°µÍø½ûÇø

The little-known science behind liquid crystals, which are used to display information in items like laptop computers and cell phones, will be featured in the CU Wizards show Feb. 17 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The show "Light, Polarization and Liquid Crystals" will take place at 9:30 a.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30. At 2 p.m., a separate show on classroom innovations that are helping transform physics education will be presented as part of the Saturday Physics Series, also in G1B30.

Former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart will be among several notable speakers at a national gathering to discuss environmental issues facing college and university campuses to be held at the University of Colorado at Boulder Feb. 22-23. The 2007 Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit also will feature Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, renowned environmental experts Hunter Lovins and David Orr, CU-Boulder history and environmental studies Professor Patty Limerick and Arizona State University President Michael Crow.

The challenges of fostering diversity in academia and mainstream society will be among the topics at the University of Colorado at Boulder's 12th annual diversity summit Feb. 19-20 at the University Memorial Center and other campus venues. "The summit is an annual opportunity to get staff, students and faculty together to foster discussions around issues of diversity," said Mark Augustin, director of organizational and employee development and one of the co-chairs of the event's organizing committee.

Michele Moses, an associate professor in the University of Colorado at Boulder's School of Education, has been awarded a Fulbright New Century Scholars Award. Moses was one of 12 people chosen from the United States to participate in the program, which includes 36 people from 25 countries around the world. The team of scholars will focus on the theme "Higher Education in the 21st Century: Access and Equity."

Aerospace engineering faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder will share their love of flight with the next generation of Tuskegee Airmen -- and women -- on Saturday, Feb. 10, as they showcase their advanced research in aviation and spaceflight to 30 Denver-area high school students who share their passion for flight.

University of Colorado at Boulder Chancellor G. P. "Bud" Peterson today announced the formation of a search committee and the chair of the committee to fill the newly created position of vice chancellor for diversity, equity and community engagement for the campus. "I want the hiring of this position to mark a new era in the history of the University of Colorado at Boulder," said Peterson. "I want this era to be characterized by a seamless approach to diversity wherein it is woven into all we are, all we do and all that we aspire to be," he said.

The University of Colorado at Boulder's Silicon Flatirons Program will present the first of four spring conferences, "The Digital Broadband Migration: The Next Wave of Innovation," on Feb. 11-12. Leaders from high-tech industry, government and academia including Liberty Global CEO Michael Fries, Federal Trade Commissioner William Kovacic and appellate Judge Stephen Williams will explore the future of Internet broadband capabilities at the event.

Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that has become a bane of modern society, may have saved Earth from freezing over early in the planet's history, according to the first detailed laboratory analysis of the world's oldest sedimentary rocks.

Assistant Professor Peter McGraw of the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business has been named one of the nation's top young scholars by the Marketing Science Institute. One of only 30 recipients of the biennial honor given to faculty members early in their careers for being potential leaders in the field of marketing research, McGraw also was the only recipient in the Rocky Mountain region. He is the second CU-Boulder professor to be recognized -- Associate Professor Page Moreau of the Leeds School of Business received the honor in 2003.

University of Colorado at Boulder fire safety officials are warning students about the dangers of lighting candles and other open-flame items and leaving them unattended. Students, faculty and staff are prohibited from using candles and open-flame devices in residence halls and other campus buildings except in rare situations and only after obtaining a permit from the campus fire marshal. "Candles start fires. If you light one, do not leave it unattended until you fully extinguish it," advised CU-Boulder Fire Marshal Mansour Alipour-Fard.