A new partnership between the Rady School of Engineering at Western Colorado University and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) is expected to expand the limits of scientific research in the Gunnison Valley.
Scientists flock to Crested Butte’s Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory year round, its grounds bustling with a mixture of established researchers and students during the summer months. The winter is quiet, but small teams hunker down in the cabins as the snow falls and the work continues.
The biological laboratory’s reputation as a leader in the science field has already brought millions of dollars into the valley. RMBL’s increasing focus on emerging technologies, such as sensors, drones and satellites, has also been growing the pool of money available for atmospheric science. As a result, the valley has become a magnet, attracting researchers from around the world to study how water and weather moves through mountain systems like the East River Valley.
As technology continues to advance, working together made sense for RMBL Director Ian Billick and Jeni Blacklock, dean of the Rady program and director of the CU Boulder partnership program. It can be difficult for the RMBL team to design its own measurement sensors, maintain field equipment and translate data streams into knowledge. The growing Rady program, which will soon introduce aerospace engineering, covers all of these areas and creates a plethora of new opportunities for RMBL and the students who work there.
With the exception of marine science, engineering hasn’t always been a big part of terrestrial biology, Billick told the Times.
“To get out into the remote parts of the ocean you had to figure out how to do it, and that involved engineering,” Billick said. “Engineering hasn't had the same place in terrestrial biology. … It's a fantastic opportunity that could change field science everywhere.”
The partnership program between Western and the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder offers tracks in mechanical engineering and computational sciences. Rady students are encouraged to problem solve through hands-on projects on campus and within the community, such as gear testing and helping start-up companies at the ICELab. Last year, roughly 200 students were enrolled in the partnership program at Rady.
The new partnership with RMBL is supported by $200,000 from the Tourism and Prosperity Partnership (TAPP), the organization tasked with marketing the Gunnison Valley to prospective students and visitors. In addition to funding new research, Executive Director John Norton hoped the partnership will create more well-paying jobs and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) career opportunities for Western students after graduation.
TAPP’s original 2024 budget included a $600,000 allocation to Blister Labs, a joint venture between the Crested Butte-based gear review company and CU Boulder. Norton proposed an amendment at a regular county commissioners meeting in February, funneling a portion of the money to the new RMBL partnership. The money from TAPP will pay for a postgraduate program that will allow students to continue this work within the valley for a year.
“This could present a pipeline of job opportunities for some of the best kids that chose Western and Rady, and in turn create something exciting to recruit with,” Norton said.
The conversation between Rady and RMBL started several years ago. It has resulted in five interdisciplinary research projects, three of which are already in progress. For example, some students will be tasked with helping develop a new approach for measuring snow cover using remote sensors. Others will design a light-weight mounting system for scientific instruments.
“One of the core differentiators of our program is that we all work together,” Blacklock said. By bringing in aerospace and biomed in the future, it's going to open the possibilities for some of the research that we can do. This is foundational research that no one else is really working on.”
Research will continue through the summer months during Rady’s undergraduate research program at the biological laboratory. From there, the ongoing projects will be integrated into senior capstones in the fall.
While the county commissioners were in support of the new partnership, commissioner Liz Smith asked Billick and Blacklock how they imagined it could sustain itself in the future, without financial help.
“Local marketing district dollars have to be pretty adaptable, depending on economic conditions and where we need to pivot with marketing and tourism,” she said.
Blacklock said she would continue to apply for grants for Rady’s postgraduate program. The university’s work with RMBL could also attract additional investments from CU Boulder, an R1 research institution, she said. R1 universities pioneer research projects, often backed by millions of dollars.
RMBL’s strategy is to create a “data rich” environment that builds on itself and continues to attract teams of scientists to the valley. The biological laboratory’s rising payroll has shown that this tactic is working. Over the last 20 years, RMBL’s payroll has grown from under $100,000 to more than $2 million. And much of the ongoing research supports local science, with teams collecting data designs to improve water supply forecasting and help manage wildfires.
“It's a matter of filling in the little cracks and creating opportunities that make it easier for the next round of scientists to come in,” Billick said.
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)
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