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A new study led by University of Colorado at Boulder researchers indicates Mars has been primarily a cold, dry planet following its formation some 4 billion years ago, making the possibility of the evolution of life there challenging at best. Led by CU-Boulder doctoral candidate Teresa Segura and her adviser, Professor Owen B. Toon, the team used Mars photos and computer models to show that large asteroids or comets hit the planet some 3.5 billion years ago. These impacts apparently occurred about the time major river channels were formed on the Red Planet, said Segura.

The Office of Diversity and Equity at the University of Colorado at Boulder has selected six faculty recipients of two fellowship programs for the fall semester, according to Associate Vice Chancellor Ofelia Miramontes. There are four winners of the Implementation of Multicultural Perspectives and Approaches in Research and Teaching grants and two winners of the Big 12 Faculty Fellowships. IMPART awardees are Asuncion Horno-Delgado of the department of Spanish and Portuguese, Suzanne Magnanini of French and Italian and Kay Miller and Yumi Janairo Roth, both of fine arts.

The CU-Boulder Office of News Services is forwarding this release, received today from the Modern Language Association of America. New York, NY - November 27, 2002 - The Modern Language Association of America today announced it is awarding its ninth annual Prize for a First Book to Bruce W. Holsinger, assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, for "Music, Body, and Desire in Medieval Culture: Hildegaard of Bingen to Chaucer," published by Stanford University Press.

When the producers of "Gangs of New York," the new Martin Scorsese blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio, needed to figure out what music was appropriate for the movie's setting in 1800s New York City, they called the American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. So when the movie opens Dec. 20, CU-Boulder College of Music Professor Tom Riis, who provided the answers, will be in a theater listening closely and watching for a line in the end credits thanking the University of Colorado Libraries.

Six students, including a nontraditional student age 30 or older, will receive scholarship awards of $1,000 or $500 courtesy of the Center for Educational and Career Transition at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Undergraduate student Christina Zigler won a $1,000 scholarship and fellow undergraduates Tawnya Parker and Melissa Spannuth received scholarships for $500. Graduate students Manoela Borges and Maria Tsukernik and nontraditional student Katalin Lustyik all received $1,000 scholarships.

The University of Colorado at Boulder's Fiske Planetarium and Sommers-Bausch Observatory will be open to the public for a special viewing of Saturn on Friday, Dec. 6, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., weather permitting. The free event is the first in a series planned for the upcoming year to celebrate the Cassini spacecraft mission to explore Saturn. After a seven-year journey, the spacecraft will arrive at the planet in July 2004.

Professor Emeritus Albert Bartlett of the University of Colorado at Boulder physics department will give his classic lecture on "Arithmetic, Population and Energy" for the 1,468th time on Saturday, Dec. 7. His talk, part of the new monthly Saturday Physics Series, will begin at 2 p.m. in Duane Physics room G1B20 on the CU-Boulder campus.

The important community ritual of Matachines music and dance will be discussed by University of Colorado at Boulder Associate Professor Brenda M. Romero as part of the Chancellor's Community Lecture Series on Wednesday, Dec. 4. The 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.

A new student group called MOSAIC at the University of Colorado at Boulder has been formed to provide students the chance to meet other students of multiple ethnicities. "We would like to give students who do not identify with a single race an opportunity to meet other people in similar situations and to make friends and enjoy the activities we are planning," said founder Masaru Torito, who is of Japanese and Panamanian descent. Activities being planned for the group include guest speakers, movie night, counseling services and workshops.

Planetary rovers, Lego robots and machines that walk on water will be among approximately 60 student-built machines and inventions shown at the CU-Boulder Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory's Fall Design Expo on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Expo is a popular educational event for families and the highlight of the semester for more than 300 undergraduates.