淥ur students are at the core of the university, and their passion and ingenuity are critical to our values around infusing sustainability throughout 缅北禁地. This orchard exemplifies that pursuit in so many ways,鈥� says Vice Chancellor for Sustainability Andrew Mayock.

鈥淚t is not only helping to protect biodiversity in our community. It will help feed those in need on our campus and create a living-learning laboratory space where sustainability leaders of the future will learn and develop strategies for urban agriculture planning.鈥�

Fifteen varieties of apples are represented in the orchard, including locally grown historic cultivars like Wolf River and Colorado Orange. A beloved apple tree on the Bobolink Trail is even represented in a newly planted graft.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much learning that can happen in an orchard,鈥� says Manuela Mejia, an ecology and evolutionary biology PhD student who will conduct her doctoral research, which will include studying insect diversity, at the orchard. 鈥淪o many facets of science are represented here.鈥�

In addition to trees, the orchard will include an understory of native, drought-tolerant grasses and pollinator-friendly wildflowers, notes Mia Williams, who is majoring in environmental studies and ecology and evolutionary biology and will graduate this summer.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting that this orchard will become a part of the story of agriculture in this area,鈥� Dunbar-Wallis says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e tagged more than 1,000 trees (through BATP) and some of them are a hundred years old, so you think about everything they鈥檝e seen and been through, the history that they hold, their stories, and now these trees鈥攚hich are little now and probably won鈥檛 produce fruit for two or three years鈥攁re part of that narrative.鈥�

Sophie Small (left) and Amy Dunbar-Wallis (right) fill a wheelbarrow with compost Saturday morning to prepare for planting an apple orchard in front of the 30th Street greenhouse. Small, a freshman who is studying biomedical engineering, learned about the project through the CU Farm and Garden Club.

Sophie Small (left), Isaac Kou (center) and Kyrie MacArthur dig a hole Saturday morning before planting an apple tree in it. Small is studying biomedical engineering, Kou just graduated with a major in computer science and a minor in ecology and evolutionary biology and MacArthur is studying history and education.

Amy Dunbar-Wallis (PhDEBio'25) digs a hole for a young apple tree Saturday morning.

Amy Dunbar Wallis (left, black vest) educates student and community volunteers Saturday morning before they plant 30 apple trees in front of the 30th Street greenhouse.

The apple trees planted in the 30th Street orchard Saturday morning, one of which even bloomed, are three years old and should begin producing fruit in two or three years.

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Newly planted apple orchard on 缅北禁地 campus is a nexus of university and community partnerships and will be a living classroom for students and educators.

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Honoring the traditions of people and place

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 05 May 2025 15:59:33 +0000

Honoring the traditions of people and place Rachel Sauer Mon, 05/05/2025 - 09:59

Rachel Sauer

Newly opened exhibit at the University of Colorado Museum celebrates ceramic artist鈥檚 donation and the legacy of her family and community

A new piece of Acoma Pueblo pottery begins, in a way, with all the pottery that came before it.

Artisans finely grind shards of old pottery and mix it into clay gathered from Acoma Pueblo land, hand-forming the light yet strong vessels for which they are renowned. There are no precise measurements, no written recipes, for the clay or slip or mineral paints that come together in Acoma Pueblo pottery; 鈥測ou just know when it鈥檚 right,鈥� says artist Dolores Lewis Garcia.

Noted Acoma Pueblo ceramics artist Carmel Lewis Haskaya, a proud 缅北禁地 alumnus, ensured that her love for her community and its traditions would unite with her love for 缅北禁地 by donating one of her pieces to the University of Colorado Museum.

Lewis Garcia learned the art from her mother, Lucy M. Lewis, the famed New Mexico ceramics artist known for reviving traditional pottery techniques whose work is displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Most of Lewis鈥� nine children learned by watching her and also became ceramic artists, including her youngest, Carmel Lewis Haskaya.

Lewis Haskaya was not only a respected ceramic artist, but a proud 缅北禁地 alumnus. Before her death in 2019, she ensured that her love for her community and its traditions would unite with her love for 缅北禁地 by donating one of her pieces to the University of Colorado Museum.

The vibrant cylindrical pot is a centerpiece of the new exhibit 鈥�A Family Tradition: Acoma pottery, CU and the Lewis family,鈥� which opened with a reception and ribbon cutting Tuesday evening.

鈥淲e are delighted to highlight and honor the important artworks that this family has shared with us,鈥� says Nancy J. Stevens, 缅北禁地 professor of anthropology and director of the Museum Institute. 鈥淚t represents a pivotal point for connecting communities and growing meaningful collaborations into the future.鈥�

The exhibit features pieces by Lucy Lewis and many of her children, including Forever Buff Carmel Lewis Haskaya.

鈥�(Lewis Haskaya鈥檚 cylinder jar) is not just an object or a gift,鈥� explains William Taylor, a 缅北禁地 assistant professor of anthropology and CU Museum curator of archaeology who partnered with the Lewis family to create the exhibit.

鈥�For many folks, creating pottery is a way to impart something of yourself in a permanent and lasting way. Having this pottery at CU means that a part of Carmel and her family will always be here in 缅北禁地.鈥�

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Lewis Haskaya belonged to an artistic lineage that can be traced in centuries. For hundreds of years, Acoma Pueblo artists have gone to certain spots on their land to collect the clay, white slip, wild spinach and oxides that are the raw materials for their pottery.

鈥淏eing an Acoma potter, there鈥檚 a lot of work that goes into it,鈥� Lewis Garcia says.

鈥淓verything is gathered from the land and hand-processed,鈥� adds Claudia Mitchell, also a famed Acoma Pueblo artist and Lewis鈥� granddaughter. 鈥淚t teaches you to take your time and be present; you鈥檙e putting yourself into the work.鈥�

As a child, Lewis Haskaya learned these traditions and techniques watching her mother. When she came to 缅北禁地 through the American Indian Educational Opportunity Program and built a career with the Native American Rights Fund, she never forgot or outgrew her community, Mitchell says. Eventually, Lewis Haskaya returned to her community at Acoma, west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and became an accomplished artist.

Lewis Haskaya was a student of history and art traditions from around the world and was known for creating cylinder vessels in the style of ones found at Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde and other ancient sites, adding her own touch to traditional designs.

The cylindrical vessel made by noted Acoma Pueblo artist Carmel Lewis Haskaya, which she donated to the University of Colorado Museum before her death in 2019.

鈥淪he had the hardest time grinding mineral paints,鈥� Lewis Garcia recalls with a laugh, adding that her sister eventually conquered the hurdle that many artisans using traditional techniques encounter.

Like her mother and siblings, and now her nieces and nephews, Lewis Haskaya walked Acoma land to specific spots for the gray and yellow clays, the minerals and the plants that are the foundation of traditional techniques. 鈥淭o get the white slip, it鈥檚 not in an easy place,鈥� Lewis Garcia says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 underground and there鈥檚 a big boulder on it. You have to use it sparingly.鈥�

Though it鈥檚 more common now to use kilns rather than dung fires, the process of thinning vessel walls, of burnishing with a stone, of applying the geometric patterns associated with Acoma Pueblo pottery hasn鈥檛 changed for centuries.

鈥楾he ties that bind us together鈥�

While pottery is revered as art, 鈥渋n our traditional ways, it鈥檚 a utility, it鈥檚 an item that we use,鈥� says Benny Shendo Jr., 缅北禁地 associate vice chancellor for Native American affairs and a member of the Jemez Pueblo Tribe. 鈥淎nd it plays a big role in our ceremonial life.鈥�

Mitchell notes that traditional pottery helps not only those who make it, but those who use it to 鈥済round ourselves to the place that we鈥檙e from; it鈥檚 that connection that we have to our land and to our people鈥攏ot only just for personal use, but for community use. It gives us that tie to one another. We鈥檙e keeping those traditions alive not only through our dance and song but through our pottery.

鈥淭hose are the ties that bind us together, that make us a people. It鈥檚 important to keep those ties, to make sure that those things鈥攖he pottery making, the dancing, the singing鈥攁ll of those are taught to our younger generations, because that helps them identify who they are and where they are. It helps give them a sense of place and sense of purpose.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 part of life,鈥� says Diana Lim Garry (Anth'71), Lucy Lewis鈥� granddaughter who lives in 缅北禁地 and helped bring the exhibit to life, loaning pieces from her own collection. 鈥淓verywhere we go鈥攜ou鈥檙e walking on a hike and you鈥檙e walking along the streambed, and you鈥檙e saying, 鈥榃ould that make a good polishing stone?鈥� You go along, even (in) roadcuts there鈥檚 all these pretty colors of the minerals in the rocks: 鈥榃ould that make good paint?鈥� It鈥檚 always on your mind that this is something that鈥檚 been done for a long time and will continue to be done thanks to my aunts and my cousins.鈥�

Mitchell adds that a pottery vessel made in traditional ways allows the Acoma Pueblo people to say 鈥淚 have my piece of the rock. That鈥檚 how we identify ourselves, by place and name, that鈥檚 our place in this world, and no matter where we go in this world, we can always go back to that one place, and that鈥檚 where we belong. For our people, that鈥檚 who we are, that鈥檚 where we鈥檙e from.鈥�

"A Family Tradition: Acoma pottery, CU and the Lewis family鈥� is open to the public during regular museum hours, which are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Claudia Mitchell (left), Dolores Lewis Garcia (center) and Diana Lim Garry (right) with the vessel made by Carmel Lewis Haskaya, Lewis Garcia's sister and Mitchell's and Lim Garry's aunt; Lewis Haskaya donated the vessel to the University of Colorado Museum.

Pieces made by famed Acoma Pueblo artist Lucy M. Lewis are part of the new University of Colorado Museum exhibit "A Family Tradition: Acoma pottery, CU and the Lewis family."

Following in the footsteps of her grandmother, Lucy M. Lewis, Acoma Pueblo artist Claudia Mitchell made these pieces using traditional techniques and designs.

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Newly opened exhibit at the University of Colorado Museum celebrates ceramic artist鈥檚 donation and the legacy of her family and community.

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Top image: Carmel Lewis Haskaya enjoying the Colorado outdoors while she was a 缅北禁地 student (Photo: Lewis family)

Scholars aim to build community for women in quantum

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 19:46:50 +0000

Scholars aim to build community for women in quantum Rachel Sauer Fri, 04/25/2025 - 13:46

Rachel Sauer

Quantum Scholars Emily Jerris and Annalise Cabra started CU Women of Quantum to help women interested in careers in quantum to network and share experiences

First, the good news: Between 1970 and 2022, the percentage of U.S. women workers in STEM jobs grew from 7% to 26%.

The obvious and not-so-good news is that while women represent almost half the U.S. workforce, they hold only a quarter of STEM jobs. And the numbers get even more stark in quantum fields. A 2022 report from the London School of Economics and Political Science found that fewer than 2% of applicants for jobs in quantum fields are female.

Quantum Scholars Annalise Cabra (left) and Emily Jerris (right) gave a presentation about CU Women of Quantum at the December Quantum Scholars meeting attended by CU President Todd Saliman. (Photo: Casey Cass/缅北禁地)

However, in the 100 years since German physicist Werner Heisenberg submitted his paper 鈥淥n quantum-theoretical reinterpretation of kinematic and mechanical relationships鈥� to the journal Zeitschrift f眉r Physik, a July 1925 event that is broadly credited with kick-starting the quantum revolution, the possibilities and potential of quantum science and engineering have grown enormously.

Recognizing that potential, a group of 缅北禁地 scholars wants to help ensure that women participate equally and fully in quantum science and engineering.

CU Women of Quantum, founded last semester by Quantum Scholars Emily Jerris and Annalise Cabra, aims to be a community of support, connection, mentorship and networking for women interested in pursuing careers or research in quantum fields.

鈥淥ur primary focus,鈥� Cabra explains, 鈥渋s just to create a space where we can come together, share our experiences and create relationships that are lasting.鈥�

100 years of quantum

Both Jerris and Cabra say that this is an exciting time to be in quantum science and engineering. Not only did the United Nations declare 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, and not only did Colorado Gov. Jared Polis last week announce the Blueprint for Advancing K鈥�12 Quantum Information Technology, but research happening on the 缅北禁地 campus and in Colorado is swiftly expanding the boundaries of quantum technology.

However, they also add that as exciting as this time is, women in quantum fields still face some of the same roadblocks that women in STEM always have.

鈥淚 think if you asked most of the women in the club or just in a STEM major if they鈥檝e had a moment where a peer or coworker has talked down to them or they felt not necessarily fully included in a project because they were the only woman in the group, I think most probably have,鈥� Jerris says. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 nice to have a space to talk about that鈥攈ow to navigate situations like that. A lot of us do research, too, and those types of situations are also really prevalent in the research space.鈥�

Jerris and Cabra worked with Michael Ritzwoller, a physics professor of distinction and Quantum Scholars co-founder, and physics Professor Noah Finkelstein to create CU Women of Quantum, which is open to all students, as a place for not only female Quantum Scholars, but for women across campus who are interested in pursuing careers in quantum science, technology or engineering.

Annalise Cabra (left) works with Brooke Nelson (right), a career advisor for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, on her resume during a recent CU Women of Quantum meeting.

Supporting women in quantum

One of the group鈥檚 aims is creating networking and mentorship opportunities for members by asking professors and women working in quantum fields to speak at group meetings. This has included Alex Tingle, a 缅北禁地 physics alumna and senior technical project engineer at Quantinuum, who was named one of the Wonder Women of the Quantum Industry by the Quantum Daily.

CU Women of Quantum gatherings also focus on skill-building, including a recent meeting at which Brooke Nelson, a career advisor for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, gave a presentation on creating and honing a resume.

鈥淥ne of our goals is to help (CU Women of Quantum members) narrow in on their interests and build connections,鈥� Cabra says. 鈥淎nd then also having opportunities to see how women in their shoes were able to navigate and build careers in quantum. I think it鈥檚 important for a lot of women in the field, too, to go back and encourage other women who are just starting out or just getting interested in quantum.鈥�

The members of CU Women of Quantum also get together for study sessions, 鈥渂ecause even if we鈥檙e not taking the same classes, with other women you can feel more open and not like you鈥檙e the outlier in the group.鈥�

Both Cabra, who is graduating next month, and Jerris, who is completing her third year, are interested in pursuing careers in a quantum field, bolstered by the support they鈥檝e found in CU Women of Quantum.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so fascinating because it鈥檚 just so unintuitive,鈥� Cabra says. 鈥淚t makes your brain think in such crazy ways, from the ways particles behave to the ways stars don鈥檛 collapse or do collapse, to parallel universes, and it all goes back to quantum. I think it鈥檚 just so exciting to study.鈥�

Jerris adds that often the common perception of quantum science and technology is that 鈥渋t鈥檚 kind of magic or something we don鈥檛 totally understand, but we actually do have a pretty good understanding of quantum. We know what鈥檚 going on and can model it, and we鈥檙e maybe just one step behind with how we can actually manipulate things. So, it鈥檚 not magic; it鈥檚 something we do know a lot about and we鈥檙e learning more every day.鈥�

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Quantum Scholars Emily Jerris and Annalise Cabra started CU Women of Quantum to help women interested in careers in quantum to network and share experiences.

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In the archaeological record, size does matter

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 15:24:57 +0000

In the archaeological record, size does matter Rachel Sauer Mon, 04/14/2025 - 09:24

Rachel Sauer

缅北禁地 archaeologist Scott Ortman and colleagues around the world explore relationships between housing size and inequality in PNAS Special Feature

If the archaeological record has been correctly interpreted, stone alignments in Tanzania鈥檚 Olduvai Gorge are remnants of shelters built 1.7 million years ago by Homo habilis, an extinct species representing one of the earliest branches of humanity鈥檚 family tree.

Archaeological evidence that is unambiguously housing dates to more than 20,000 years ago鈥攁 time when large swaths of North America, Europe and Asia were covered in ice and humans had only recently begun living in settlements.

Between that time and the dawn of industrialization, the archaeological record is rich not only with evidence of settled life represented by housing, but also with evidence of inequality.

缅北禁地 archaeologist Scott Ortman partnered with colleagues Amy Bogaard of the University of Oxford and Timothy Kohler of the University of Florida on a PNAS Special Feature focused on housing size in the archaeological record and inequality.

In a Special Feature published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scholars from around the world draw from a groundbreaking archaeological database that collects more than 55,000 housing floor area measurements from sites spanning the globe鈥攄ata that support research demonstrating various correlations between housing size and inequality.

鈥淎rchaeologists have been interested in the study of inequality for a long time,鈥� explains Scott Ortman, a 缅北禁地 associate professor of anthropology who partnered with colleagues Amy Bogaard of the University of Oxford and Timothy Kohler of Washington State University to bring together the PNAS Special Feature. (Special Features in PNAS are curated collections of articles that delve into important topics.)

鈥淔or a long time, studies have focused on the emergence of inequality in the past, and while some of the papers in the special feature address those issues, others also consider the dynamics of inequality in more general terms.鈥�

Kohler notes that "we use this information to identify the fundamental drivers of economic inequality using a different way of thinking about the archaeological record鈥攎ore thinking about it as a compendium of human experience. It鈥檚 a new approach to doing archaeology.鈥�

Patterns of inequality

Ortman, Bogaard and Kohler also are co-principal investigators on the Global Dynamics of Inequality (GINI) Project funded by the National Science Foundation and housed in the 缅北禁地 Center for Collaborative Synthesis in Archaeology in the Institute of Behavioral Science to create the database of housing floor area measurements from sites around the world.

Scholars then examined patterns of inequality shown in the data and studied them in the context of other measures of economic productivity, social stability and conflict to illuminate basic social consequences of inequality in human society, Ortman explains.

鈥淲hat we did was we crowdsourced, in a sense,鈥� Ortman says. 鈥淲e put out a request for information from archaeologists working around the world, who knew about the archaeological record of housing in different parts of world and got them together to design a database to capture what was available from ancient houses in societies all over world.鈥�

Undergraduate and graduate research assistants also helped create the database, which contains 55,000 housing units and counting from sites as renowned as Pompeii and Herculaneum, to sites across North and South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. 鈥淏y no stretch of the imagination is it all of the data that archaeologists have ever collected, but we really did make an effort to sample the world and pull together most of the readily available information from excavations, from remote sensing, from LiDAR,鈥� Ortman says.

The housing represented in the data spans non-industrial society from about 12,000 years ago to the recent past, generally ending with industrialization. The collected data then served as a foundation for 10 papers in the PNAS Special Feature, which focus on the archaeology of inequality as evidenced in housing.

Housing similarities

In their introduction to the Special Feature, Ortman, Kohler and Bogaard note that 鈥渆conomic inequality, especially as it relates to inclusive and sustainable social development, represents a primary global challenge of our time and a key research topic for archaeology.

In the PNAS Special Feature published Monday, researchers from around the world describe evidence of inequality found in archaeological data of housing size. (Cover image: Johnny Miller/Unequal Scenes)

鈥淚t is also deeply linked to two other significant challenges. The first is climate change. This threatens to widen economic gaps within and between nations, and some evidence from prehistory associates high levels of inequality with lack of resilience to climatic perturbations. The second is stability of governance. Clear and robust evidence from two dozen democracies over the last 25 years that links high economic inequality to political polarization, distrust of institutions and weakening democratic norms. Clearly, if maintenance of democratic systems is important to us, we must care about the degree of wealth inequality in society.鈥�

Archaeological evidence demonstrates a long prehistory of inequality in income and wealth, Ortman and his colleagues note, and allows researchers to study the fundamental drivers of those inequalities. The research in the Special Feature takes advantage of the fact 鈥渢hat residences dating to the same chronological period, and from the same settlements or regions, will be subject to very similar climatic, environmental, technological and cultural constraints and opportunities.鈥�

Several papers in the Special Feature address the relationship between economic growth and inequality, Ortman says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e thinking about not just the typical size of houses in a society, but the rates of change in the sizes of houses from one time step to the next.

鈥淥ne thing we鈥檝e also done (with the database) is arrange houses from many parts of the world in regional chronological sequences鈥攈ow the real estate sector of past societies changed over time.鈥�

The papers in the Special Feature focus on topics including the effects of land use and war on housing disparities and the relationship between housing disparities and how long housing sites are occupied. A study that Ortman led and conducted with colleagues from around the world found that comparisons of archaeological and contemporary real estate data show that in preindustrial societies, variation in residential building area is proportional to income inequality and provides a conservative estimator for wealth inequality.

鈥淥ur research shows that high wealth inequality could become entrenched where ecological and political conditions permitted,鈥� Bogaard says. 鈥淭he emergence of high wealth inequality wasn鈥檛 an inevitable result of farming. It also wasn鈥檛 a simple function of either environmental or institutional conditions. It emerged where land became a scarce resource that could be monopolized. At the same time, our study reveals how some societies avoided the extremes of inequality through their governance practices.鈥�

The researchers argue that 鈥渢he archaeological record also shows that the most reliable way to promote equitable economic development is through policies and institutions that reduce the covariance of current household productivity with productivity growth.鈥�

GINI Project data, as well as the analysis program developed for them, will be available open access via the Digital Archaeological Record.

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缅北禁地 archaeologist Scott Ortman and colleagues around the world explore relationships between housing size and inequality in PNAS Special Feature.

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Tales as old as time 鈥� yet we still love them

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 15:36:10 +0000

Tales as old as time 鈥� yet we still love them Rachel Sauer Fri, 04/04/2025 - 09:36

Rachel Sauer

With yet another Snow White adaptation currently in theaters, 缅北禁地 scholar Suzanne Magnanini reflects on the enduring appeal of fairy tales

Once upon a time鈥�this time, in fact, and many of the ones that came before it鈥攖here was a story that never grew dull in its telling.

It possibly leaped the porous cultural and national borders of narrative, carried by caravans or ships or ethernet cables and planted in the ready imaginations of successive generations of story lovers鈥攖hose who tell them and those who hear them.

Maybe it鈥檚 the story of a young person who ventures into the unknown, where they encounter magic and beasts of all sizes and a resolution specific to the tale鈥檚 time and place. Maybe there really even are fairies involved.

Suzanne Magnanini, a 缅北禁地 associate professor of Italian and chair of the Department of French and Italian, notes that fairy tales' malleability helps them remain fresh and relevant over centuries of retellings.

And we never seem to tire of hearing about them.

The recent theatrical release of Disney鈥檚 live-action Snow White鈥攐ne of countless retellings of the tale over more than 400 years鈥攈ighlights the place of honor that fairy tales occupy in cultures around the world and in the hearts of people hearing them for the first time or the thousandth.

One of the reasons they remain fresh through countless years and iterations is their malleability, says Suzanne Magnanini, a 缅北禁地 associate professor of Italian and chair of the Department of French and Italian. 鈥淭he Italian author Italo Calvino, who also edited a seminal collection of Italian folktales, writes of fairy tales as being like a stone fruit, where you have that hard core center that is always the same鈥攜ou鈥檒l usually recognize a Sleeping Beauty story, for example鈥攂ut the fruit can be radically different around that.鈥�

Stories of time and place

As a researcher, Magnanini has published broadly on fairy tales, including her 2008 book Fairy-Tale Science: Monstrous Generation in the Fairy Tales of Straparola and Basile. She began studying fairy tales while working on her PhD, finding in them a fascinating dovetailing between her interests in monstrosity and otherness.

鈥淎s a scholar, I take what鈥檚 called a social-historical approach,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in all those little details that link a tale to a very precise place in time where it was told, and I鈥檝e written about the ways in which fairy tales are used to elaborate on and think about scientific theories of reproduction that hadn鈥檛 really been nailed down at the time鈥攓uestions that were still being circulated about whether humans could interbreed with animals, for example, and would that produce a monstrous child?

鈥淵ou look at a some variations of Beauty and the Beast, like Giovan Francesco Straparola鈥檚 story of a pig king, where it鈥檚 a magical version of these questions, and maybe what鈥檚 actually happening is that fairy tales are a way to think through the anxieties and interests of the time.鈥�

Fairy Tales at 缅北禁地

The ATU Index is one of the search elements that Suzanne Magnanini and her students are including as they develop the database for Fairy Tales at 缅北禁地. The project aims, in part, to improve access and searchability of the more than 2,000 fairy tale collections that are part of the Rare Books Collection at Norlin Library.

The project is a partnership between undergraduates and graduate students under the direction of Magnanini and Sean Babbs, instruction coordinator for the University Libraries' Rare and Distinctive Collections, as well as Hope Saska, CU Art Museum acting director and chief curator, who has trained students in visual-thinking strategies. The project is supported by Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, the ASSETT Innovation Incubator, the President鈥檚 Teaching Scholars Program and the University Libraries.

Fairy Tales at 缅北禁地 will host a showcase of CU's fairy tale collection from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. April 16 in Norlin Library M350B. Learn more here.

Though fairy tales may be spun in response to what鈥檚 happening in a specific time and place, they also often address concerns that aren鈥檛 specific to one location or culture but are broadly pondered across humanity. 鈥淎ndrew Teverson has written that fairy tales are literature鈥檚 migrants because they can move across borders, they can move across boundaries and then make themselves at home and assimilate to a certain extent in different cultures,鈥� Magnanini says.

For example, the Brothers Grimm heard a tale called 鈥淪neewittchen鈥� (Snow White) from folklorist Marie Hassenpflug, as well as from other sources, and included it as tale No. 53 in their seminal 1812 Grimm鈥檚 Fairy Tales. However, says Magnanini, there was a similar tale called 鈥淭he Young Slave鈥� in Giambattista Basile鈥檚 1634 work Pentamerone. In fact, Snow White is type 709 in the Aarne鈥揟hompson鈥揢ther Index (ATU Index), which catalogs and describes common motifs and themes in fairy tales and folklore around the world.

Not so happily ever after

The origins of many fairy tales can be traced as far back as ancient Greece, Rome and China, Magnanini says, which speaks to their ability not only to help people of particular times and places explore their anxieties and questions, but to address the feelings that have been central to the human condition almost since our species emerged from caves.

鈥淲hen I think about fairy tales, I think about number of characteristics that make them really appealing across time and space,鈥� Magnanini says. 鈥淚f you think about it, the protagonists are almost always young people heading out into the world鈥攎uch like our students are heading out鈥攍eaving home behind, having to make their way in world, facing challenges. That experience can be very transformational, so in a way these stories are all about metamorphosis and change.

鈥淎 lot of times that鈥檚 when you鈥檙e living your life in Technicolor and all the emotions are new. So, even if you鈥檙e no longer in that moment of life, fairy tales tap into experiences like the first falling in love, the first adventure from home. And they often end right after the wedding, so you don鈥檛 see someone having to do their taxes or being like, 鈥極h, my god, I鈥檝e been in this relationship for 30 years and I鈥檓 bored.鈥� I think part of the reason we don鈥檛 get tired of fairy tales is because they capture this fleeting time in life.鈥�

鈥淚f you think about it, the (fairy tale) protagonists are almost always young people heading out into the world鈥攎uch like our students are heading out鈥攍eaving home behind, having to make their way in world, facing challenges," says 缅北禁地 scholar Suzanne Magnanini. (Photo: Disney Studios)

While fairy tales, particularly as they鈥檝e been interpreted and simplified by Disney, are stereotyped as having 鈥渁nd they lived happily ever after鈥� endings, fairy tales pre-Disney more commonly ended with justice served, Magnanini says. For example, the version of 鈥淪now White鈥� in the 1812 Grimm鈥檚 Fairy Tales ends with the evil queen being forced to step into a pair of red-hot iron shoes and dance until she dies.

鈥淎 lot of people will say, 鈥極h, it鈥檚 the happy ending that鈥檚 the appeal of fairy tales,鈥� but it鈥檚 important to remember the vast majority of fairy tales end with the deliverance of justice鈥攕omething really unjust has happened, someone has been discriminated against, there鈥檚 some evil in the world, and justice is delivered,鈥� Magnanini explains. 鈥淧eople who study the formal aspects of fairy tales always talk about how the 鈥榟appy ending鈥� is found in justice.

鈥淒isney Studios has a tendency to remove the ambiguity from these tales and remove most of the violence鈥攕implifying them in a lot of ways. If you read the French version of Beauty and the Beast, Charles Perrault鈥檚 version, there were other siblings in there; there was a complex family structure with complex interactions and a lot of really heavy issues鈥攖he family must deal with economic disaster.鈥�

In fact, the field of fairy tale scholarship addresses everything from feminist interpretations of the stories to the ways in which children use fairy tales to help navigate psychosexual rites of passage. Generations of authors have told and continue to retell these familiar stories through different lenses of gender, sexuality, geography, racial identity, economic status and many, many others.

鈥淲hat makes these stories different, and what I think is a big part of the appeal of fairy tales, is the magic or the marvel,鈥� Magnanini says. 鈥淔or it to be a fairy tale, scholars would say there has to be magic in there鈥攏ot just the presence of magic, but magic that facilitates the happy ending by allowing the protagonist to overcome whatever obstacles are in the way of what they desire, maybe the marriage, the wealth, the happy ending. There鈥檚 something so satisfying about that, because it doesn鈥檛 happen in your quotidian day-to-day life. I mean, imagine if you met a talking deer.鈥�

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With yet another Snow White adaptation currently in theaters, 缅北禁地 scholar Suzanne Magnanini reflects on the enduring appeal of fairy tales.

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Picturing climate change in the West

Rachel Sauer — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 20:57:22 +0000

Picturing climate change in the West Rachel Sauer Wed, 04/02/2025 - 14:57

Rachel Sauer

What began as a hobby for 缅北禁地 economics undergrad Lucas Gauthier came together as a photographic portfolio documenting the already-evident and potential effects of climate change

Lucas Gauthier and his family moved to Colorado when he was in 6th grade, and after a decade of fairly frequent moves鈥攂oth parents were in the military鈥攖his is where everything made sense: mountains for climbing, runs for skiing, trails for hiking and rivers for rafting.

They took some convincing, but eventually his parents let him venture out on his own鈥攆orays that grew longer and longer and took him farther and farther into the Colorado wilderness.

Lucas Gauthier, a senior majoring in economics, has photographically documented his adventures in western landscapes since he was in high school.

About four or five years ago, he began taking pictures along the way, usually on his phone. The photography wasn鈥檛 the point, necessarily, 鈥渂ut I found that, especially in Colorado, hiking puts you in some very beautiful places,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚 hike, and the pictures happen while I鈥檓 hiking.鈥�

A through line for what had become a large portfolio of photographs emerged in spring 2024. Gauthier, a senior majoring in economics with a focus on natural resource management, was taking ENLP 3100鈥擟omplex Leadership Challenges, a class that requires students to complete three projects during the semester.

The first two projects were more technically focused, but the third emphasized creating something of personal value. So, Gauthier thought about all the places in Colorado that he loves, scrolling through both his memories and his photos. He realized that what began as an almost offhanded hobby was actually documenting places that would be or already were altered by climate change.

From that realization was born Climate Change in the West: A Photographic Journal, a multimedia project that incorporates not only data about things like wildfire, heat wave and drought risk and their potential for significant economic impact, but makes it personal with the scenes of incomparable beauty he has witnessed and documented.

鈥淢y interest in water specifically came from my interest in hiking and skiing and an interest in all outdoor sports,鈥� Gauthier says. 鈥淲hen people say there鈥檚 going to be less rain, less precipitation, that鈥檚 a big deal for me.

鈥淚 worked and lived in Breckenridge, which is a tourism-dependent area, so if there鈥檚 not enough water, that鈥檚 weeks of ski season that are lost, and there might not be a rafting season, so that鈥檚 where you start to see the overlaps between how climate change is affecting natural systems and the actual economic impacts on livelihoods.鈥�

Capturing what he sees

鈥淢y interest in photography has been in capturing this broad swath of environments that we get to play in鈥攁s a way to memorialize the experience for myself, and also to share it with others,鈥� Gauthier says.

He took two photography classes in high school, neither of which focused on outdoor or landscape photography, 鈥渂ut I do think those gave me a good idea for how to compose photos and set them up, how to look for different lighting and visual elements,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey got me in the mindset of thinking, 鈥楾his is something that strikes me, and I鈥檒l see if I can frame it in way that works with what I want to capture.鈥欌€�

Gauthier was also in high school when he began tackling ever-more-ambitious climbs and started working his way through Colorado鈥檚 58 fourteeners, a goal he completed over the summer. Of those 58, he climbed at least 45 solo.

鈥�(Climbing solo) is kind of a mix of preference and necessity,鈥� Gauthier explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easier when the only person you have to plan for logistically is yourself. And when you鈥檙e trying to beat lighting and thunder, it鈥檚 best to move light and fast.鈥�

However, he never moves so fast that he can鈥檛 look around and, if he鈥檚 able, to capture what he鈥檚 seeing in a photograph. And he returns to certain favorite places, enough that he can compare them season by season or year by year.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had a mix of good and bad snow years, but it鈥檚 been very noticeable when a particular area that usually has good (snow) coverage into May or June has already melted,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd there have been times when I鈥檝e hiked through area and a few years later it鈥檚 a burn scar, which is a very visceral sense of change in the environment.

鈥淭hen there are little things like aspens are yellowing at a different date, wildflowers are blooming and stop blooming at different times. While it鈥檚 not as black and white a change, moving those transition points is definitely something that adds up in aggregate.鈥�

Factors of climate change

Now, as he works his way through Colorado鈥檚 100 highest peaks鈥攈e鈥檚 summited more than 80鈥攁nd completes his bachelor鈥檚 degree, he still is conceptualizing what it all means. Many climate change models are forecast to take decades鈥攊f not centuries鈥攖o happen, but Gauthier is already seeing anecdotal evidence of them. What does that mean for how he exists in the outdoors and what he鈥檚 going to do after he graduates?

鈥淚 feel like there is a lot of doom and gloom, and I definitely feel that, but at the same time I am very much a person who feels like I have to say what I鈥檓 going to do about it,鈥� he says. 鈥淲ith my area of emphasis in environmental economics, it鈥檚 about acknowledging that we have these issues and asking how we address them through actual, tangible means. For me, that means engaging in actual political and broader social processes. When I鈥檓 engaged in something, I feel less powerless.

鈥淚 think the main point that I wanted to communicate with this project was emphasizing how each of these different factors of climate change are integrated,鈥� he says. 鈥淔ires affect water quality, flooding affects agriculture and all of it impacts places that I and a lot of other people love.鈥�

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to our newsletter. Passionate about economics? Show your support.

What began as a hobby for 缅北禁地 economics undergrad Lucas Gauthier came together as a photographic portfolio documenting the already-evident and potential effects of climate change.

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Black History Month celebration emphasizes building the 鈥榖eloved community鈥�

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 22:07:13 +0000

Black History Month celebration emphasizes building the 鈥榖eloved community鈥� Rachel Sauer Mon, 02/03/2025 - 15:07

Rachel Sauer

While speakers acknowledged the change and uncertainty of the moment, they encouraged hope and the importance of continuing to work toward justice

The afternoon began with a karibu, the Swahili word for 鈥渨elcome鈥濃€攏ot just to the Glenn Miller Ballroom or the 缅北禁地 campus, but to the beloved community 鈥渨here everybody is included and nobody is excluded,鈥� said Reiland Rabaka, founder and director of the Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS), in opening the CAAAS Day Black History Month celebration Saturday afternoon.

The celebration came, as several of the speakers acknowledged, during a time of great change, when many are feeling the anxiety that often accompanies uncertainty.

CU President Todd Saliman (left) and Reiland Rabaka, Center for African and African American Studies founder and director, emphasized the importance of compassion in the present moment.

鈥淚 have spent many decades watching progress and regress,鈥� said 缅北禁地 Chancellor Justin Schwartz. 鈥淲e seem to step forward and then back and then forward again.鈥�

In emphasizing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 observation that, 鈥淭he arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,鈥� Schwartz noted that the arc 鈥渋s not smooth like a rainbow,鈥� but rough and jagged. 鈥淭he arc does not bend on its own, people bend the arc. Collectively, we bend the arc toward justice.鈥�

Todd Saliman, president of the University of Colorado, told those in attendance that 鈥渨e are not changing anything until we are required to do so by a lawful order. We鈥檒l keep our eye on the ball and continue to do our work. At this point, there鈥檚 very little we鈥檝e been required to do lawfully.鈥�

Saliman added that the University of Colorado remains committed to all of Colorado and encouraged people to 鈥渁pproach each other with compassion right now.鈥�

CU Regent Wanda James, the second Black woman and third Black regent in the history of CU, was forceful in pointing out the lack of Black leadership within the CU system, while Annett James, president of the NAACP of 缅北禁地 County, emphasized the importance of accurately told history during Black History Month.

鈥淗istory must be approached as a discipline rooted in fact,鈥� James said, 鈥渘ot interpreted by those who wrote it.鈥�

缅北禁地 Mayor Aaron Brockett, while acknowledging the 鈥渟truggle, setback and oppression鈥� in 缅北禁地鈥檚 history, said that 鈥渋n the days and years to come, we will continue to build the beloved community here in 缅北禁地.鈥�

Carrying the theme of building the beloved community, Rabaka emphasized that 鈥渨e are going to keep doing this and we shall not be moved.鈥�

Nandi Pointer (right), a PhD student in the College of Media, Communication and Information, performs with her brother, Shegun Pointer.

CU Regent Wanda James (center, black baseball cap) observed that "this is a deep Black History Month for us for a lot of reasons."

缅北禁地 Chancellor Justin Schwartz emphasized that the "arc (of the moral universe) does not bend on its own, people bend the arc."

Denver musician Enmanuel Alexander performs at the CAAAS Day Black History Month celebration.

Reiland Rabaka, a 缅北禁地 professor of ethnic studies, said that in the work of building the beloved community, "we are going to keep doing this and we shall not be moved.鈥�

Angel Anderson (left) and Tyreis Hunt (white shirt), both MFA students in the 缅北禁地 Department of Theatre and Dance, and Constance Harris, an MFA graduate from the department, perform with Parris Fleming (on trumpet).

Denver musician Parris Fleming (left, on trumpet) performed with (left to right) Tyreis Hunt, Constance Harris and Angel Anderson; Hunt and Anderson are MFA students in the 缅北禁地 Department of Theatre and Dance, and Harris is an MFA graduate from the department.

While speakers acknowledged the change and uncertainty of the moment, they encouraged hope and the importance of continuing to work toward justice.

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Where is today's cool hand Luke?

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 20:08:48 +0000

Where is today's cool hand Luke? Rachel Sauer Fri, 01/24/2025 - 13:08

Rachel Sauer

In honor of what would have been Paul Newman鈥檚 100th birthday, 缅北禁地 film historian Clark Farmer considers whether there still are movie stars

Movies did not invent stars鈥攖here were stars of theater, opera and vaudeville well before moving pictures鈥攂ut movies made them bigger and more brilliant; in some cases, edging close to the incandescence of a supernova.

Consider a star like Paul Newman, who would have turned 100 Jan. 26. Despite being an Oscar winner for The Color of Money in 1987 and a nine-time acting Oscar nominee, he was known perhaps even more for the radiance of his stardom鈥攖he ineffable cool, the certain reserve, the style, the beauty, the transcendent charisma that dared viewers to look away.

鈥淭here are still actors we like and want to go see, so I鈥檇 say there still are movie stars but the idea of them has changed,鈥� says 缅北禁地 film historian Clark Farmer, a teaching assistant professor of cinema studies and moving image arts.

Even now, 17 years after his death in 2008 at age 83, fans still sigh, 鈥淭hey just don鈥檛 make stars like that anymore.鈥�

In fact, if you believe the click-bait headlines that show up in newsfeeds every couple of months, the age of the movie star is over. In a 2022 interview with Allure magazine, movie star Jennifer Aniston opined, 鈥淭here are no more movie stars.鈥� And in Vanity Fair鈥檚 2023 Hollywood issue, star Ana De Armas noted, 鈥淭he concept of a movie star is someone untouchable you only see onscreen. That mystery is gone.鈥�

Are there really no more movie stars?

鈥淭here are still actors we like and want to go see, so I鈥檇 say there still are movie stars, but the idea of them has changed,鈥� says 缅北禁地 film historian Clark Farmer, a teaching assistant professor of cinema studies and moving image arts. 鈥淚 think that sense of larger-than-life glamor is gone, that sense of amazement at seeing these people on the screen.

鈥淲hen we think of what could be called the golden age of movie stars, they had this aristocratic sheen to them. They carried themselves so well, they were well-dressed, they were larger than life, the channels where we could see them and learn about them were a lot more limited. Today, we see stars a lot more and they鈥檙e maybe a little less shiny and not as special in that way.鈥�

Stars are born

In the earliest days of film, around the turn of the 20th century, there weren鈥檛 enough regular film performers to be widely recognized by viewers, Farmer says. People were drawn to the movie theater by the novelty of moving pictures rather than to see particular actors. However, around 1908 and with the advent of nickelodeons, film started taking off as a big business and actors started signing longer-term contracts. This meant that audiences started seeing the same faces over and over again.

By 1909, exhibitors were reporting that audiences would ask for the names of actors and would also write to the nascent film companies asking for photographs. 鈥淏ack then you didn鈥檛 have credits, you only had the title of the film and the name of the production company, so people started attaching names to these stars鈥攆or example, Maurice Costello was called Dimples.鈥�

As the movie business grew into an industry, and as actors were named in a film鈥檚 credits, movie stars were born. In 1915, Charlie Chaplin conflagrated across screens not just in the United States, but internationally, Farmer says.

Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor, seen here in a publicity photo for Giant, were two of Hollywood's biggest stars during the studio period. (Photo: Warner Bros.)

鈥淵ou could say that what was produced in Hollywood was movies, but studios were also actively trying to produce stars鈥攕tars were as much a product as the movies,鈥� Farmer says. 鈥淭here was always this question of could they take someone who had some talent or some looks or skills like dancing or singing, and would they only rise to the level of extra, would they play secondary characters, or would they become stars? Would people see their name and want to come see the movies they were in?

鈥淪tars have this ineffable quality, and studios would have hundreds of people whose job it was just to make stars; there was a whole machinery in place.鈥�

During Hollywood鈥檚 studio period, actors would sign contracts with a studio and the studio鈥檚 star machinery would get to work: choosing names for the would-be stars, creating fake biographies, planting stories in fan magazines, arranging for dental work and wardrobes and homes and sometimes even relationships.

For as long as it has existed, the creation and existence of movie stars has drawn criticism from those who argue that being a good star is not the same as being a good actor, and that stars who are bigger than the films in which they appear overshadow all the elements of artistry that align in cinema鈥攆rom screenwriting to cinematography to acting and directing.

鈥淭here鈥檚 always been a mixture of people who consider film primarily a business and those who consider it primarily art,鈥� Farmer explains. 鈥淔ilm has always been a place for a lot of really creative individuals who weren鈥檛 necessarily thinking of the bottom line and wanted to do something more artistic, but they depended on those who thought about it as a business. Those are the people asking, 鈥楬ow do you bring people in to see a movie?鈥� Part of that can be a recognizable genre, it could be a recognizable property鈥攍ike a familiar book鈥攂ut then stars are one more hook for an audience member to say, 鈥業 like Katherine Hepburn, I like her as an actress and as a person, and she鈥檚 in this movie so I鈥檒l give it a try.'

鈥淥ne of the biggest questions in the film industry is, 鈥楬ow can we guarantee people will come see our movie?鈥� And the gamble has been that stardom is part of that equation.鈥�

Evolving stardom

As for the argument that movie stars cheapen the integrity of cinema, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e bad for film as an art form,鈥� Farmer says. 鈥淎udiences have this idea of who this person is as a star or as a performer, which can make storytelling a lot easier. You have this sense of, 鈥業 know who Humphrey Bogart is and the roles he plays,鈥� so a lot of the work of creating the character has already been done. You can have a director saying, 鈥業 want this person in the role because people鈥檚 understanding of who this person is will help create the film.鈥� You can have Frank Capra cast Jimmy Stewart and the work of establishing the character as a lovable nice guy is already done.鈥�

"Faye Dunaway wears a beret in Bonnie and Clyde and beret sales go off the charts. People went to the movies, and they recognized and admired these stars," says 缅北禁地 film historian Clark Farmer. (Photo: Warner Bros.)

As the movie industry evolved away from the studio system, the role of the movie star鈥攁nd what audiences wanted and expected from stars鈥攁lso began changing, Farmer says. While there was still room for stars who were good at doing the thing for which they were known鈥攖he John Waynes who were excellent at playing the John Wayne character鈥攖here also were 鈥渃hameleon鈥� stars who disappeared into roles and wanted to be known for their talent rather than their hair and makeup.

As film evolved, so did technology and culture, Farmer says. With each year, there were more channels, more outlets, more media to dilute what had been a monoculture of film.

鈥淏efore everyone had cable and streaming services and social media, movies were much more of a cultural touchpoint,鈥� Farmer says. 鈥淧eople wanted to dress like Humphrey Bogart or Audrey Hepburn. Faye Dunaway wears a beret in Bonnie and Clyde and beret sales go off the charts. People went to the movies, and they recognized and admired these stars.

鈥淥ne of the markers of stardom is can an individual actor carry a mediocre film to financial success? Another would be, are there people who have an almost obsessive interest in these stars, to the point of modeling themselves after star? Stars tap into a sort of zeitgeist.鈥�

However, the growth and fragmentation of media have meant that viewers have more avenues to see films and more ways to access stars. Even when A-listers鈥� social media are clearly curated by an army of publicists and stylists, fans can access them at any time and feel like they know them, Farmer says.

鈥淢ovies are just less central to people鈥檚 lives than they used to be,鈥� Farmer says. 鈥淭here are other forms of media that people spend their time on, to the point that younger audiences are as likely to know someone who starred in a movie as someone who鈥檚 a social media influencer. But that鈥檚 just a different kind of stardom.

鈥淚 think the film industry really wants movie stars, but I鈥檓 not sure viewers necessarily care all that much. Again, it鈥檚 always the question of, if you鈥檙e spending millions and millions of dollars on a product and you want a return on that, how can you achieve that without making another superhero movie or another horror movie? The industry wants movie stars and audiences just want to be entertained.鈥�

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to our newsletter. Passionate about cinema studies and moving image arts? Show your support.

In honor of what would have been Paul Newman鈥檚 100th birthday, 缅北禁地 film historian Clark Farmer considers whether there still are movie stars.

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Rachel Sauer

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