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As the textbook buyer for the University of Colorado at Boulder Book Store, Jason Katzman has seen competition to paperbound textbooks before, and after 17 years in the industry he says paper still rules, at least for now. Last fall the CU Book Store on campus started carrying a limited number of electronic textbooks, or e-textbooks, a new product being offered nationally on college campuses.

University of London scholar Cyprian Broodbank will speak at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Tuesday, March 13, about the island of Kythera in the Aegean Sea and its relationship to the Minoans of Crete during the Bronze Age. The 7 p.m. talk, which is free and open to the public, is titled "Before Aphrodite: the Island of Kythera and the Minoans in the Aegean." The event will be held in the Ramaley Biology Building, room N1B23, and is sponsored by the CU-Boulder classics department and the Boulder Society of the Archaeological Institute of America.

An in-depth look at the science of lasers -- including how they are used to transmit phones calls and emails -- and the physics of music will be featured in two separate science outreach programs March 17 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The CU Wizards show “At the End of the Rainbow” is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. March 17 in Duane Physics, room G1B30. At 2 p.m., the Saturday Physics Series show “Physics of Musical Sound” also will be held in G1B30.

Historians and telecommunications experts from around the country will gather at the University of Colorado at Boulder to examine parallels between the expansion of the American West and the development of the World Wide Web's still-emerging technological frontier. CU-Boulder's Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program and the Center of the American West are co-sponsoring the March 21 panel discussion, which will feature an appearance by renowned CU-Boulder historian Patty Limerick.

The West Quad of the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business will be named in honor of Richard "Dick" and Jean Engebretson, who have pledged $1 million to the school's expansion and renovation. "This generous gift from Dick and Jean Engebretson will help the Leeds School provide a vastly improved facility for our students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners in the business community, and we want to thank them for their generosity," said Dennis A. Ahlburg, dean of the Leeds School of Business.

Moe Tabrizi, director of the energy conservation program at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been named interim director of planning, design and construction while a search is conducted to replace outgoing director and architect Steve Thweatt. Paul Tabolt, vice chancellor for administration, made the announcement today to inform campus departments that are involved in current or pending construction projects.

Reza Aslan, a well-known religious scholar, best-selling author, media commentator and doctoral degree candidate, will be one of two featured speakers at a University of Colorado at Boulder event that will explore the current state of affairs in the Middle East and changes within the Islamic faith.

John Wood, who quit his senior executive position with Microsoft to found a non-profit organization that establishes schools and libraries in the developing world, will speak at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business on campus March 14. Wood's free public presentation will be at 5 p.m. in room 155 of the Fleming Law Building, where the Leeds School is temporarily housed. He is an alumnus of the CU-Boulder business school and received his MBA from Northwestern University.

Renowned Harvard University Professor Lisa Randall, one of the world's leading theoretical physicists and cosmologists, will speak at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Monday, March 19, on hidden dimensions of the universe. A professor of theoretical physics at Harvard, Randall will speak at 7:30 p.m. in Macky Auditorium for the 42nd George Gamow Memorial Lecture. The talk will focus on concepts from her 2005 book, "Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions" and is free and open to the public.

University of Colorado at Boulder student leaders are sponsoring a contest from March 5 through March 16 for a new "spirit shirt" design that would represent the university in all of its aspects - academics, athletics and co-curricular activities - and foster a greater sense of community on campus. Campus student organizations will promote the winning design, which will be printed on thousands of 2007-08 CU-Boulder spirit shirts.