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New images of Saturn obtained by a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team on June 21 using an instrument on the Cassini spacecraft show auroral emissions at its poles similar to Earth's Northern Lights.

While legislators are forced to consider short-term energy needs and budget constraints, a University of Colorado at Boulder energy expert is hoping he and his students can clarify long-term options to counter growing energy needs and costs in Colorado and across the country. Paul Komor, a lecturer in environmental studies and civil engineering, focuses his research on energy efficiency, renewable sources of electricity and methods to meet future energy demands.

Note to Editors: Although this event is not open to the public, reporters and photographers are welcome to attend. Photographers are welcome to take pictures of anything except the team members and equipment of the Buckley Air Force Base Civil Support Team for WMD. The University of Colorado at Boulder's Environmental Health and Safety Department will host an Aug. 10 event for local emergency personnel who would respond to hazardous materials spills or incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.

Laura DeLuca, a University of Colorado at Boulder instructor who was among the first group of Westerners invited into Sudan since the civil war began to abate, expressed concern over the recent death of the country's vice president in a helicopter crash July 30. John Garang, a former rebel leader, had played a key role in the Jan. 9 peace agreement that represented the end of a 21-year civil war fueled by historical, religious and resource conflict, she said. The helicopter crash was believed to have been caused by bad weather.

The University of Colorado at Boulder's Buff Energy Star Program has announced a new program that will award cash bonuses of $1,000 to building proctors and their residence hall counterparts who reduce energy use in their buildings by at least 5 percent per square foot for 2005-06.

The University of Colorado at Boulder is investigating a new incident of unauthorized access to computer servers containing information on the CU-Boulder identification card used by students, faculty and staff. The incident creates a potential identity theft problem for all of CU-Boulder's 29,000 students, some former students and any of the approximately 7,000 teaching and research faculty and staff members who are holders of the Buff OneCard. It will not affect incoming students who are not scheduled to receive their Buff OneCards until the start of the semester.

Tom Sebok, director of the Ombuds Office at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been elected secretary of the board of directors of the new International Ombudsman Association. Sebok will have a number of leadership responsibilities for the new group, which is a merger of the University and College Ombuds Association, in which Sebok previously served as secretary, and The Ombudsman Association.

Two dozen 2005 high school graduates are spending four weeks this summer in a "living and learning" environment at the University of Colorado at Boulder, doing research and creative work with faculty members before beginning their freshman studies on campus this fall.

A new seismic station near Aspen, Colo., recorded a mining-induced earthquake earlier this month as it began operating and sending data to a national monitoring network as part of a joint effort by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the U.S. Geological Survey. The Snowmass station, installed June 30, is part of the U.S. Advanced National Seismic System and uses a satellite link to continuously relay data to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

More than 200 high school students, including 168 from Colorado, 40 from other states and three from England, are exploring engineering through hands-on activities at the University of Colorado at Boulder this week. The 38th annual High School Honors Institute is a four-day campus residential program that introduces the creative nature of engineering to high school juniors and seniors who have strong academic records in math and science.