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The history and development of astrology will be examined at Fiske Planetarium on March 10 and 11. Lecturer Matthew Tearle and graduate student David Beltran-del-Rio, both of CU-Boulder's applied mathematics department, will present the "Science of the Signs" at 7:30 p.m. on both days. During the show, which is intended for a general audience, they will examine the relationship between astrology and astronomy. They also will discuss equinoxes and solstices, and issues regarding setting calendars and timekeeping from the sky.

Judith Ramaley, former president of two universities and a nationally recognized leader in higher education reform, will speak at the University of Colorado at Boulder on March 8 at 3:30 p.m. in Old Main Chapel. Ramaley's talk on "Renewing and Reinvigorating the Civic Mission of the University" is sponsored by the proposed CU-Boulder Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement. The event is free and open to the public.

Editor's Note: Photographers or reporters who wish to attend should contact Amanda Lewis or Mike Liguori at the numbers listed above. Five jazz vocalists from the University of Colorado at Boulder will open the Feb. 25 session of the Colorado State Senate with a performance of three songs.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY Photographers and reporters are welcome to attend the annual Colorado-Wyoming Junior Academy of Science visit that will bring more than 80 high school science enthusiasts to CU-Boulder for a first-hand look at a major research university on Thursday, Feb. 24. The young scientists, all members of the Junior Academy of Science, will hear presentations from some of the campus's leading faculty and will visit several University of Colorado at Boulder research facilities.

Sixteen University of Colorado at Boulder faculty members, researchers and graduate students will address topics ranging from space policy under the Bush Administration and decision making in the "new" nuclear age to policy implications of climate change on Friday, Feb. 25.

University of Colorado at Boulder chemistry and biochemistry Distinguished Professor Marvin Caruthers has been named winner of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences Award for Chemistry in Service to Society. Caruthers was honored for developing several processes to synthesize DNA, the genetic material that makes up the building blocks of life. Caruthers' research in nucleic acid chemistry laid the foundation for the automatic synthesis of DNA achieved with devices popularly known as "gene machines."

Ryan Gill, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has received two major awards supporting his research and teaching in genomics totaling $1.15 million over the next five years. The awards include a National Science Foundation CAREER Award worth $400,000 and a National Institutes of Health K25 Mentored Career Development Award worth $750,000. Both awards were announced in January and recognize excellence in teaching and research by a young faculty member.

The deputy director of the federal agency responsible for insuring millions of American's pensions will speak March 11 at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Business and the Broader Culture Symposium. The free symposium, "Corporate Retirement Security: Social and Ethical Issues," will be held from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Boulderado Hotel, 2115 13th St. in Boulder. The event is hosted by the Center for Business and Society of the Leeds School of Business.

The Chancellor's Committee on Women at the University of Colorado at Boulder is holding a series of meetings in February and March to get feedback about the campus environment for women. The series of "town-hall" style meetings was organized to get feedback from women on campus about issues such as gender equity, harassment and intimidation, opportunities for leadership and advancement, and balancing the demands of work and private lives.

Note to Editors: Contents embargoed until 1:45 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb 20. Massive solar storms that hammered Earth's space environment in fall 2003 and turned a normally safe region for satellites into a hazardous zone of energetic particles may not be as cyclic as once believed, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder professor.