Â鶹ÊÓƵ

Teachers and students from elementary and middle schools along the Front Range will descend on the University of Colorado at Boulder Feb. 6 to become forensic scientists for a day. The 105 students and 21 teachers from 12 different schools will participate in a series of hands-on workshops at the Coors Events/Conference Center designed by CU's Science Explorers. "The purpose is to give teachers and students in fifth through eighth grades a day of hands-on science, and to hopefully make science fun for them," said Lannie Hagan, Science Explorers coordinator.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder announced the winners of its second annual Ally of the Year Awards, presented to campus activists and allies who advocate for the GLBT community. According to Beverly Tuel, director of the center, a second "Ally of the Year" award was presented this year because of the number of outstanding nominations.

NEWS TIP SHEET University of Colorado at Boulder alumna and NASA astronaut Marsha Ivins is slated to make her fifth journey into space on Feb. 7, when NASA's space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to blast off from Cape Kennedy, Fla. Set for launch at 8:11 a.m. MST, Atlantis and its six-person crew will attach the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, to the International Space Station. Destiny is the first lab to be delivered to the International Space Station and marks the beginning of the 2001 space science odyssey for the station and the Expedition One crew now on board.

Five University of Colorado at Boulder students were awarded Center for Education and Career Transition Scholarships for the spring 2001 semester. The scholarships are given in three categories: undergraduate women, graduate women, and students over 30 years of age. Students who receive the undergraduate and graduate awards must maintain a 3.5 grade point average. Applicants for the over 30 award must maintain a 3.0 grade point average.

Calendar Item Fiske Planetarium at the University of Colorado at Boulder will explore the red planet during "Mars Quest," Friday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the planetarium. The pre-recorded show examines the history of humankindÂ’s exploration of Mars, glancing in at the planet from space and exploring its surface. The show also delves into the question of life on Mars.

The James E. de Castro Chair in New Media has been endowed at the University of Colorado at Boulder's School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a gift of $1.5 million from James E. de Castro. It is the school's first endowed chair and one of the first of its kind in the nation. A CU-Boulder alumnus, de Castro is president and chief executive officer of Ultimate Inc., a startup company that provides access to sports and entertainment events through online and mainstream partnerships.

Editors: A list of participating high schools, the names of the students and their school newspaper advisers is attached. High school journalism students from around the state will convene on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus Jan. 29 to address the issues of alcohol use and abuse among high school students. CU-Boulder's "A Matter of Degree" program and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host the one-day event starting at 8:30 a.m. in the Old Main Chapel. Students from 17 high schools are planning to attend with their school newspaper advisers.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft is helping scientists see the structure and hour-to-hour changes of a giant doughnut-shaped gaseous ring around Jupiter in unprecedented detail. The doughnut, called the Io torus, draws its raw material from gases spewed into space by volcanoes on Io, one of Juputer's large moons. The torus was detected in the 1970s, but almost all of its light is invisible to the human eye. It is big enough that if Earth were in the middle, the orbit of Earth's Moon would fit inside the hole of the doughnut.

Note to Editors: Students will demonstrate the water pump and be available to the media on Friday, Jan. 26 at 11:30 a.m. in the Hydraulics Laboratory at the CU-Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science. Photos of the town of San Pablo in Belize also will be available at the event. For directions to the lab, please call (303) 492-7426. Â鶹ÊÓƵ 250 Mayan Indians living in the village of San Pablo in southwestern Belize are looking to civil engineering students at the University of Colorado at Boulder to help them meet one of life's most basic needs.

Note to Editors: Media are invited to a reception at the Denver law offices of Hogan & Hartson, located at 1200 17th St., Suite 1500, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 25. Representatives from each of the 16 firms and CU and DU law schools will be in attendance. The Colorado Pledge to Racial and Ethnic Diversity, in conjunction with the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law and the University of Denver School of Law, announced today the creation of an ambitious minority summer clerkship program.