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How warming might have caused Nepal's deadly floods

Elizabeth Williams — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:09:11 +0000

How warming might have caused Nepal's deadly floods Elizabeth Williams Tue, 09/08/2026 - 10:09 Yvaine Ye

Original article found in A&S Magazine.

One week after catastrophic floods swept through towns along the Nepal-China border, more than 1,000 people are dead and 4,500 remain missing.

Satellite and drone images suggest that softening permafrost, or perennially frozen rock, ice and soil, on Langtang Lirung peak likely caused a massive bedrock failure and glacier collapse. An estimated 50 million metric tons of ice, rock and water��roughly 13 billion gallons, or about three times the capacity of Boulder Reservoir��fell 6,500 feet into the valley below, unleashing a slurry of mud and water that inundated bridges, hydropower facilities and villages along the way. According to the United States Geological Survey, the force of the initial debris flow hitting the ground was equivalent to a magnitude 5.2 earthquake.

��This is by far the most horrific flood I have ever seen,�� said Alton Byers, a faculty research scientist and an associate of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder. For the past 50 years, Byers has been studying changes in glaciers around the world, including the Himalayas, and the hazards associated with those shifts. He has lived in rural regions of Nepal for a total of eight years in addition to dozens of shorter visits since the 1970s, trekking in the mountains to study glacial lakes and help local people become more prepared for mountain hazards.

��The size of this slide totally dwarfed anything I��ve seen before. Mountains have clearly become more dangerous places to live, work and play in as Earth becomes warmer.��

As rescue teams continue searching for those still missing, �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Today spoke with Byers about what may have triggered the disaster, how climate change is reshaping glaciers and mountain hazards around the world, and whether similar events could occur in the United States.

Read full article here.

Donate to Nepali Relief here:

The best way to donate is through the Nepal government's official disaster relief fund. https://moha.gov.np/en/post/ha-ra-tha-ka-apa-l-11.

Additional local relief opportunities:

Go fund me

Colorado Nepal Alliance

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Tang Global Seminar - Organizational Behavior and Business in China

Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:23:12 +0000

Tang Global Seminar - Organizational Behavior and Business in China Elizabeth Williams Mon, 08/24/2026 - 14:23

Chengdu

This summer, Leeds School of Business Teaching Professor Tracy Jennings led a group of 12 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder undergraduate students in a Tang-funded global seminar on Organizational Behavior and Business in China. We'll be showcasing two blog posts from students to share their experiences.

From Holt Bouma :

Both Chinese and Americans have very distorted views of each other��s culture and society. Before arriving in China, while I was telling my friends and family about my upcoming trip, I received numerous warnings and concerns. While I personally wasn��t worried, many people had the perception of China being a dangerous dictatorship that would surveil and arrest me for anything that I did. Now that it has been a little over a week, I have noticed similar misperceptions from Chinese people (thanks to my Chinese!). The recent and most prominent example happened while I was getting a street massage. During my massage, somebody walking by asked if they could take my picture, to which I agreed. Afterward, they��re friends began telling her how foreigners don��t like getting their picture taken. I told her that we don��t care, but they were adamant that it was true and the masseuse agreed. Another example was when we visited the international school, where the students I spoke with were surprised to learn that American college students consist of mostly a higher social class. The students surprised to learn this, after they had been told that America was a ��л��Ĺ�� (a country with opportunity). A fallacy I realized that I possessed was my personal belief that Chinese people weren��t very social. Though their work life certainly prohibits them, you will very often see a group of friends sitting around chatting on the street. When we were in Beijing, it was shocking to see so many people playing Chinese hacky sack by the drum and bell towers. Furthermore, when we would eat dinner at less-busy restaurants, the workers would usually go back to conversing together after serving us. Now, I realize that it was short-sighted to view any culture as particularly reserved, being social is just a human trait. These misunderstandings between cultures can happen between any two countries, but I believe that The Great Firewall helps perpetrate a lack of cultural knowledge. Even though I��ve traveled to other Asian countries, China has still been the first time I have felt the most culture shock (in a good way).

From Luis Carale:

Chinese companies stress the importance of interpersonal relationships, and this emphasis is reflected in a company��s values as well as their management style. On our visit to E-Plus 3D, we learned a lot about the company��s products and operations, but I found their perceived importance of interpersonal relationships to be the most striking. Throughout the workplace, they had signage displaying the company��s mission and values. A quick Google translation revealed to me that they are customer oriented and strive for win-win results. This makes logical sense to me because customers buying their product is what directly results in sales, so they would want to do their best to make the customer happy. However, the value of interpersonal relationships goes beyond company-client relationships. The manager we spoke to explained that a good manager maintains 4 types of relationships: 1)self to boss, 2)self to colleague, 3)self to employees and 4)self to self. He explained that if a worker is able to keep good relations among the 4, they are more likely to succeed. While these relationships do exist in US companies, I think the Chinese place more importance in them compared to Americans, who have a strong sense of individualism. The core values plastered on the workplace walls and the manager��s philosophy reinforce the importance of interpersonal relationships in Chinese companies. Since this was our first company visit, I am unsure if my observation holds true with other companies. I will be interested in discovering if the values of other Chinese companies place emphasis on interpersonal relationships.

Guizhou Provence

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Welcome to the 2026-2027 academic year!

Elizabeth Williams — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:46:10 +0000

Welcome to the 2026-2027 academic year! Elizabeth Williams Thu, 08/20/2026 - 11:46

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Welcome to the 2026-2027 academic year!

The Center for Asian Studies is �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder��s interdisciplinary hub for Asia-related teaching and research. We offer the Asian Studies major and minor, scholarships and resources for students, and we sponsor Asia-related events throughout the year. Our theme for the 2026-2027 academic year is Global Asias (/cas/2026-2027-global-asias). Check our website regularly for details of our events and programs!

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CAS Faculty Dan Hirshberg's Zen Garden is a finalist in the City of Boulder��s first Climate Resilient Landscape Showcase

Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 21:10:03 +0000

CAS Faculty Dan Hirshberg's Zen Garden is a finalist in the City of Boulder��s first Climate Resilient Landscape Showcase Elizabeth Williams Mon, 08/17/2026 - 15:10

Congratulations to Prof. Dan Hirshberg, whose Japanese-style garden is a finalist in the City of Boulder��s first Climate Resilient Landscape Showcase. As inspiration for the design concept, Dan drew from Japan��s "pure land" pond gardens, one of the earliest historical subtypes, and infused it with an Indo-Tibetan take on the three buddha bodies. In the "Pure Realm Garden of Mount Potala" (Fudarakusan-en), the bodhisattva of compassion bears witness across the ocean of existence. A red stone stands in for the Potala Palace of the Dalai Lamas, and keen-eyed viewers might discover an emanation of that bodhisattva (and the foremost subject of Dan��s research, Padmasambhava) meditating in his drup-puk or ��accomplishment cave.�� The garden uses only Colorado-native, drought-tolerant plants. Finalist gardens are open to the public from 9am�C1pm on Saturday, August 22 - please find full details here.

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Japanese Language Proficiency Test registration opens beginning August 18th

Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:34:41 +0000

Japanese Language Proficiency Test registration opens beginning August 18th Elizabeth Williams Mon, 08/10/2026 - 13:34

The next JLPT in the U.S. will be held on Sunday, December 6, 2026.

Registration will open of a rolling basis beginning August 18th.

For more information and registration schedule, please visit the AATJ Website.

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Spotlight on Asian Studies Alumni: Recent grad finds purpose among the gibbons

Elizabeth Williams — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:59:51 +0000

Spotlight on Asian Studies Alumni: Recent grad finds purpose among the gibbons Elizabeth Williams Tue, 07/07/2026 - 09:59

Cody DeBos

Asian studies alumnus Lucas Lowenfish, soon to become a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar, experienced ��a big trajectory change�� during Primates of Vietnam study abroad program

Before the sun rises in C��t Ti��n National Park in Vietnam, the forest is wide awake. Lucas Lowenfish recalls slipping into the humid darkness with a few friends from his study abroad group to hike toward a tree they��d been told about.

This particular tree hosts a family of gibbons that congregates every morning to sing just as light begins to filter through the canopy.

��They start jumping and dancing around and doing their songs. It��s a coordinated singing that sounds unlike anything I��ve heard before,�� says Lowenfish, a recent �鶹��Ѱ�� graduate in Asian studies.

Later that morning, Lowenfish and a friend wandered deeper into the forest. Upon rounding a bend in the trail, they found themselves just feet from two gibbons mid-call. Close enough that, as Lowenfish puts it, ��You can feel it in your head.��

That morning in the forest, and others exploring C��t Ti��n and the jungles of Vietnam, gave Lowenfish a new direction for his career.

An unlikely primatologist

Lowenfish grew up in Washington, D.C., asking his parents for more time at the primate exhibit every time his family visited the zoo. He arrived at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder as an Asian studies major after taking Chinese classes in high school.

A career in primatology had never crossed his mind.

Then came a study abroad program led by �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder anthropology professors Jonathan O��Brien and Herbert ��Bert�� Covert. The duo takes students through an immersive tour of the biodiversity of Vietnam, visiting national parks, conservation NGOs, research centers and wildlife rehabilitation facilities.

For Lowenfish, the trip was an eye-opener.

��I��d never really thought about how studying monkeys could be a job, you know? But then my professors are in the field and we��re meeting people who are doing this full-time. Now that I was seeing that this is a thing, I knew I totally wanted to do it, too,�� he says.

He calls the trip a ��big trajectory change�� for his career goals.

The ��Primates of Vietnam�� program runs each summer and draws a small cohort of eight to 15 undergraduates for a three-week adventure. Lowenfish says the experience rewards a certain kind of student.

��You definitely have to be adventurous and willing to step pretty far out of your comfort zone. But if you can do that, it��s like the greatest trip ever.��

Read the full article in A&S Magazine

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Job Opportunity - JLPT USA Team Assistant

Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 20:15:50 +0000

Job Opportunity - JLPT USA Team Assistant Elizabeth Williams Mon, 06/29/2026 - 14:15

American Association of Teachers of Japanese is looking for a JLPT USA Team Assistant. AATJ is the administrator of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in the US. We are looking for a new team member to assist in the administration of this important program, on the national level.

This is a part-time position, based in Boulder, CO. Please use the link for more position information and to apply.

https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/JLPT-USA-Team-Assistant/73096

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The Power of Fiction to Unlock History: New Teaching Unit Brings Sri Lanka��s Civil War into the Classroom

Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:23:44 +0000

The Power of Fiction to Unlock History: New Teaching Unit Brings Sri Lanka��s Civil War into the Classroom Elizabeth Williams Mon, 06/22/2026 - 11:23

Can a novel teach history in ways textbooks cannot? That question is at the heart of a new curriculum unit developed by Lauren Collins, assistant teaching professor and director of the undergraduate Asian Studies program in �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder��s Center for Asian Studies, recently published by the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies.

The unit, Teaching about the Civil War through the Novel Brotherless Night, uses V. V. Ganeshananthan��s award-winning novel as a gateway to understanding the origins, complexities, and human consequences of Sri Lanka��s civil war. Set in 1980s Jaffna, Brotherless Night follows Sashi, a young Tamil woman and aspiring doctor whose life is transformed by the conflict. Through her perspective, students encounter questions of political resistance, moral ambiguity, and survival while exploring how war reshapes families, education, personal aspirations, and everyday life.

Designed for high school and college classrooms, the unit combines literary analysis with historical inquiry. Six thematic ��deep dives�� introduce students to the historical events, political movements, and key figures that shaped the conflict, helping them connect fiction to historical reality. The curriculum encourages close reading, critical thinking, and empathy while demonstrating how literature can open conversations about difficult histories with nuance and care.

Collins will bring this approach into the classroom this fall, offering Brotherless Night as a reading option in her upper-division seminar, Politics of Memory.

The unit reflects the Center for Asian Studies' broader commitment to public and community-engaged scholarship that bridges university research and K�C12 teaching. CAS is home to two long-running teacher professional-development programs �� the South, Southeast, and West Asia Outreach Program (SSEWA) and the Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA) �� that bring the study of Asia into classrooms across Colorado and the nation.

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Young Professionals International Career Connections

Elizabeth Williams — Thu, 07 May 2026 18:45:04 +0000

Young Professionals International Career Connections Elizabeth Williams Thu, 05/07/2026 - 12:45

Tuesday, May 26 @ 6:00 p.m.
Maglione Hall, University of Denver

Join WorldDenver, Fulbright, and the University of Denver to bridge the gap between global ambition and professional reality. Meet seasoned experts in diplomacy, development, international law, and more for a panel discussion and networking session designed to launch your global career. Free and open to all.

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CAS Celebrates our Graduates and Student and Faculty Achievement

Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 19:33:09 +0000

CAS Celebrates our Graduates and Student and Faculty Achievement Elizabeth Williams Mon, 04/27/2026 - 13:33

Asian Studies Major

Madchen Craig
Vitalina Lagutkina Second Major: International Affairs; Minors: Geography and Economics
Lucas Lowenfish Minors: Philosophy and Chinese
Zachary Katsuleres Additional Majors: International Affairs, Political Science, and Japanese Language and Civilizations

Asian Studies Minor

Abigail Ellis Major: History
Jeff Heiges Major: Mathematics
Sophia Mix Major: Psychology
Alex Rodrigue Majors: History and Chinese Language and Civilization

Graduate Certificate in Asian Studies

Aaron Bhatoya Ph.D. History
Christy Go Ph.D. Ethnomusicology

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships

Graduate Student Fellows

Aaron Bhatoya* Hindi; History
Vincent Burnett# Japanese; ALC
Callysta Caraballo# Chinese; Linguistics
Edward Hayward*# Japanese; Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies
Lillith Jackson# Chinese; ALC
Kelly Kroeger# Uzbek; History?
Sarah Maronick*# Chinese; Linguistics
Jessica Misiorek# Japanese; Anthropology
Stephanie Oh* Korean; ALC
Casey Ringer* Japanese; History
Emily Swertfeger*# Arabic; History

Undergraduate Fellows

Axel Castillo-Armenta# Japanese; Computer Science
Amy Fink (MSU)# Japanese; Linguistics
Marion Furukawa# Chinese; IAFS
Michael Kakkar# Chinese; Business
Jason Nam#???Japanese; International Affairs????
Ryan Zhang#?Chinese; Economics

Japanese Studies Scholarship Fellows *

Vincent Burnett?Asian Languages and Civilizations
Brandon Edwards Asian Languages and Civilizations
Haruka Fujii Asian Languages and Civilizations
Bergen Grant?Asian Languages and Civilizations
Ubochi Igbokwe?Music
Lillith Jackson Asian Languages and Civilizations
Jessica Misiorek Anthropology
Xuanyu Piao?Asian Languages and Civilizations
Casey Ringer History
Nyla Schaberg Asian Languages and Civilizations
Juliana Valverde Asian Languages and Civilizations
Taoxuan Xu?Asian Languages and Civilizations
Ayako Yamaguchi?Asian Languages and Civilizations

Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant *

Alifia Moci Maritta Indonesian Language Instruction

Asian Studies Faculty Course Development Grants #

Stephanie Choi College of Music
Dan Hirshberg Asian Studies
Miriam Kadia Kingsburg History
Cody Walizer College of Communication, Media, Design and Information

Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum Course Development Grants #

Lauren Collins Asian Studies
Runqing Qi Asian Languages and Civilizations

Academic Year 2025-26 # Summer 2026

Congratulations Graduates!

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