The C3 Lab is a research and teaching program. Every dollar we spend goes toward student research stipends, the technology that makes their work possible, and the community outcomes their work produces.
Federal and state grants fund the projects we’ve already won. Philanthropic gifts to the lab fund the next student who walks in the door — extending the number of undergraduate and graduate researchers we can bring in each year, and giving them hands-on experience with the applied AI, cloud, and data systems that shape careers.
That experience follows students into their careers. Lab alumni have gone on to software-engineering and AI roles across Colorado’s tech industry and into graduate study. Philanthropic support is how we widen that pipeline: more students in the lab means more Colorado technologists graduating ready to build.
What a gift supports
Direct student research support
Undergraduate researchers in the C3 Lab earn $22 per hour, working part-time during the Fall and Spring semesters and full-time during a concentrated 10-week summer term. That translates to clear, concrete outcomes a gift can fund:
- $7,000 funds one student for a semester.
- $9,000 funds one student for a full summer, the most concentrated research experience the lab offers.
- $23,000 funds one student for a full academic year (Fall, Spring, and Summer).
- $25,000 funds a three-student summer research cohort.
- $50,000 funds two students for a full year each, including presenting their work at national conferences.
Agentic AI experience
The lab’s research works with agentic AI — AI systems that plan, use tools, and coordinate with one another. Sustainability Hub students work daily with these frameworks, and the lab’s open-source BiliCore evaluation framework is one of the results. Gifts in this category put frontier AI tools directly in students’ hands:
- $240 funds one student’s frontier AI-model subscription for a year.
- $2,000–$2,500 funds a high-performance GPU (32GB) for local AI development.
- $4,000 funds a complete AI workstation for shared lab use.
Recurring annual gifts at any level give the lab planning certainty a full year in advance, and support each new cohort of students continuously.
In their own words
The most direct measure of what a gift supports is what students say about their time in the lab.
Being a part of Peer Support Hub has been the perfect job out of college. I came in knowing a little JavaScript and a lot of ambition, and now I'm contributing to real MERN-stack features that actually help Supplemental Instruction, Teaching Assistant, and Learning Assistant students here at MSU Denver. I've learned way more building real things with real code reviews than I ever did in class.
I've been working with the lab for almost two years, and it's been a transformative experience. I've gained a wide variety of academic, technical, and professional skills. The lab boosted my confidence and engagement in class and gave me a chance to see myself as competent in my field.
Participating on the Sustainability Hub project team has been the most valuable real-world experience I've had in my professional journey. I went from not knowing what a programming language was two years ago to feeling comfortable contributing to real software projects, and I couldn't be more grateful for the experience.
I've been a part of the Roadrunner Connect project in the C3 Lab since May, and it's been the most educational part of my academic career. I've gained knowledge in both front-end and back-end development on an established project being used in the real world, along with problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills that couldn't be gained inside a classroom.
Invest in the next generation
A gift to the C3 Lab is an investment that pays back on both sides. Students gain the hands-on, career-launching experience that a classroom can’t provide, and Colorado gains skilled technologists and community-serving technology built right here at MSU Denver. Your investment is what lets us bring more students in and keep that pipeline growing.
Gifts are made through MSU Denver University Advancement and go directly toward student researchers and the technology that makes their work possible.
To invest, or to talk through the options and see the lab firsthand, please contact:
- Yazmin Castillo, Associate Director of Development, MSU Denver University Advancement — yacastillo@msudenver.edu
- Dr. Daniel Pittman, Co-Director, C3 Lab — dpittma8@msudenver.edu
- Dr. Ranjidha Rajan, Co-Director, C3 Lab — rranjidh@msudenver.edu
