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University of Colorado at Boulder astronomers have discovered what they believe to be dozens of potential stellar cocoons within a giant star-forming region that may harbor disks of dust and gas that could one day form planetary systems. "This is the first large population of so-called 'proplyd' objects to be found outside of the Orion Nebula, the closest region to Earth known to be forming massive stars," said CU-Boulder postdoctoral researcher Nathan Smith of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy.

Time travel and antimatter are often the subjects of sci-fi fantasy, but the real physics behind these and other concepts will be discussed Jan. 11 when the University of Colorado at Boulder physics department presents its free Saturday Physics Series lecture. "Time Traveling with Physics," a presentation by Professor Patricia Rankin, will begin at 2 p.m. in room G1B20 of the Duane Physics and Astrophysics building on the CU-Boulder campus.

When Earth's sun expands into a red giant star in roughly five billion years, long after Earth has become uninhabitable, the hydrogen core will be burned out and the bloated outer shell will be cool and murky.

Carlos García, director of the University Memorial Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been elected to a two-year term as member-at-large of the Board of Trustees for the Association of College Unions International. The appointment begins in March 2004 at the conclusion of the annual national conference in Washington, D.C.

The connections between work, energy, heat and temperature will be explained during the Saturday, Jan. 18, CU Wizards show on "Heat, Temperature and Absolute Zero." Paul Beale, a physics professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will present the show at 9:30 a.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30. The show, aimed primarily at students in grades five through nine, is free and open to the public.

Habitat loss in the West and what people can do about it will be addressed by CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Sharon Collinge as part of the Chancellor's Community Lecture Series on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Her talk will be from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Chautauqua Community House at 900 Baseline Road in Boulder and is free and open to the public. No reservations are required.

University of Colorado at Boulder researchers have found, ironically, that two pollutants -- carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons emitted from agricultural forest trees -- offset each other somewhat in mitigating air quality problems. Carbon dioxide, believed by scientists to be a major factor in greenhouse warming, has been shown to reduce "agriforest" emissions of hydrocarbons that contribute to ground-based ozone pollution, according to CU-Boulder doctoral candidate Todd Rosenstiel of the environmental, population and organismic, or EPO, biology department.

Students who pursue careers in advertising at the University of Colorado at Boulder have the opportunity to learn from Kendra Gale, a new assistant professor with extensive advertising industry experience. Gale teaches advertising research and advertising campaign classes at the school of journalism and mass communication and hopes to add courses in account planning and advertising strategy to the advertising sequence.

Two University of Colorado at Boulder faculty have been elected Fellows of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science for 2002. Professor Michael Breed of CU-Boulder's environmental, population and organismic biology department was cited for his pioneering research on nest-mate recognition mechanisms in social insects that have illuminated the understanding of kin selection as a potential force in evolution.

Professor William Wood of the molecular, cellular and developmental biology department at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Dec. 19 received the prestigious title of distinguished professor from the CU Board of Regents. Wood joins only 19 other CU-Boulder faculty members who currently hold the title of distinguished professor.