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Ten University of Colorado at Boulder faculty and staff members received the 2006 Marinus G. Smith Recognition Awards from the CU Parents Association. The award recognizes CU-Boulder faculty, instructors and staff who have made a significant impact on the lives of one or more CU-Boulder undergraduates. Â鶹ÒùÔº and parents were asked to nominate candidates who were deserving of this recognition.

An opportunity for University of Colorado at Boulder students to rub shoulders with national leaders during the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute's national conference in Chicago March 9-12 was made easier by a donation from Southwest Airlines. As part of CU-Boulder's Collegiate Leadership Development Program, students, faculty and staff travel each year to the national conference to network and learn leadership skills from an array of speakers attending the conference, which is expected to draw about 6,000 people.

NEWS TIP SHEET South Dakota lawmakers this week approved the nation's most rigid abortion law, virtually banning abortion in the state. But according to University of Colorado at Boulder law Professor Richard Collins, the South Dakota abortion statute most likely will be rejected in the lower courts because it is similar to the Texas law that was overturned in Roe vs. Wade.

The University of Colorado at Boulder Center of the American West will present a talk by author and historian David Wrobel on March 22 addressing how K-12 teachers and college professors can collaborate -- and have collaborated -- in the teaching of history. The talk, "Partnerships for the Future Built on the Past: How Professors and K-12 Teachers Together Can Revive the Study of History," will be presented at 6 p.m. in room 235 of the University Memorial Center on the CU-Boulder campus. The event is free and open to the public. A reception and book signing will follow.

Screaming water, rising cakes and cooking without heat are some of the topics to be explored during the CU Wizards show "Chemistry in the Kitchen!" on Saturday, March 18, at 9:30 a.m. in the Cristol Chemistry building, room 140. University of Colorado at Boulder chemistry and biochemistry Professor David Nesbitt will present the free hour-long show that will explore the science lurking in the refrigerator and on the kitchen stove.

The University of Colorado at Boulder will kick off the first ever Boulder Solar Day by hosting a March 20 lecture by Alan Title, a nationally known solar physicist at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, Calif. The talk, "Toward Understanding the Sun: Following the Trail of the Magnetic Field From the Solar Interior Through the Heliosphere," will be held at 7:30 p.m. in room A2B70 of the MCD Biology Building. The talk is free and open to the public.

Nobel laureate and Distinguished Professor Carl Wieman of the University of Colorado at Boulder will testify March 15 before the U.S. House Science Committee in Washington, D.C., on the importance of undergraduate science education and how to improve it.

University of Colorado at Boulder Professor Emeritus Neil Ashby has been honored by the largest professional society of physics educators in the country for outstanding work in introducing physics to students and the general public.

The facts in the ongoing debate about evolutionary theory and intelligent design will be discussed during a Saturday Physics Series talk March 18 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Jamie Nagle, an associate professor of physics at CU-Boulder, will present his talk on "Evolution, Intelligent Design Creationism and Physics" at 2 p.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30. The presentation is free and open to the public and is intended for high school students, teachers and adults.

John "Jan" Hall, 2005 winner of the Nobel Prize in physics for his work in harnessing light to make ultra-precise measurements, will be honored with a public celebration at the University of Colorado at Boulder on March 17.