Â鶹ÒùÔº

University partners are developing enabling laser technologies of critical importance to the national economy FORT COLLINS -Officials from three leading research universities today announced a $17 million National Science Foundation grant to develop laser technologies that will be used to help create the smallest, most powerful computer circuits ever developed as well as other advanced nanotechnologies.

The search for extraterrestrial life and the mysterious invisible matter that comprises most of the universe will be discussed in October during Fiske Planetarium presentations at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "The Invisible Universe: Searching for Dark Matter" will take place Oct. 10 and Oct. 14, while "Beyond UFOs: What Science Really Tells Us About Extraterrestrial Life" will be held Oct. 24 and Oct. 28. Both shows are part of the fall 2003 monthly astronomy talks.

The University of Colorado at Boulder is deeply concerned about the health and safety of its students, including alcohol abuse and underage drinking. Both are long-term societal problems that require long-term educational and social initiatives to curb. For universities, each year is a challenge with a new wave of students coming to campus – many of them already struggling with alcohol problems. Another challenge for all universities is the enormous investment by the alcohol industry in marketing and promotion.

Within three days of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, university researchers joined emergency personnel at Ground Zero and other locations to begin studying the events' aftermath and recovery efforts. The results of their studies were published this week by the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center based at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Kathleen Tierney, a professor of sociology and the new director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will receive $400,000 over five years from the National Science Foundation to take part in a large-scale study of how organizations can use new information technology in responding to disasters.

CU-Boulder senior environmental engineering major Andrew Azman will be honored with a David Brower Youth Award today in Berkeley, Calif., for his work on the conversion of University of Colorado buses and trucks to biodiesel -- a vegetable oil based alternative fuel source that significantly lowers harmful emissions.

A public symposium on "Terror Versus Freedom: Can Homeland Security Coexist With Civil Liberties?" will be presented Oct. 8 by the University of Colorado at Boulder Graduate School. The event begins at 7 p.m. in University Memorial Center room 235 and will feature talks by four outstanding members of the CU-Boulder graduate faculty.

Lawrence F. Silverman, a retired University of Colorado administrator and professor of Russian history, formerly of Boulder, died on Sept. 10 in Charlottesville, Va. He was 81.

Editors: Review copies of the journal are available by contacting Steven Wingate at (303) 735-4669 or Steven.Wingate@Colorado.EDU . Joanne Greenberg, author of "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden," is among a stellar lineup of writers, artists and poets contributing to the University of Colorado at Boulder's new Western-focused literary journal, "divide."

The University of Colorado at Boulder received $250,436,110 in sponsored research awards for the 2003 fiscal year, setting a new campus record. NASA and its affiliates led the way for the federal government with $53,122,463 contributing to CU-Boulder's extensive space research. The National Science Foundation was close behind, awarding the campus $46,274,074. The Department of Health and Human Services awarded CU-Boulder nearly $38 million and the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the campus just over $32 million.