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Faculty in the new Hazel Gates Woodruff Senior Scholars Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder will hold a book talk Dec. 3 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Woodruff Women's Studies Cottage reading room. "Woodruff Senior Scholars are tenured men and women faculty who are distinguished in their fields," said Professor Polly McLean, interim director of women's studies. "They have a history of teaching and a record of substantial scholarship and research in women, gender and sexuality studies, among other areas."

A super-cold collection of molecules behaving in perfect unison has been created for the first time from a sea of "fermion" atoms by researchers at JILA, a joint institute of the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder).

The University of Colorado at Boulder's Fiske Planetarium will explore the origins of traditions such as menorah candles, solstice bonfires, mistletoe and the Christmas star during the holiday show "Season of Light." The program will be shown on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons during the holiday season. The Friday shows are Dec. 12 and Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m., and the Saturday shows are Dec. 6, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. The presentation investigates the origins of why the holidays are celebrated the way they are and is suitable for all ages.

Professor Andrew Martin of the University of Colorado at Boulder will lecture Dec. 3 on strategies that saved two native species from the grip of extinction: the Devil's Hole pupfish and Colorado's greenback cutthroat trout. "The Challenge of Native Fish Species Conservation: A Tail of Two Species" will begin at 7 p.m. in the Chautauqua Community House at 900 Baseline Road in Boulder. The talk is part of the 2003-04 Chancellor's Community Lecture Series and is free and open to the public.

As joyous as the holidays can be for many people, they can also be a very stressful time for others. According to CU-Boulder Psychologist Jan Johnson, anyone who has ever experienced stress during the holidays should try to plan activities that will help them relieve the stress.

The recent mutual fund industry scandal will be the topic of a Dec. 2 panel discussion presented by the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business. Called "Mutual Fund Scandal: Finance, Ethics and Remediation," the discussion will be held at 5 p.m. in Eaton Humanities Building room 1B50 on the CU-Boulder campus. Following the discussion, which is free and open to the public, there will be a question and answer session.

The University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries system is participating in a free new service called AskColorado that will answer reference questions around the clock via the Internet. The service allows anyone in the state to use the Web to ask questions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without waiting. Using a chat format and online information resources, library staff volunteers answer questions immediately, help find information and point people in the right direction.

The holidays are right around the corner, and for many people that means heading to the mall in search of the perfect gift. But University of Colorado at Boulder Leeds School of Business Professor Donald Lichtenstein says don't let the Christmas rush get in the way of smart shopping. For many, the bombardment of gift ideas and promotions has already begun in the form of store catalogs, television and newspaper advertisements announcing sales, coupons promising savings and "wish lists" from loved ones.

A large number of new flu cases at the University of Colorado at Boulder has campus health officials warning that students, as well as faculty and staff members, should learn to recognize the early symptoms of flu and take steps to see a physician immediately if they experience more than one of the typical symptoms. CU-Boulder's Wardenburg Health Center is now averaging 20 new cases of flu among students daily since the first cases appeared on campus Nov. 5, the day before a campuswide clinic was held offering flu and meningitis shots.

NEWS TIP SHEET CU-Boulder's director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Daniel Baker, has been selected by the University of Washington's Mindlin Foundation Committee as its 2003 recipient to visit Seattle and speak on his research to students and the public.