A center for the world's best research and researchers.
Colorado has one of the highest concentrations of federally funded science and research labs in the nation. Employing more than 4,500 scientists and engineers and generating an estimated $720 million annual economic impact, these federal labs have contributed greatly to the evolution of the state's high-tech industries. The labs also stimulate significant tech transfer opportunities among universities and area companies in critical areas such as climate research and space science.
CO-LABS, a coalition of federally funded scientific laboratories, universities, businesses, local governments, and state legislators, have joined together to establish Colorado as a global leader in research, technology, and tech transfer.
Major federal labs and research centers
- Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) - a joint research initiative between the University of Colorado and NIST studying all forms of astrophysics (Boulder)
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) - focuses on discoveries through research and technology efforts of atmospheric, space physics, solar, planetary, engineering, and mission ops divisions at the Univeristy of Colorado (Boulder)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - the federal government's top agency for monitoring our climate, the space environment, and ocean resources (Boulder)
- University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) - dedicated to exploring and studying our atmosphere and its interaction with the sun, oceans, biosphere, and society (Boulder)
- National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR) - managed by UCAR, is a National Science Foundation R&D Center (Boulder)
- Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) - directs research in the atmospheric sciences into practical applications in weather and climate (Fort Collins)
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) - dedicated to research targeted at all aspects of Earth System Science and communicating its findings to the global scientific community (Boulder)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology (Boulder)
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - the nation's primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency R&D (Golden)
