Colorado Mesa University faculty and students drive global efforts to preserve rainforests
A team led by Colorado Mesa University (CMU) faculty, students and collaborators has won first place in the prestigious $10 million XPRIZE Rainforest competition. The announcement was made on Friday, November 15 at the G20 Social Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where team Limelight Rainforest was recognized for their cutting-edge technology aimed at preserving tropical rainforests. The team’s innovation secured a $5 million prize and global recognition for their breakthrough in rainforest conservation.
The Limelight sensor platform, the team’s winning technology, is designed to survey rainforest canopies—an under-researched part of the ecosystem. It delivers real-time data on insect biodiversity and bioacoustic signals. What started as a hope and a dream in 2019 with 300 teams from 70 countries, under the leadership of CMU Professor of Biology Thomas Walla, PhD, advanced through various stages to the semifinals in Singapore in 2023. The team then competed in the Amazon rainforest in July 2024, where six finalist teams contended for the top prize.
During the final stage of the five-year competition, team Limelight successfully surveyed 100 hectares of rainforest within just 24 hours, providing critical biodiversity insights to judges within 48 hours. Their speed, precision and scalability impressed the judges, demonstrating that this groundbreaking technology has the potential to revolutionize efforts to preserve vulnerable ecosystems. According to Walla, while existing technologies can sequence around 1,500 species over two years, Limelight has the potential to sequence 2,500 species in just one week.
“We launched XPRIZE Rainforest with an audacious goal to accelerate the innovation of novel biodiversity assessment technologies that could effectively transform the rate at which we measure and protect global biodiversity, and we’re so proud to be awarding the grand prize to the fantastic Limelight Rainforest team, led by faculty from Colorado Mesa University.” said XPRIZE Executive Vice President for Biodiversity and Conservation Peter Houlihan. “Their work throughout the course of the competition was nothing short of remarkable, and the Limelight sensor platform can measurably and more rapidly improve insights we can gather from the most under-researched layer of the rainforest.”
Alongside Walla, his CMU colleagues Associate Professor of Biology Johanna Varner, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology Denita Weeks, PhD, and Professor of Political Science Tim Casey, PhD, accepted the first place prize—highlighting CMU’s commitment to providing unique undergraduate research opportunities that make a global impact.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work CMU faculty and students put into the multi-year XPRIZE Rainforest competition to positively impact the future of tropical rainforests. Receiving first place in Rio at the G20 Social Summit is a moment in time these Mavericks and our campus won’t forget,” said CMU President John Marshall. “What’s even more meaningful is the experience our undergraduate students received working alongside faculty, both in remote places of the world and here at home in Grand Junction. This is a perfect example of the caliber of our faculty, the meaningful relationships they build with their students and how our campus values come to life out in the world.”
Other faculty involved in the project include Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sherine Antoun, PhD, Associate Professor of Computer Science Karl Castleton and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Sarah Lanci.
"Our win is a fantastic surprise for our team and we’re very grateful for the support that CMU has provided throughout the competition. The strength of our team comes from the passion of its members, and the excitement that it has generated here at CMU has been an indication of that support. We hope that the tools we have designed and applied for rainforest ecology will help the world recognize the value of tropical rainforest," said CMU Professor of Biology Thomas Walla, PhD.
Team Limelight Rainforest’s achievement underscores CMU’s dedication to fostering hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate students. The university's close-knit academic environment, with small class sizes where faculty know students' names, allows students to engage directly in groundbreaking projects that make a real-world difference. This collaboration between students, faculty and global conservation experts exemplifies CMU’s commitment to both innovation and mentorship.
The relationships built in classrooms and during research projects like this one continue to shape the future of CMU students, preparing them for meaningful careers in science, conservation and beyond. This victory not only marks a major milestone for biodiversity conservation but also demonstrates CMU’s role as a leader in transformative education for undergraduate students and global research initiatives.
