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University of Colorado at Boulder planetary scientist Larry Esposito, a member of the European Space Agency's Venus Express science team, believes the upcoming mission to Earth's "evil twin" planet should be full of surprises.

The ethical questions raised by mixing commerce and genetics will be examined during the annual University of Colorado at Boulder Japha Symposium on Business and Professional Ethics on Nov. 10-11. The free public symposium, "The Ethics of Genetic Commerce," is set for Nov. 11 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Boulder Marriott Hotel, 2660 Canyon Blvd. The symposium is hosted by the Center for Business and Society of the Leeds School of Business.

The University Memorial Center, the State of Colorado's official memorial to veterans of war, will host a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. in the UMC room 235. The ceremony, featuring University of Colorado President Hank Brown, the University of Colorado Navy ROTC Color Guard and the University of Colorado Air Force ROTC choir, will last 30 minutes and will be followed by a reception. Other guest speakers will include UMC Director Carlos Garcia and CU student and UMC Board Chair Paul Pukurdpol.

University of Colorado at Boulder physics Professor Noel Clark has won the American Physical Society's 2006 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize in recognition of his work in liquid crystals. Clark is the first CU-Boulder professor to receive the national award given for research in condensed matter physics. The condensed matter field, the largest within physics, involves the study of the properties of liquids, solids and the "in between" liquid crystal phases.

A University of Colorado student representing the school's first-place Solar Decathlon team has been invited to testify before the energy subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Science Wednesday. Jeff Lyng, a graduate student in the civil, environmental and architectural engineering department who served as project manager, will speak at a hearing titled "Winning Teams and Innovative Technologies from the 2005 Solar Decathlon."

Five University of Colorado at Boulder faculty have been elected Fellows of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science for 2005. A total of 376 individuals were elected to AAAS this year by their science peers, according to the association. The new AAAS fellows were selected for their efforts to advance science or foster applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.

University of Colorado at Boulder Professor Erika Doss will give the Graduate School's 98th Distinguished Research Lecture on Nov. 8 titled "Memorial Mania: Monuments and Memory in Today's America." The talk is free and open to the public and will be held at 5:30 p.m. in room 250 of Ramaley Biology, located just northeast of Norlin Library. The Graduate School's Council on Research and Creative Work is sponsoring the talk.

As winter approaches, its short dark days can give some people the blues and in others triggers depression, affecting everything from their work to their love lives. "When the days get shorter and there is less light, people's biological systems naturally slow down, causing them to want to sleep more and crave sweet and starchy foods," said David Miklowitz, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "Many people experience this, and it is typically called the winter blues."

Note to Editors: Interviews with speakers can be arranged by contacting Mindy Pantiel at (303) 443-4862. A digital photo of Simon Deng is available by calling Mike Liguori in the News Services Office at (303) 492-3117. A former Sudanese child slave and a former U.S. Marine captain who witnessed the genocide in that North African nation will be among the speakers at the Sudan Awareness Conference Nov. 1-3 hosted by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Exploring ways to streamline current and conflicting telecommunication regulatory policies in the United States will be the focus of a conference at the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law on Oct. 26. Titled "Re-Examining the Role of State and Local Governments in Telecom Regulations," the conference will examine how the 1996 Telecommunications Act and the conflicting roles that state and local governments play in telecommunications regulation have hampered economic development in the telecommunications industry.