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High school women interested in exploring the many opportunities a career in engineering can open up are invited to register for "Engineering Career Day" on Saturday, March 2, at the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder. The all-day program, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., will introduce ninth through 12th grade students to the field of engineering and engage them in hands-on activities. Participants will meet women who study and work in the field of engineering, and tour the CU-Boulder campus with college students.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has awarded the Natural Resources Law Center (NRLC) at the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ School of Law a $180,000 grant to research a valuable energy resource in the West: coal-bed methane. "Coal-bed methane is an issue that has received insufficient attention by academics, activists, media and industry," said project director Gary Bryner. "The tremendous increase in development of CBM poses huge challenges to local communities and ecosystems."

A photography exhibit by Ken Abbott, CU-Boulder's principal photographer, will be on display in Norlin Library's third floor northwest gallery from Feb. 11 to March 15, featuring Abbott's 15 years of work at CU. An opening reception will be held Friday, Feb. 15, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Norlin Library's fifth floor Center for British Studies.

EDITORS: Reporters are encouraged to attend. There is no charge for reporters. Gov. Bill Owens will be the keynote speaker at the 2002 CU Real Estate Council Annual Conference, "2002: Finding the Silver Lining." Owens will discuss the growth, education and transportation issues facing Colorado. The conference is Feb. 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California St.

Some Colorado 10th-graders will discover how fireflies light up and how plants turn sunlight into food during a Feb. 12 demonstration developed by the CU-Boulder Chemistry and Biochemistry Club. The Cool and Creative Chemistry presentation for about 240 Poudre High School students will examine how chemical-reaction energy is used to fuel living things. Metabolism, respiration, photosynthesis and bioluminescence will be illustrated in eye-catching experiments.

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder initiated 87 students from the College of Arts and Sciences into the Phi Beta Kappa honorary organization in December. Phi Beta Kappa generally taps the top 6 percent of graduates receiving degrees in the liberal arts each semester. Members must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.65 and have completed 100 credit hours of course work.

A $10,000 grant to help foster development of African art and cultural resources in the Rocky Mountain region has been awarded to J. Terrence McCabe, associate professor of anthropology at CU-Boulder, and Laura DeLuca, a doctoral candidate in cultural anthropology. They are working to bring together and provide resources to area residents, teachers, artists and nonprofit and private businesses with an interest in African culture. The funding will benefit the community through teacher workshops and a public celebration with African food, music and dance.

A team of five CU-Boulder MBA students will become venture capitalists for a day at the West Regional Venture Capital Investment Competition at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, Lloyd Grief Center for Entrepreneurial Studies on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9. The one-of-a-kind competition gives MBA students from top business schools a real-life venture capital experience. Teams are placed in the role of a venture capital firm reviewing business plans and presentations from real companies seeking investment.

A team of five CU-Boulder MBA students will become venture capitalists for a day at the West Regional Venture Capital Investment Competition at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, Lloyd Grief Center for Entrepreneurial Studies on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9. The one-of-a-kind competition gives MBA students from top business schools a real-life venture capital experience. Teams are placed in the role of a venture capital firm reviewing business plans and presentations from real companies seeking investment.

Paintings, poetry and 3-D sculpture will adorn a cultural center inside the CU-Boulder University Memorial Center this spring, and the project's coordinator is looking for students and local artists to contribute. Shanti Zaid, a sophomore ethnic studies and history major, is hoping the project he proposed will "provide a space within CU-Boulder for students to express themselves artistically." The display is planned to be completed by April, and will hang in the Dennis Small Cultural Center in the UMC.