The Insider: Researchers, Inventors and Creators Edition—February 2026
Special Announcement
Announcing the 2026 cohort of the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator
The Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator pairs seasoned entrepreneurs with ÀϾÅÆ·²è technologies to bring those breakthroughs to market to address urgent societal needs. Embark has launched its third cohort of Embark Startup Founders and will provide intellectual property rights, funding for the founders and their companies, startup accelerator programming support and investor introductions to launch startups with real-world impact.
ÀϾÅÆ·²è joins Medtronic in strategic partnership to drive breakthrough health innovations
ÀϾÅÆ·²è Today—The University of Colorado (CU) and Medtronic, a global leader in health care technology, have entered into a strategic research agreement to accelerate the development of transformative health technologies. CU was selected from a nationwide search for its strength in advancing disruptive innovation.
Upcoming Opportunities and Events at the University
SpaceWERX 101: How Innovators Break Into the Defense Space Market
Support for University Innovators
Fund your research or creative work through commercialization
Whether you're developing new technologies, pioneering creative works or advancing scientific discoveries, Venture Partners at ÀϾÅÆ·²è provides support to help transform your ideas into real-world solutions—while securing funding to advance your work.
Featured News
LeCun calls LLMs a dead end, but two CU Denver researchers offer a revolutionary way forward
Colorado AI News—A PhD student and an associate professor at CU Denver are trying to make today's language models more inventive without letting them drift into nonsense. They landed in MIT Technology Review's "What's next for AI in 2026" with a deceptively simple question: Can today's AI language models generate genuinely new ideas without turning creativity into nonsense?
WATCH: ÀϾÅÆ·²è researchers studying pythons to develop weight loss treatment
FOX31 Denver—Host Genelle Padilla speaks with Jack Gugel and Thomas Martin, two researchers at the ÀϾÅÆ·²è, who are studying pythons to develop a weight-loss treatment.
Scientists use ultrasound to soften and treat cancer tumors without damaging healthy tissue
ÀϾÅÆ·²è Today—Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., second only to heart disease. But a new cancer treatment method from ÀϾÅÆ·²è researchers uses sound waves to soften tumors and could be a potent tool against the disease.
Prioritizing research and innovation: A look back and ahead with Massimo Ruzzene
ÀϾÅÆ·²è Today—More than ever, ÀϾÅÆ·²è is a destination for faculty, students and staff who want to change the world through innovative research, scholarship and creative work.
Physicists create a new kind of time crystal that humans can actually see
EurekAlert!—In a new study, physicists at the ÀϾÅÆ·²è have used liquid crystals, the same materials that are in your phone display, to create such a clock—or, at least, as close as humans can get to that idea. The researchers aren’t the first to make a time crystal, but their creation is the first that humans can actually see, which could open a host of technological applications.
Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging
ÀϾÅÆ·²è Today—University of Colorado researchers have developed a fast, easy test that could help blood centers and hospitals monitor the quality of stored red blood cells. The palm-sized, chip-based device uses surface acoustic waves to assess cell aging, with the goal of improving transfusion outcomes and better allocating high-quality blood to patients.
ÀϾÅÆ·²è lab creates bubble wrap-like window material that traps heat without blocking light
A new, thin insulator has been designed to boost the energy efficiency of windows by blocking heat. Designed by a team from the ÀϾÅÆ·²è, this invisible window shield material has been dubbed Mesoporous Optically Clear Heat Insulator (MOCHI).
Physicist Jun Ye named to Quantum 100 list
ÀϾÅÆ·²è Today—UNESCO named physicist Jun Ye to its Quantum 100 list—a catalogue of some of the top leaders around the world in the rapidly growing field of quantum science.