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Two "Quick Response" studies dealing with the impacts of Hurricane Katrina will be funded by the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder and more are expected in the coming days. The studies will examine emergency management coordination and the response to the disaster in the close-knit community of Grand Bayou, La. The Quick Response studies were funded by the CU-Boulder Natural Hazards Center in cooperation with the National Science Foundation.

A new global study involving long-term data from satellites and ground stations indicates Earth's ozone layer, while still severely depleted following decades of thinning from industrial chemicals in the atmosphere, is no longer in decline.

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder believe they have an answer as to why some people can quickly bounce back from a terrible event, while some seem to never recover. They discovered that an area in the brain called the ventral medial prefrontal cortex computes whether or not stress-inducing events are under behavioral control, and if they are, it sends an "all clear" message.

University of Colorado at Boulder students started the fall semester this week with three new buildings under construction and the completion of a $3.3 million campus improvement project. Since last October, work crews have refurbished 43 entryways to campus buildings, installed new carpet in 93 classrooms and Norlin Library study areas, applied new asphalt on many campus streets and replaced sidewalks, university officials said. A number of classrooms also were upgraded with new projectors, chalkboards, chairs, tables, ceiling fans, fixed seating and wall finishings.

Two University of Colorado at Boulder faculty members have been appointed to new leadership positions by Interim Provost Susan Avery. Professor John Stevenson of English has been named associate vice chancellor for graduate education and associate dean of the graduate school replacing Adrian Del Caro. Professor Jeff Cox, of the departments of English and Comparative Literature and Humanities, is the new associate vice chancellor for faculty affairs replacing Susan Kent.

The formation and evolution of stars and planets and their connection to the origin of life on Earth will be explored at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Fiske Planetarium in September. John Bally, a professor in the astrophysical and planetary sciences department, will present "The Birth of Stars and Planets" on Thursday, Sept. 1, and Friday, Sept. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Bally's talk is part of the planetarium's fall 2005 schedule of astronomy presentations given by CU-Boulder professors and guest lecturers.

Students and employees at the University of Colorado at Boulder are reminded to take precautions with local wildlife in order to avoid contracting contagious diseases. Wildlife-related diseases reported in Boulder County this summer include plague, hantavirus, tularemia and rabies, according to campus and county health officials. The CU-Boulder campus is home to many animals including squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, prairie dogs and bats.

As part of the largest project of its kind in recent years, University of Colorado at Boulder Facilities Management officials have invested $1.2 million to improve the appearance, comfortableness and overall maintainability of campus classroom facilities. Carpeting, paint, new furniture and other upgrades were all part of the campus-wide Classroom Improvement Initiative implemented during the last year, according to Facilities Management Executive Director Jeff Lipton.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter will be among the featured readers at the ninth annual "Words to Stir the Soul: Readings from the American West" events presented by the University of Colorado at Boulder's Center of the American West. The programs will be held Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. at the LoDo Tattered Cover Book Store at 1628 16th St. in Denver and on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. in Old Main Chapel on the CU-Boulder campus. Both are free and open to the public.

University of Colorado at Boulder students out after dark this school year will have a safe, reliable way to get home thanks to the CU NightRide campus program. Formerly known as NightRide/NightWalk, the program provides free, nighttime escorts to CU-Boulder students, staff and faculty around campus and anywhere within the Boulder city limits.