Aerial view of the University of Colorado Boulder campus. If you spot two tall towers, mid-photo toward the right, the farther one is a part of the JILA set of buildings.
Founded in 1962, JILA (a partnership between CU Boulder and NIST) is a world leader in quantum sensing research, workforce training, and industry engagement. JILA scientists have helped develop technology that has been implemented in space, while others are looking into using lasers to help with diagnosing respiratory illnesses. Over time, though, age has taken a toll on JILA facilities.
The CU Federal Relations team worked with senators Hickenlooper and Bennet to secure $950,000 in funding for JILA through the omnibus bill to give its labs a refresh.
According to JILA COO Beth Kroger, the funding will pay for much-needed research equipment in the JILA instrument and electronics shops, as well as equipment for CU Boulder’s JILA Keck Metrology and Clean Room Core Facility, which serves the campus and provides important research capabilities.
You can read more about the federal funding given to the rest of the University of Colorado Boulder at this link.
Writing provided by CU Boulder Today
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public.