When Michelle Galetti suddenly lost her hearing, people at CU were there to help as she began Navigating a Silent World By Eric Gershon - Alumni ...
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Alumni Magazine Winter 2020
Boulder, CO 80309-0459
Alumni Association
459 UCB
When Michelle Galetti suddenly lost her hearing, people at CU were there to help as she began Navigating a Silent World By Eric Gershon
NOW
OCTOBER 12, 2019
On Oct. 12, 2019, with a time of 1:59:40, Eliud Kipchoge of
Kenya became the first person to complete a marathon in
under two hours. He wore a custom, upgraded pair of Nike
Vaporfly 4% shoes, proven by CU Boulder research to re-
duce the metabolic cost of running by 4 percent.
Prior to his historic race in Vienna, a mathematical CU
study led by integrative physiology professor Rodger
Kram determined the course exhibited near perfect con-
ditions for Kipchoge to succeed.
“I love math with a purpose,” study co-author and for-
mer CU fellow Kristine Snyder told CU Boulder Today.
REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
FEATURES
EDITOR’S NOTE
Do you remember
your first CU Boulder
snowfall? Perhaps you
collapsed into a snow an-
gel on the business lawn
or lobbed a snowball
across Farrand Field.
I remember admiring
the Flatirons from Norlin
Quad my freshman year,
mesmerized by the way
the snow looked like
frosting spread across
the rock faces.
For my CU-transfer
husband, Levi Henry
(Math’12), his first snow
was less than serene:
Confined to a bus creep-
ing along an icy U.S.
36, he was late for his
first-ever class.
But, perhaps, we all can
recall racing to our win-
dow after a storm to see if
— maybe — the university
would call a snow day.
As our infographic
shows on page 33,
campus snow removal
COVER Hearing loss doesn’t 17 Suddenly Silent 29 Pushing Boundaries is huge work. More
slow Michelle Galetti Michelle Galetti (TAM’20) had a good reason to Bhavna Chhabra (CompSci’95) grew up in New than 100 people can be
(TAM’20) down. At CU, leave college. She chose to stay. Delhi, India, expected by her parents to marry a involved, sometimes
she’s creating a jacket man they chose. Today she’s the site director for beginning at 2 a.m.
that allows the deaf to Google Boulder. It’s an effort I’m
experience music. See 21 The Buff Connection grateful for as I walk
page 17 for more. Photo by Sean Tufts (Soc’04; MBA’11) is a former CU foot- through campus this
Glenn Asakawa. ball player and Ralphie Handler. Now he’s back at 35 The Anti-Aging Pill especially snowy winter.
CU, this time with a cause. Eating less may help the body age more slowly. And more than 11 years
ABOVE Junior point guard Rather than promote starvation, CU researchers later, I still sneak a peek
McKinley Wright IV are testing a nutritional supplement that mimics at the Flatirons. Their
(Ethn’21) can handle your 23 Fanfiction Rising the same effects of caloric restriction. frosty allure remains.
high expectations. Read How the once-obscure literary genre is giving
more on page 51. Photo by voice to the voiceless and inspiring a new, more Christie Sounart (Jour’12)
Glenn Asakawa. diverse generation of computer scientists. 39 A Dad’s Bag — with Style
Gavin Lodge (IntlAf, Phil’99) couldn’t find a fash- CONTACT THE EDITORS AT
ionable diaper bag for fathers, so he created his own. EDITOR@COLORADO.EDU
27 The Hardest Day
Photojournalist and CU professor Ross Taylor cap-
tured the final moments between pet owners and
their companions. The work has gone viral.
DEPARTMENTS
1 NOW 7 Campus News 15 ORIGINS Spacesuits 45 CU Around 55 Class Notes
Two-Hour Marathon
8 Boulder Beat 33 Infographic 47 Q&A with the 61 Feedback
5 INQUIRY Paul Danish Snow Chancellor
Eric Klinger 65 THEN 1970
13 LOOK Eateries 43 Alumni News 49 Sports
3 COLORADAN WINTER 2020 4
INQUIRY Eric Klinger
Closing the Generation Gap and policies, I ask
everyone to participate
in a simple icebreaker.
partner. The experience
is profoundly affecting for
many, if not most, in the
with neighbors, friends,
family and even people at
the grocery store. I’ve also
Eric Klinger, senior writing instructor and associate The pin-drop silence room. To authentically heard how the class has
faculty director of the CU Boulder Writing Center, rushes out of the room as know and be known by rescued holiday dinner
teaches “Intergenerational Writing,” a course that everyone circulates and another adult is a unique conversations from domi-
pairs juniors and seniors with community members learns something about experience. I’m proud nation by cranky uncles.
over the age of 60 for research and writing projects. one another, such as a to be part of providing
Eric Klinger For many students, the class is the most memorable hometown, a college ma- that rare opportunity How do you plan to
of their college careers. jor, a life passion, etc. By for CU students. expand the class
the end of the first class, in the future? The
there’s a self-charging This past semester, community organizers
Where’d you learn around the sun and seen remains always a child.’ electricity to the room. your students ex- and I share the goal of
to write? My father more of the world than I Community members plored the concept of promoting this class
is a retired newspaper have. This class was the talk about how getting to How does the class the American dream. far and wide. Currently,
publisher and editor and perfect opportunity to know younger genera- work? As an educator, Why that topic? Every we do not know of any
my mother is a voracious do that. tions in this class inspires I’ve long attempted to single person in the room other intergeneration-
reader, so they inspired a new hope and faith in the foster an environment has a connection to the al university writing
love of the written word Why invite community future, and students talk of unconditional posi- American dream, whether classes being offered
in me from my earliest members to a student about all that they discov- tive regard, something we’re conscious of it or at other U.S. universi-
memories. I’ve been class? The concept er in common with those I learned about when I not. It evokes stories of ties and colleges. We
teaching collegiate writ- of inviting community who have come before believe our core model
ing courses since 2001. members from previous them. It also prepares of co-mentorship across
Writing has always been generations to share this students for collaborating WHEN WE WRITE, WE generations has exciting
my intellectual home and class with students is the with older generations in promise in multiple
I strive to foster that feel- brainchild of Jack Wil- the workplace. THINK BETTER. WHEN WE learning environments
ing for as many students, liamson, who wondered, including nursing,
friends and colleagues as ‘Wouldn’t it be neat if What are the initial THINK, WE WRITE BETTER. counseling, ethnic stud-
possible. When we write, we could find a way to expectations of the ies, management and
we think better. When connect local elders students? The first day other academic fields.
we think, we write better. with undergraduates? of class is quite amus- encountered the writings immigration, work, fami- We plan to continue
Surely, that has to help Imagine how much they ing. Although the class is of Carl Rogers. I’ve dis- lies, geography, language, offering the class each
make things a bit better would have to talk and described in the course covered over the years food, news, history, music, fall semester and look
for everyone. write about.’ catalog, most students that too much hierarchy art and so much more. forward to seeing new
Intergenerational un- arrive on the first day is not productive to an This topic bridges the iterations spring up
How’d you come to derstanding is one of the quite confused about enriching and intrinsically past, present and future. around the country.
teach this particular most important human the gray-haired folks motivating classroom. It enables conversations CONDENSED AND EDITED
class? A former student resources we have in sitting in every other seat Both students and that weave aspirations, BY CHRISTIE SOUNART.
took me to brunch in society, yet we tend to around the room. Most community members frustrations and shared
2018 and pitched the squander it in the U.S. stop, look around, take out write papers for the class. experiences into a tapes- “Intergenerational Writing”
idea of me taking over George Norlin challenges their phones to verify that The ‘magic sauce’ of the try no one can foresee. is an annual CU Boulder
this class that he was a us to know one another they’re in the right place class is the profile essay, writing class that pairs
volunteer in. I’ve always with his words above the and then cautiously take where community mem- What were some community members with
loved having conversa- west entrance to Norlin a seat. After I’ve finished bers and students pair positive results students. This past fall,
tions with people who Library: ‘Who knows describing the class up to write a biographi- of the class? People those in the class wrote
have taken more trips only his own generation syllabus, expectations cal narrative about their share class conversations about the American Dream.
5 COLORADAN Courtesy Eric Klinger; Jack Williamson WINTER 2020 6
CAMPUSnews
BOULDER BEAT Paul Danish
How We Got Guggenheim Hall
Ralphie V Retires Most of the buildings
on CU’s old quad are
The buffalo served as CU’s live mascot for 12 seasons. named for past CU
F
presidents, faculty, deans
or many, retirement comes when their backs ache and motivation and regents. Then there’s
wanes. For Ralphie V, it was the opposite. Guggenheim.
Toward the end of the 2019 Buffs football season, the healthy How did a building
1,200-pound buffalo began to run too fast for her student handlers to bearing the name of a
keep up. fabulously wealthy East
CU Boulder athletic director Rick George announced the 13-year- Coast family wind up on
old’s retirement Nov. 12. Fans came in droves to snap one last picture the CU campus?
with her at Ralphie’s It was a gift from
Corral, the official CU Colorado Senator Simon
football tailgate, prior to Guggenheim. He gave the
the Nov. 23 game versus $80,000 building to CU
Washington. for the law school, which
As with past Ral- up to then had been hold-
phies, she will continue ing classes in Hale. Simon Guggenheim, built in 1908, was a gift from Colorado
to live on her ranch funded the building to senator Simon Guggenheim.
with a companion celebrate the birth of his
buffalo and receive care second son, George Den- Minnie, which flooded a “He attempted nothing
from the CU Ralphie ver Guggenheim. year later. beyond his capacities,
program, which is Meyer, who was a well- responded to all requests
fully donor-funded. to-do but not crazy-rich for assistance by his con-
As mascot for 12 Philadelphia merchant at stituents without regard
seasons, Ralphie V is the time, doubled down for politics or class, and
the second-longest serving Ralphie in school history. on his investment; he in all particulars upheld
Ralphie V ran “Ralphie V had an outstanding career as the face and symbol of our bought pumps to dewa- the standards fixed by
at football great university and athletic department,” said John Graves (Mgmt’09), ter the mine and deepen his predecessors.”
games and manager of the Ralphie program who also ran alongside her as a stu- the shaft. Before long it Simon’s gift of Guggen-
special dent handler. “As one of the biggest and fastest Ralphies, her love for was producing $1,000 heim Hall was received
events from running and power was showcased every home game during her career. a day — $26,000 in with joy by CU. The Silver
2008 to 2019. It’s almost like she knew she was the queen of campus.” today’s dollars. & Gold Record reported
Born in 2006 on Ted Turner’s Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico, Meyer invested in that on opening day, the
Ralphie V — whose real name is Blackout — made her game-day debut mining and smelting law students formed a
against Eastern Washington Sept. 6, 2008. ventures throughout procession north of Hale,
The Ralphie-running tradition, which started in 1965, has cap- the West. Simon, one whose infamously uncom-
tivated most of his younger sons, fortable benches had once
who’ve seen moved to Colorado prompted a law school
her barrel to work in the family student revolt, and, with
across Folsom Simon Guggenheim business; he served CU President Baker in
Field — regard- as chief ore-buyer the lead, marched to the
less of their CU The Guggenheim name for its smelters. new building — where
affiliation. Her is often associated with At the urging of Colo- they ran through the halls
retirement was East Coast wealth and rado railroad baron Otto shouting “Colorado” and
covered nation- philanthropy, but the Mears, Simon got involved gave the law school yell.
ally, including family’s fortune grew out in politics. After an unsuc- Guggenheim served
by NPR, ESPN, of a flooded silver mine in cessful run for governor in as the CU law school
The Washing- Leadville, Colorado. 1898, in 1906 Simon tried until 1958. It’s now the
ton Post and In 1880 Meyer Guggen- for the Senate and won. geography building. I have
The New York heim, the family patriarch He wasn’t a lion of the a great affection for Gug-
Times. and Simon’s father, bought Senate: He served one term. genheim. It was where my
A search for an interest in a strug- Still, years later for- first CU class was held.
Ralphie VI is gling Leadville silver mer governor Charles PAUL DANISH IS A
underway. BY mine named the A.Y. and Thomas said of his term, COLORADAN COLUMNIST.
JOSHUA NELSON
7 COLORADAN Glenn Asakawa Courtesy CU Heritage Center, Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo WINTER 2020 8
WHAT’S IN MY PHONE Akirah Bradley
CAMPUSnews
APPS
https://www.facebook.com/
Akirah Bradley
At CU Boulder,
if it’s student-
related, Akirah
Most-used
apps
Podcast
Back-to-Back
Bradley, interim
vice chancellor
of student
Rhodes Scholars
affairs, likely CU Boulder’s Jake Reagan is off to Oxford in the fall.
knows about Yelp
F
it. Campus
services — or the second year in a row, CU Boulder can claim a Rhodes Scholar.
including the In November, Boulder native Jake Reagan (PolSci, Span’20) was
University awarded a 2020 Rhodes Scholarship. Prior to 2018, when Serene
Memorial Facebook Singh (Jour, PolSci’19) received the distinction, a CU Boulder student
Center and had not received the prestigious scholarship in 25 years.
residence life Reagan will join 31 other American students for a fully funded
— and large master’s degree at the University of Oxford in the fall. He intends
operational to study international relations and ultimately return to Colorado to
departments Most-used serve his community.
Studied at UC Davis like housing emoji “I’m hoping to study how communities like Boulder or Denver can
Lives in Erie, Colorado and dining respond through policy to the changing economic environment of our
benefit from world,” said Reagan, citing such changes as job offshoring, education
From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania her direction. funding and increased migration.
And when His call to public service began his freshman year. In October 2016,
there’s a crisis, Reagan was in Spanish class in the CU humanities building when a
Akirah’s there. mass student text suggested an active harmer was possibly on campus.
“We tried to find a room with a lock in the building and couldn’t find
Model: one,” said Reagan.
iPhone X On campus, While the active harmer situation that day was ultimately not the
Jake Reagan result of someone with a firearm, the experience changed him.
became an “I thought we needed to improve the safety protocols at CU,” said
advocate for Reagan, who was elected one of three CU Boulder student body
gun violence presidents in 2018 and became a staunch advocate for gun violence
awareness. awareness and civil discourse.
iPhone Insights
Reagan interned with Senator Michael Bennet through the CU in
D.C. program, founded a student group on campus called The Dialogue
Initiative to discuss key campus issues and was mentored by Nobel lau-
reates involved with the PeaceJam Foundation. He also volunteers as a
How soon after waking up do you eymoon getaway. It was my first time Spanish translator for families involved with Boulder’s Emergency Fami-
look at your phone? My phone is my going, and I like selfies. I even have a ly Assistance Association.
morning alarm at 6:15, and I’m looking selfie stick, so we took plenty of selfies “[Reagan is] a remark-
at my phone pretty instantly before and ‘usies’ (not a real word, but I like it). able young man with deep
getting out of the bed. integrity, a clear vision
Does anyone else have your pass- and the capacity for action
App you wish you had the inner code? My immediate family. that will allow him to con-
strength to delete? Oh my, Amazon! tinue to make a difference
I spend so much on random stuff be- Last person you called? My wife. on campus, in the state
cause they have everything, and it can of Colorado and beyond,”
be delivered in two days with Prime. So Duration of longest call last week? Chancellor Philip P. DiSte-
it’s great, but I could save money if that 1 hour and 35 minutes. fano wrote to the Rhodes
app wasn’t on my phone. selection committee.
First thing you’d do if you lost your As he wraps up his
Location of last selfie? At the Grand phone for a day: Use someone else’s time at CU, Reagan plans
Canyon — my wife and I went there for a phone to locate mine using the Find My to enjoy his home state.
week in mid-October as a late hon- Phone app. “I want to hike some
more 14ers before I leave,”
he said. BY CHRISTIE SOUNART
9 COLORADAN Courtesy Akirah Bradley Glenn Asakawa WINTER 2020 10
ARTIFACT Mascot
CAMPUSnews
Home Again
Cameron Forth
(CivEngr’97) donated
this 90s-era
costume to the
DIGITS
Benefits to Full- Asteroid Named CU Heritage
On-Campus Hotel: Day Preschool for CU Researcher Champion Center this fall.
Coming Soon Children enrolled in At a space conference Times Two
full-day preschool versus in late November, the In 2009 and 2010, Chip
2.95
won first place back to
half-day preschool benefit International Astronom-
back at the Universal
more in their learning, CU ical Union announced Cheerleaders Associa-
Boulder researchers found asteroid 2000 VH57 Extreme Makeover
tion’s Mascot National This Chip was retired
in a first-of-its-kind study. has a name: (20882) Championship.
acres on Grandview around 1997.
The extra time improved Paulsánchez.
Avenue (northwest
children’s vocabulary, CU Boulder’s Paul
corner of main campus)
literacy, math and more. Sánchez sat in the audi-
1st
“Even a month in the ence, shocked.
life of a young child may “It was quite unex-
represent a huge period in pected,” the aerospace
their development,” said senior research asso-
CU assistant education ciate told the Ann and
professor Allison Atteberry. H.J. Smead Department
of its size in The study, published in of Aerospace Engineer-
Boulder County Educational Evaluation ing Sciences.
and Policy It’s a rare honor —
$130M
Analysis, only about 5 percent of
suggests asteroids have names.
children’s Two other CU faculty
preliminary construction early expe- members also have their
cost estimate riences can own asteroids: distin-
affect their guished professor Dan
2020
academic Scheeres and assistant
growth. professor Jay McMahon.
The Sánchez received
construction start research- the recognition for his
ers will work with rubble pile Clean(ish)
continue asteroids, which are Students who
2022
to explore comprised of many wore this cos-
this learn- pieces as opposed to one tume cleaned
ing boost large piece. He’s identi- it themselves,
as the fied a potential force that said former Chip
slated opening Robb Moody
children causes the asteroids to Chip’s the Name
(Jour’95). Some-
head to rotate rapidly, causing a Each semester,
times the bathtub
elementary weak cement to form. several students
twenty-five school.
would do.
share mascot
thousand duties. Their
real identities
square-foot remain a secret.
conference facility
Heard Around Campus Chip Tales
250
CU students have performed as varying versions of Chip, CU Boul-
YOU CAN HAVE der’s character buffalo mascot, since the 1980s.
VERY GOOD Aside from crowd-enchanting duties at CU athletic events, Chip
has snowboarded the slopes of Winter Park, danced in a NASA space-
guest rooms FRIENDSHIPS WITH suit and conducted an orchestra in Macky Auditorium. Once, Chip
one
breathed fire while wearing a dragon costume.
PEOPLE YOU Up to six students split character duties to cover Chip’s athletic,
DISAGREE WITH.” campus and community appearances — which can total as many as
400 events a year. The commitment is worth it.
— Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on her collegial relationships
“It was one of the highlights of my life,” said Robb Moody (Jour’95),
underground parking with her Court colleagues. Kagan spoke to a sold-out crowd at Macky who performed in this mid-90s era Chip costume from 1993 to 1995.
garage Auditorium on Oct. 22, 2019.
11 COLORADAN iStock/AndrewLilley (blocks); Patrick Campbell Mona Lambrecht, CU Heritage Center WINTER 2020 12
LOOK Eateries
thank you
ralphie v
Donate Today!
CUBuffClub.com
COLORADO FOOTBALL
SPRING
Hill Eats
GAME
S ATU R D AY, A P R I L 25
The restaurant lineup on The Hill changes nearly as fast as the Colorado seasons.
1 P M • FO LS O M FI E LD
While several well-known chains have come and gone in recent years (Qdoba,
Five Guys, Del Taco), many Boulder icons (The Sink) and newer staples (The Cor- FR E E AD M I SS I O N
ner) serve on.
Whether it’s a Cosmo’s cheese slice dunked in spicy ranch, a Half Fast Godfa-
ther sub or the early-bird breakfast at Dot’s Diner, the grub on The Hill plays a part
in many CU stories. What was your Hill go-to? Write us at editor@colorado.edu. Meet the 2020 Buffs!
13 COLORADAN Matt Tyrie
CUBuffs.com WINTER 2020 14
ORIGINS Spacesuits
No Place Like Space
P
atrick Pischulti (PhDAeroEngr’24) knows what it’s like to be In Houston, he worked on the helmet-mounted lights and camera
thousands of miles from home, disconnected from the familiar and for the agency’s newest spacesuit, called the Exploration Extravehic-
comfortable. So when he began helping NASA design a spacesuit for ular Mobility Unit, or the xEMU. The NASA engineers upgraded both
the newest generation of astronauts, it was easy for him to empa- systems to modern technologies — full high definition for the camera
thize with the space explorers. and LED lights — to improve visibility for the astronaut and video qual-
Pischulti, who grew up in Germany, moved away from his friends ity for the ground control crew.
and family to study engineering in the United States. Though the The new suits, unveiled in October but not yet deployed, have other
astronauts will be traveling much farther — visiting the International improved features, including increased mobility, robust temperature
Space Station, the moon and, eventually, Mars — their basic human and atmospheric protection, advanced communications technologies The xEMU
needs are the same. and systems that lengthen the time astronauts can spend on space- spacesuit
“When I’m thinking about building a home for somebody else walks. While they’ll be weightless in space, they weigh about 300 made its
who’s thousands of miles away, how can I optimize their home for pounds on Earth, according to NASA. debut in Oc-
them to be successful, happy and safe?” said Pischulti, now a CU While at NASA, Pischulti also worked on inflatable space habitats tober 2019
Boulder engineering doctoral student. “That’s my big-picture moti- — akin to a blow-up tent — which only furthered his interest in develop- at NASA’s
vation — being able to create something that makes someone feel at ing tools that help humans survive in space. Washington
home, even though they are far away from us.” At CU, he’s part of NASA’s Habitats Optimized for Missions of headquar-
Before arriving in Boulder to study bioastronautics, Pischulti, Exploration (HOME) project, through which, with other university and ters.
29, earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the industry partners, CU researchers are developing technologies for
University of Alabama. During and after his time at Alabama, he future deep-space missions and landings on Mars.
completed several internships at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Said Pischulti: “Engineering in the space environment is, to me, the
Houston and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. greatest challenge that we still have to conquer.” BY SARAH KUTA
15 COLORADAN Courtesy NASA/Joel Kowsky WINTER 2020 16
Suddenly Silent
Michelle Galetti had a good reason to leave college. She chose to stay.
BY ERIC GERSHON
Michelle Galetti (TAM’20) was about The technology, arts and media (TAM)
halfway into a three-week backpacking major and teaching assistant was sched-
trip in Washington State when it hap- uled to lead a web-design lab at 9:30.
pened. Hiking down a mountainside in “She said, ‘I guess I'll go to class and
a heavy rain, just below the tree line, her just do this,’” said her mother, Beth
hearing cut out. Galetti, who was visiting.
“All of a sudden, the raindrops — I Michelle addressed the students.
couldn’t hear them anymore,” she said of “Face me,” she said.
the summer 2018 episode, shortly before She would try to read lips.
the start of her junior year at CU Boulder.
A stream rushed along nearby, totally Adapting
silent to her. Michelle briefly considered leaving
“I started stomping on sticks to see if I school, but she chose to stay. Otherwise,
could hear them break,” said Michelle. “It would have given me too much time
She could not. “I couldn’t hear myself to think about what I’d lost, and not
breathe,” she said. enough time to figure out what I can still
In the weeks ahead, her hearing came do,” she said. “Which I’m finding out
and went, typically for periods of 30 to every day is still a lot.”
60 minutes. Eventually it was happening With the help of her mother and
daily. She developed vertigo. Doctors stepfather, Jeff VanLaningham, who,
at home in Seattle offered theories, but taking turns, spent months in Boulder
could not explain it or fix it. helping her adjust, Michelle embarked
Michelle returned to Boulder, where on a new life.
she continued consulting doctors. She She replaced her alarm clock with
didn’t know when things might get a device called “the sonic bomb” that
better. One September morning they got woke her by vibrating her mattress.
much worse. She identified friends and, eventually,
She was getting ready for the day in professional captioners, who could
her off-campus apartment when, at 7:45 supplement her class notes, in case
a.m., the sound went out and didn’t she’d missed something. She and her
come back. CU equestrian teammates devised a
17 COLORADANseries of hand signals so she could get History “Everything still sounds like a mum- doesn’t mark the wearer as disabled — is
commands during competitions. And Hearing trouble was not entirely new for ble,” she said months later, “a hum.” a form of haptic technology, a category
she began intensive lip-reading and Michelle, now 21. Since childhood, she’d When the results of the genetic tests that usually involves blending digital and
vocalization exercises. been unable to detect high-frequency came in last summer, they revealed a physical experience.
Without constant sonic feedback, sounds — s, h and f sounds, for exam- mutation in a gene called ATP2B2, some- “Michelle has come to this proj-
humans’ ability to speak devolves ple — and she began using hearing aids times called a “deafness gene” for its role ect with amazing motivation,” said
quickly. Michelle spent hours a day with regularly in high school. in some types of hearing loss. Leithinger, whose work at CU and,
her hand pressed to her mother’s throat, But outside the high frequencies, she Knowing this offered some relief, she earlier, at MIT’s Media Lab, focuses on
feeling and mimicking the vibrations could hear clearly. The doctors she and said: “I’m not so alone in the situation inventing new computer interfaces that
unique to each word as her mother her family consulted told her “there’s anymore.” But she doesn’t expect much to let people interact with data through
spoke them. zero percent chance that you will ever go come of it. There’s no associated treatment. touching, grasping and deforming. “This
“It took a little while for me to get deaf,” she said. She’s at peace with that. was shaped by her personal experience,
comfortable speaking in class,” Michelle After she did, new information came “I can live any way now,” she said, but also the drive to create a simple,
said. “A lot of people didn’t understand to light. Hearing kept her paternal grand- hearing or totally deaf or someplace inexpensive device for others based on
why I spoke with my hand on my throat.” father out of the Air Force, and a paternal between. “It’s not something I’m scared open-source tools.”
There have been frustrations, great aunt went totally deaf at 22. of anymore.” With the help of a grant from CU’s
“I can live any way now” — hearing or totally deaf or someplace between. “It’s not something I’m scared of anymore.”
indignities and fears. Lip-reading is Michelle’s biological father, Matt Galetti, The Jacket undergraduate research opportunities
exhausting in the best circumstances; died when she was a toddler. He’d never A few months into Michelle’s ordeal, program, Galetti stayed at CU last sum-
when fellow students mumble during had reason, or perhaps time, to mention she decided she would use her remain- mer to work with him. She continues to
group presentations, it’s impossible. these details, if he even knew them. Mi- ing time at CU to develop a product that work on it as a side project, in addition to
Airline employees, unaware Michelle chelle’s mom wasn’t aware of them until would give deaf people an experience an astonishing variety of other activities.
can’t hear announcements, scold her for news of her hearing loss began circulating. of music. She’s been named an engineer-
boarding with the wrong group. In the With the new information, the Galettis Working with Daniel Leithinger, a ing fellow, a mentoring program for
absence of sound, darkness carries a shifted their thinking away from a pre- computer scientist in CU Boulder’s AT- engineering students (TAM students
new sense of menace. sumed neurological cause. LAS Institute, she has been developing a are part of the engineering school). She
Group conversation, with its frequent “There’s got to be something genet- sensor-laden jacket that will vibrate and continues her work with the startups.
and sudden changes of speaker, is hard ic,” Michelle said, “because this doesn’t pulse in response to sound frequencies. She rides horses. She’s been learning
to follow. Michelle misses a lot of jokes. just happen.” When a note or combination of notes sign language.
But some inconveniences have She took a battery of genetic tests sounds, sensors embedded in the jacket The range of sound accessible to
revealed an upside. Calling from one and forged ahead with her life as she will vibrate in a corresponding way, pro- humans with standard hearing runs
room to another at home is pointless, awaited the results. She joined CU’s viding a pattern of physical sensation. from about 20 hertz (a tuba, roughly)
for instance, so she has more face-to- equestrian team and took part-time “Hearing is really just another form of to 20,000 hertz (extreme shrillness).
face encounters with friends and family. jobs with a technology startup. She got touch,” Michelle said. Galetti wants her jacket to translate the
And many people have been reflex- a puppy, a Basenji she named Kaila. The jacket — which she wants to be full range.
ively supportive, including professors She went on adventures with her boy- fashionable as well as functional, so it “I want to access extremes,” she said.
in CU’s ATLAS Institute who began friend, Aaron.
adding closed captions to old videos Last March [2019], after six months
and classmates who, especially in the of total deafness, while doing home-
scary early days, went out of their way work at the home of Aaron’s family, a
to be present with her, there to help as crackling she’d felt in her ears for 36
she navigates a silent world. hours suddenly stopped. She set her
And there have been unexpected pencil down. It hit the table “kind of
moments of pleasure. loud,” she thought. “I’m probably just
“One of her favorite things to do was hallucinating.”
to blare music in the car so that she She asked Aaron to clap in her ear.
could feel the vibrations in the speakers, “I was like, ‘Wow, not so loud!’”
and try to guess the song,” said Beth He said, “Michelle, do you realize what
Galetti. “She was remarkably good at it.” you just said?”
That first soundless semester, and It was sound, and it was a jubilant
the next, Michelle took a full course moment. But at first, everything was
load. She earned a 4.0 grade point painfully loud, and Michelle soon realized
average twice. that true hearing hadn’t really come back.
“Anything’s possible,” she said. She could detect sound, but not words.
19 COLORADAN Glenn Asakawa WINTER 2020 20THE
BUFF
ION injury
ended his
T
professional football
career after three years.
“The funny part is, for every-
body except Peyton Manning and John
C
Elway, it all ends more abruptly than you
At the thought it would,” said Tufts, 37.
age of 6, Tufts reinvented himself. He applied to
E
Sean Tufts (Soc’04, business school at Stanford, but still felt
MBA’11) received direction a strong pull to Colorado. He returned to
that altered the course of his life. CU for his MBA.
N
“My soccer coach “I wanted to challenge
walked me over to the Sean Tufts is a myself, to come back to
football field and said, former CU football player Boulder and prove that I
N
‘You should do this in- and Ralphie Handler. was invested in the com-
stead,’” said Tufts. Now he’s back at CU, this munity,” he said.
O
His early decision to time with a cause. Back on campus,
play football eventually Tufts again found him-
C
BY JOSHUA NELSON
brought him fame at CU self at Folsom Field on
and in the NFL. But to- Saturdays — this time as
day, the former star CU linebacker — and a Ralphie Handler. He and Chad Ham-
Ralphie Handler — has a larger intention: mond (Engl’01) are the only two former
Helping former CU athletes in need, especial- football players to run with Ralphie.
ly those struggling with their mental health. “She’s got a sandpaper tongue, like 80
Tufts is head of the Buffs4Life orga- grit industrial sandpaper, and she loves
nization, which provides a crisis hotline, licking leather,” he said of the recently re-
resources and funds to former CU players tired Ralphie V. “She’d wear out your boots
and their families. or try to take the gloves from your pocket.”
“We want to get to people before After graduating, Tufts started a busi-
their worst day,” said Tufts, who lost ness leasing land for the development of
his friend Drew Wahlroos (A&S’02) to wind farms. Forbes named him to its “30
suicide in 2017. under 30” in 2011 for his work.
“I was a middle linebacker and he was In 2017, he joined Optiv Inc., a Denver
outside,” said Tufts. “Almost every picture information security company, working
I have in a Buffs uniform, Drew was some- with cyber security solutions for critical
where in the background.” infrastructure, which includes everything
The decision to lead Buffs4Life was an from power plants to dishwashers.
easy one: Like football, CU was part of his In the midst of his thriving career, he again
life at an early age. answered the CU call. In 2017, Cabral asked
“In elementary school, if you had a good him to serve as the president of Buffs4Life.
day in gym, the coach would put you on his “Every time we talked, he just took
shoulders and you’d get to slap a picture of Buffs4Life to another level,” said Cabral,
Eric Bieniemy (Soc’01),” Tufts said. who is on the board for the nonprofit. “It
After playing linebacker at Denver’s was a natural fit.”
Cherry Creek High School, the country’s Since 2005, more than 40 other Buffs
No. 17 recruit chose CU over Michigan. or their families have received Buffs4Life
(Bieniemy became one of his coaches.) support. Last year, proceeds from the
From 2001 to 2003, he played starting Kyle MacIntosh 5K, one of the nonprofit’s
middle linebacker, finishing his senior signature events, went to the family of TJ
season with 95 tackles. Cunningham (Comm’99), who was killed in
“Sean took football very seriously,” said February 2019.
Brian Cabral (Rec’79), who was on the Tufts hopes Buffs4Life can become a
Buffs’ coaching staff for 24 seasons. “It was model for the rest of campus.
like having another coach on the field.” “Everybody needs help sometimes,
In 2004, Tufts was drafted by the Carolina whether you’re the Heisman winner or an
Panthers in the NFL’s sixth round. A knee 18-year-old engineering student,” he said.
21 COLORADAN Courtesy CU Athletics WINTER 2020 22Rising
How the once-obscure
literary genre is giving voice to
Fanfiction
the voiceless and inspiring
a new, more diverse generation
of computer scientists.
BY LI SA MA R S HA LL
23 Hanna
COLORADAN
Barczyk WINTER 2020 24Casey Fiesler was a precocious 14-year- with disabilities and other marginalized Some pluck characters from popular Fanfiction has also become a rich
old with, as she recalls, “not much of a communities find their voice. works like The Hunger Games, Marvel resource for youth with autism, with
social life,” when she switched on her “Fanfiction is fundamentally about comics or Breaking Bad and place them in numerous Harry Potter fanfics featuring
parents’ boxy IBM PC, logged onto AOL writing outside the lines of traditional an alternate universe (a modern-day coffee autistic wizards describing what it feels
for the first time and slipped into the media, so it often becomes a place to in- shop; a distant planet). Others fill in scenes like to be diagnosed, experience sensory
comforting rabbit hole that is fanfiction. crease representation of people we often that never happened or develop characters overload or know that they’re different.
The year was 1996, and she’d already don’t see in stories,” she said, pointing to that had only minor roles in the original. “People will often reach out to the writ-
been unknowingly writing “fanfic” for fanfiction in which Kirk and Spock are In the case of E.L. James’ blockbuster Fifty
years — dreaming up new adventures for lovers or in which all the characters at Shades of Grey, which originated as fan-
her favorite characters from The Baby-Sit- Harry Potter’s Hogwarts have physical fiction, the author took Stephanie Meyer’s
ters Club books and quietly scrawling disabilities. “It’s about speculating over Twilight series and gave it an erotic twist.
them in her spiral notebook. But with her how things could be different and push- “It’s about spending more time in the
discovery of new online message boards ing back against harmful stereotypes.” worlds you love and exploring characters
in which fans share and review remixed And despite its reputation as a den of beyond the page,” said Fiesler.
versions of their favorite literature, her scandalous adult content (yes, there is
solitary pastime took an exhilarating turn. some of that too) it’s one of the least-toxic Giving Voice to the Geeks
“I realized that there were other people corners of the internet, Fiesler contends. Fiesler believes fanfiction is beginning
out there doing this too, and they were “It’s a hugely positive community to emerge from the shadows in part due
sharing their stories with each other,” compared to many of our more negative to what she calls “the mainstreaming of
Brianna Dym
recalls Fiesler, who went on to devour Star online spaces,” she said. “There’s a lot we geek culture.” Even she would have been
Trek fanfiction during undergrad, remained can learn from fanfiction.” reluctant to discuss her love of fandom a er and say ‘Hey, this is really amazing. It
a prolific Harry Potter fanfic writer through decade ago; today, comic book conven- reminded me of what I’m going through,’”
law school and credits the experience for From Sherlock Holmes to tions are cool, superhero movies are said Dym, who believes fanfiction can
inspiring her to become a social computing Fifty Shades of Grey dominating the big screen and fantasy serve as a valuable tool for therapists.
researcher. “I felt like something clicked As far back as the 1880s, frustrated TV shows like Game of Thrones are the
Sherlock Holmes devotees, anxiously subject of water-cooler conversations. A New Generation of Coders
awaiting the next installment, would But she and her students are most Fiesler said there’s another often-over-
often write their own. interested in what the genre does to looked reason to celebrate fanfiction.
But many trace the true birth of fan- support groups that, even today, don’t see At a time when only one in five
fiction to the 1960s, when Star Trek fans themselves in mainstream literature. computer scientists are female, and even
— mostly women who felt left out or mis- “You can make everyone have a disabil- fewer work in open-source development,
represented in the series — would create ity, or everyone be queer or everyone be a it’s inspiring a new generation of women
self-published hand-stapled “fanzines” person of color — just something different to get interested in the field.
and distribute them at fan conventions. than the stencil we so often see,” said In order to create Archive of Our
The internet fueled further growth, Brianna Dym (PhDInfoSci’22), a PhD stu- Own, its all-female team of founders
providing would-be authors a way to dent in Fiesler’s lab who’s leading research had to learn to code and plan, build
easily test their writing chops outside the about how marginalized communities and design the platform from scratch,
Casey Fiesler
cutthroat publishing world. Because they utilize fanfiction, funded by a $250,000 creating a welcoming online space
into place for me. Through sharing my were portraying characters that people al- National Science Foundation grant. “That where users could find what they were
stories, I found my community.” ready cared about, they often found a large, can be a very empowering act.” looking for (or avoid what they don’t
Today, the once-obscure fanfiction sub- ready-made audience awaiting their work. Growing up queer in remote Alaska, want to see) amid an ever-changing
culture has evolved into a literary genre “I would write something, and within an Dym herself found her way to fanfiction collection of stories derived from more
in its own right, with the fast-growing hour have 100 people telling me I am bril- as a way to connect with other LGBTQ than 30,000 original works.
fanfic website Archive of Our Own (AO3) liant. It was very validating,” recalls Fiesler. teens. Through 56 interviews for her re- “AO3 is successful as a platform in part
now boasting more than 5 million stories According to the new book Writers in search so far, she has found that for many, because the people who use it are the
posted by 2 million registered users and the Secret Garden: Fanfiction, Youth, and fanfiction sites serve as a safe, anonymous ones who built it,” said Fiesler.
drawing 200 million views per month. New Forms of Mentoring (for which Fiesler space — away from critical eyes — where She uses that example often with her
In August, AO3 won a prestigious wrote the foreword), fanfiction writers they can explore their LGBTQ identity. students, stressing that if they feel exclud-
Hugo Award for science fiction, a were contributing 80,000 new narratives “They might find stories about Captain ed or offended by existing online offerings,
milestone some view as validation that per month to the site fanfiction.net by Kirk marrying Spock after he retires or they can learn the tools to build their own.
fanfiction — long looked down upon by 2013. By comparison, 3,600 traditional Hermione Granger realizing she’s in In doing so, as in writing fanfiction,
literary critics — has finally arrived. books were published per month that year. love with Fleur Delacour, and they might they’ll be able to write their own story.
Now a CU Boulder assistant professor Today, the flourishing community is recognize something about their own “There have been times when, as a
of information science, Fiesler has shifted more diverse than ever. According to recent identity within those characters,” she woman, I’ve felt out of place in science
her focus from writing it to studying it, survey data from Fiesler’s research group, said. “The stories become a community fiction communities, gaming communi-
exploring what she sees as a powerful the vast majority are women, only 25 per- resource, and their authors mentors to ties or computer science communities,”
role the unique genre can play in helping cent identify as heterosexual, and the way help guide readers through the coming said Fiesler. “Fanfiction is a place where
isolated teens, LGBTQ youth, people they practice their craft is equally eclectic. out process.” everyone can come as they are.”
25 COLORADAN WINTER 2020 26Photojournalist Ross Taylor captured the final moments between pet owners and their companions. The work has gone viral. By Sarah Kuta The photographs are heartbreaking. just a dog,’ or ‘I can’t believe you’re acting As they watch their beloved pets take a this way,’” said Lehr, who lives in Odessa, final breath, the families photographed by Florida. “They don’t understand the kind Ross Taylor cover their mouths in despair, of bond that a human can form with a dog. wipe tears on the backs of their arms and My dogs are there for me no matter what wail in agony. They cradle their compan- — on my darkest days, on my best days.” ions in their arms and kiss them goodbye. Taylor and co-filmmaker Luke Rafferty With his “Last Moments” photo series are entering the 53-minute Hardest Day and forthcoming documentary, The documentary into festivals and plan to Hardest Day, Taylor captured the visceral make it available in late 2020. The film emotions of dog and cat owners as they offers a window into the challenging euthanized their pets at home. His work work veterinarians perform on a daily resonated with people worldwide — mil- basis — caring for pets, but also offering lions have viewed his photos online. compassion and support to their humans. The Hardest Day For Taylor, assistant professor of “It’s not enough to love animals,” said Dr. journalism at CU Boulder, the project Dani McVety, Lap of Love’s founder. “Ev- was a chance to highlight the connection erybody loves animals, but you have to love between humans and animals. He also the people who love the animals. And that’s hopes to comfort grieving pet owners by what we do. When they’re crying, you just showing they’re not alone. look at them and you say, ‘I know.’” “We should not minimize the intensity “Last Moments” offers teaching of the human-animal bond,” said Taylor, moments for Taylor’s CU classes. For whose other work has earned numer- instance, the project exemplifies a mod- ous awards, including a 2012 Pulitzer ern digital phenomenon: going viral. His Prize nomination. “If somebody is going work was seen in The Washington Post, through a difficult moment with the loss Daily Mail and People. When posted on of a pet, we should stop and move with Buzzfeed, the photos were viewed more greater care toward each other.” than 1.5 million times in one week alone. Taylor was inspired for the project by “Whenever you do any type of journal- a friend who opted for a home euthana- ism, it’s really crucial to make sure your sia procedure for her dog in 2016. After motives are sound,” Taylor said. researching the practice, he spent several Taylor learned photography in his weeks in Tampa, Florida, the next summer father’s darkroom in Mint Hill, North shadowing staff members at Lap of Love, a Carolina, before studying journalism at national network of veterinarians who offer the University of North Carolina at Chapel hospice and in-home euthanasia services. Hill and Syracuse University, where he He also followed veterinarians with the earned a master’s degree. Though Taylor’s organization Caring Pathways in Denver. seen a lot during his career — he’s photo- He photographed the final moments of graphed conflict zones, trauma hospitals pet owners like Wendy Lehr, whose dog, and the aftermath of natural disasters — Mimosa, was euthanized in August 2017 he was moved by the pain he witnessed as after the nine-year-old South African Boer- families said goodbye to their pets. boel was diagnosed with liver cancer. “You don’t show emotion in the mo- Though the photographs of Mimosa ment, but you absolutely feel it and your were painful to view, Lehr said they heart breaks for people every single time,” helped soothe and validate her grief. said Taylor. “I definitely get emotional “A lot of people look down on pet talking about it, and when I edited the owners as if we’re being ridiculous — ‘It’s film, I cried a thousand times.” 27 COLORADAN Ross Taylor WINTER 2020 28
Pushing
Boundaries
Search By Kenna Bruner
Bhavna Chhabra (CompSci’95) grew up list of potential universities included
in New Delhi, India, in a house without Boston University, CU Boulder, Stanford
electricity or running water, expected and MIT.
by her parents to marry a man they Although Chhabra’s interest was
chose. She didn’t know how to turn on chemistry, her father wanted her to study
a computer or type. Today, she’s the computers, telling her that computer sci-
new site director for Google Boulder, ence was the “new, best thing.” Despite
overseeing a 1,300-person operation. It’s not ever having seen a computer and no
a big job, but one she’s ready for: On her access to a computer, Chhabra followed
journey toward independence, Chhabra her father’s urging. She chose Boston
rejected the life pre-planned for her and University to study computer science.
found courage and opportunity. Now, Among the few items Chhabra
she hopes to empower young women to brought from India were sweaters bor-
do the same. rowed from a cousin, T-shirts she bought
After earning a scholarship to study based on what she saw in American
in the United States in the early 1990s, movies and a pair of gloves that were
Chhabra convinced her parents to let “useless in the cold.”
her leave home. They agreed on the Because her worldview came from
condition that after Chhabra finished watching American TV shows, such
college she would return to India for an as Different Strokes, Silver Spoons and
arranged marriage. Her father told her if TJ Hooker, the reality of transitioning
her future husband allowed, she might to college life was overwhelming. She
be able to get a job, but that decision wasn’t prepared for the culture shock of
would be up to him. being a first-generation college student
“That was where I was when I came to and one of few women in the computer
the U.S.,” she said. science department. After five days of
To search for universities, Chhabra feeling miserable and alone, she called
went to the American Embassy in New her parents, who encouraged her to try
Delhi, where books listed U.S. colleges another university.
and universities. Her criteria for picking CU Boulder was next on her list. To
a university were pictures of pretty cam- her relief, her experience at CU matched
puses with happy, smiling students. Her the pictures in the embassy books.
29 COLORADAN Glenn Asakawa WINTER 2020 30“I had completely different and
friendly interactions at CU,” Chhabra
National Institute of Standards and
Technology in Boulder. Schwartz told
site director. In addition to overseeing
all operations, she represents Google I aspire to
said. “The way I was welcomed to the her that could one day be her. in the community and ensures her
university, it was like I found a home.” “I wouldn’t have invited her to join the
research project if I didn’t think she was
more than 1,300 employees are healthy,
happy and working on a robust slate
give junior
REFUTING TRADITION
In computer programming classes, she
one of the better students in the class,”
Schwartz said. “I wanted her to know
of projects — all while maintaining a
collaborative culture. women what
had to work twice as hard to keep up
with the other students.
“Things that students in my class
she had options, to not assume that she
did not because someone had told her
that, and to not let that stop her from
“I’m approaching this from a place
of humility, because this is good,”
said Chhabra, 48, who is married and
I didn't have
took for granted were hard for me,” she
said. “I didn’t know how to type. I didn’t
moving forward.”
After an internship working for a
has three children. “It’s healthy. It’s
vibrant. … There’s a strong sense of
— a role model.
know how to turn on a computer. I local company building computers, community here, so obviously it’s not
wasn’t good at math.” Chhabra got a job in Denver as a soft- broken. There’s a term we use at Goo- “As someone who found a home in
One of her classes was an operating ware programmer at Quark Software. gle when we’re trying to do something Boulder, I’ve grown up here and raised a
systems course taught by CU professor She decided she would not live a life really innovative and we’re excited family here,” she said. “This place is my
Mike Schwartz. Seeing her potential, directed by her parents — she would about it. We say we’re uncomfortably home, and now I’m in a position to help
Schwartz — now a Google software stay in Colorado. excited. That is how I feel, which Google engage more with the Boulder
engineer working on cloud storage — At her CU graduation in 1995, her par- means I’m pushing myself. community. It’s full circle.”
became her mentor. He asked her to ents came to the U.S. to take her back to
be his research assistant for a govern- India. Chhabra told them she had a job
ment-funded internet project. with a company that would sponsor her
“Professor Schwartz saw something visa, and she wasn’t going back to India
in me,” she said. “I was the kid who to marry. Chhabra’s parents were taken
sat in the front of the class feverishly aback: She was straying from her Indian
taking notes, because I had to catch up. community’s tradition.
When I talked about the arranged mar- "While it was initially tough for my
riage, he would say, ‘Is that really what parents to accept that I was staying in
you want? Because you can be more.’ the U.S.,” said Chhabra, “in time they
But I didn’t believe it.” came to understand, accept and support
In a life-changing moment for my decision.”
Chhabra, Schwartz showed her an
article about an Indian woman Arati AMERICAN CAREER
Prabhakar, the first woman to head the Through the 1990s as Chhabra’s career
took off, she was told repeatedly that
she wouldn’t be taken seriously if she
Before CU, dressed too femininely with earrings,
makeup or skirts. To get a promotion,
Chhabra didn't
people advised her to wear hoodies
and jeans to look like a programmer.
Even when she moved up to higher po-
know how sitions, it wasn’t unusual for someone
to ask her to fetch coffee for meetings.
to turn on “Having gone through all this, I’m
passionate about trying to deprogram
a computer
the implicit and explicit messaging
sent to young women,” she said. “I
want them to know they don’t have to
or type. look like a cookie-cutter male pro-
grammer to succeed. I aspire to give
Today she's junior women what I didn’t have — a
role model.”
site director
For 18 years, she served as a senior
engineer and then senior director at
Qualcomm. She moved on to Google
for Google Boulder in January of 2016, where she
was director of Google Payments.
Boulder In September 2019, 26 years after
coming to Boulder, she became Google
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