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A biological terror attack defense system, a supersensitive cancer-detecting device and a rotary demolition hammer delivering 1,600 blows per minute are among the products and services proposed by University of Colorado at Boulder students in a business plan competition that will award more than $10,000 to winning teams Dec. 10 and 11. The finals of the 2003 Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, will take place Dec. 10 for undergraduate teams and Dec. 11 for graduate teams.

Graduation rates at the University of Colorado at Boulder are the highest in decades and, contrary to popular belief, most graduating students are earning their degrees in four years, university officials said. Sixty-eight percent of students who enrolled in 1997 as full-time freshmen at CU-Boulder graduated within six years, according to university statistics. And of those students who graduated within six years, more than half -- 54 percent -- graduated within four years.

Editors: Jacob Pritchard can be reached while he is in Central America by e-mail and by telephone at about 5 p.m. MST each day at 011-52-33-3631-5279. A University of Colorado at Boulder student leaves for Honduras Dec. 6 to document a $10 billion Central American road project that will connect the city of Puebla, located about 60 miles southeast of Mexico City, with Panama City, Panama.

The University of Colorado at Boulder Leeds School of Business will present its 39th annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook Forum at 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15, at the Denver Marriott City Center. The event at 1701 California St. in Denver is free and open to the public. No reservations are required. The comprehensive state economic outlook for 2004 features trends and forecasts prepared by more than 80 key business, government and industry professionals and is compiled by the Business Research Division at the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business.

A $5 million University of Colorado at Boulder satellite dubbed the "Little Satellite That Did" now is expected to re-enter the atmosphere and burn up in late November or early December following a successful six-year mission.

The High Desert Museum in Bend, Ore., has named Distinguished University of Colorado at Boulder Law Professor Charles Wilkinson as the recipient of its 2003 Earle A. Chiles Award. The award includes a $15,000 cash prize and will be presented to Wilkinson on Dec. 2 at the annual Earle A. Chiles Award Banquet in Portland, Ore.

Amelia Earhart, a sophomore at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a relative of the famous aviator, is accustomed to surprised expressions, corny jokes and questions about whether she likes to fly. "Anytime I have to introduce myself to someone with my full name, the reaction is always, 'Wow, are you serious?' " Earhart said. "Everyone's pretty interested in it, and I'm glad about that. No one ever forgets my name."

The latest news and scientific objectives of the Cassini spacecraft mission to Saturn will be explored at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Fiske Planetarium on Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. Carolyn Porco, a senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder and an adjunct professor at CU-Boulder and the University of Arizona, will present her show "Ten Astronomical Units from the Sun - the Cassini Spacecraft Reaches Saturn."

The University of Colorado at Boulder's "Competing with Class" campaign will be in effect during the Nebraska football game in an effort to dissuade potentially rowdy fans from behaving like turkeys on the day after Thanksgiving. The campaign was initiated earlier this year to increase communication about expectations for high levels of sportsmanship and strengthened enforcement of university policies following recent reports of unruly fan behavior.

°µÍø½ûÇø 60 student-built devices and inventions ranging from a daguerreotype camera and other examples of pre-20th century technology to a liquid nitrogen engine and robotic tour guide will be demonstrated to the public at the ITLL Fall Design Expo on Saturday, Dec. 6.