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For scientists eying distant planets and solar systems for signs of alien activity, University of Colorado at Boulder Professor Carol Cleland suggests the first order of business is to keep an open mind. It may be a mistake to try to define life, given such definitions are based on a single example -- life on Earth, said Cleland, a philosophy professor and fellow at the NASA-funded CU-Boulder Center for Astrobiology. The best strategy is probably to develop a “general theory of living systems,” she said.

Business opportunities in sustainability and social venturing will be the focus of Sustainable Opportunities Week, a series of events Feb. 21-25 hosted by the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The University of Colorado at Boulder's Community Relations office and Moe's Broadway Bagel are sponsoring a book drive with free bagels at Boulder-area Moe's stores starting Feb. 20. People who bring in new or gently used children's books to either of the Boulder Moe's locations will receive a free bagel with cream cheese. The offer is limited to one bagel per customer per visit. The book drive continues through Feb. 24. The books will be donated to school literacy programs, Dental Aid, local early learning centers and area shelters.

B.B. King, the legendary blues musician, will offer his thoughts and answer audience questions in a rare public lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "An Evening of Discussion and Storytelling with B.B. King" will be held at 7 p.m. in the Coors Events/Conference Center on the CU-Boulder campus. Doors will open to the public at 6 p.m.

Nina Jablonski, curator of anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences and an internationally known researcher and scholar, will give a lecture on "The Evolution of Human Skin Color" at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Feb. 23. Jablonski will speak at 7 p.m. in Eaton Humanities Building, room 150. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Jablonski's talk will shed light on the evolution of human skin color, calling into question the classification of humans into subgroups based on skin color.

It's a multibillion-dollar legal battle with roots 118 years old and yet after dozens of rulings there is still no settlement in sight for the Indian trust funds management lawsuit filed over a decade ago by Blackfeet tribal member Elouise Cobell. On Feb. 23, Cobell will tell her story at a symposium sponsored by the University of Colorado at Boulder's American Indian Law Program and the Native American Law Students Association.

David Getches, dean of the University of Colorado School of Law said, "We are delighted to have a member of our faculty honored through this appointment to the state's highest court. "Professor Eid combines intellectual depth with a collegial spirit and will bring the right mix of intellectual rigor and humanity to cases before the court," he said. "Although she will be missed by our students and faculty for her mentoring and scholarship, we are proud that she has been chosen for this most important position."

Examining regulatory challenges facing policy-makers as the rapidly changing telecommunications industry moves from the analog era into the digital age will be the focus of a University of Colorado at Boulder conference to be held Feb. 19-20 at the Fleming Law Building. "The Digital Broadband Migration: Confronting the New Regulatory Frontiers" is the first of three conferences sponsored by the CU law school's Silicon Flatiron's Telecommunication Program during spring semester.

Lorrie Shepard, dean of the University of Colorado at Boulder's School of Education, has received a national award recognizing her many contributions in the teacher education field. Shepard was honored with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's 2006 David G. Imig Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teacher Education. The award recognizes contributions to the field of policy or research in teacher education.

Across the West this month, local newspapers reported that the seven Colorado River states finally reached an agreement on a consensus recommendation for managing the river under drought conditions, as directed by Secretary of Interior Gale Norton. This was especially exciting news to researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Center for Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems or CADSWES, who developed and support RiverWare, the modeling tool that played a key role in this long and difficult negotiation.