Innovation

Internally Funded Research
CIRES has funded more than 120 researchers on 56 proposals through its Innovative Research Program The program, designed to stimulate creative research and encourage collaboration, has received more than 170 proposals since its inception in 1999.

Interdisciplinary Research
Through its research themes, CIRES employs an interdisciplinary approach to environmental science that allows our researchers to address questions of scientific and societal relevance, present useful results in meaningful contexts, and rapidly adapt to a changing world.

Discovery

"Nuclear Winter" Theory
John Birks, CIRES Fellow and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder, with Paul Crutzen is credited with developing the "nuclear winter" theory, 1981-1982.

Antarctic Ozone Hole
Susan Solomon, CIRES Fellow and NOAA Aeronomy Lab Scientist, played a leading role in the international effort to discover the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole. Her research has included evaluations of the environmental impacts of substitutes for the ozone-depleting compounds that are now banned.

Antarctic Ice Shelves
In 2002, CIRES Researcher Ted Scambos was part of a team that discovered warmer summer surface temperatures on Antarctic ice shelves have in recent years caused more ice to melt into standing water ponds, leaking into cracks and speeding up ice shelf disintegration. For more information, see Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses in Largest Event of Last 30 Years.

Other Scientific Discoveries by CIRES Researchers ...

Collaboration

Visiting Fellows
More than 220 researchers have collectively spent almost as many years doing collaborative research at CIRES via the CIRES Visiting Fellowships Program. Previous CIRES Director (Susan Avery) and current Director (Konrad Steffen) were CIRES Visiting Fellows.

Visiting Lecturers
More than 30 outstanding lecturers have visited CIRES as part of our Distinguished Lecture Series, which began in 1998 as way of promoting the global perspectives of well-known scientists, historians of science, science policy experts, science journalists, and others.

Decision Making
Initiatives like CIRES' Western Water Assessment bring natural and social scientists together with legal specialists and policy makers to address the concerns of people who use and manage environmental resources.

Education

PhD's Produced
Since 1967, CIRES Faculty have supervised the research of hundreds of students who have earned the Ph.D. degree and are now in environmental science and research positions in academia and industry, in the United States and around the world.

Education Outreach
Since 1989, CIRES has been reaching out to the geosciences education community. Since 1996, the work of its K-12 Education and Outreach Program has touched hundreds of teachers and students.

Investments in Staff

CIRES successfully fosters employee advancement through its Career Track and Outstanding Performance Award programs. CIRES created the CIRES Members' Council to act as an information and policy conduit between CIRES' leadership and the Institute's "Members," including associate scientists, research scientists, and administrative associates. (See Who works for CIRES and where?)