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The Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory at the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder has won a three-year, $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a hands-on, pre-engineering curriculum for students in grades three through five. The grant from the highly competitive Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education was awarded to engineering faculty member Janet deGrazia, who is the director of outreach for the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory in the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business Dean Steven Manaster and Dean of Continuing Education Anne Heinz have appointed Deanna Knowles as director of CU's Center for Business Education. "Deanna's extensive background in business development will greatly benefit the Center for Business Education's goals to provide quality continuing education in business," said Manaster.

Two ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder researchers working with GenoPlex Inc. in Denver have identified a biological switch that controls lifespan in tiny worms, a finding that could have applications for mammals, including people.

New ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder research indicates the massive Columbia Glacier in Alaska will continue to increase its rate of recession over the next decade, possibly retreating as much as 10 miles in that time and creating a new fjord. The findings represent more than 25 years of study of the glacier by CU-Boulder Emeritus Professor Mark Meier of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research. Meier will present his findings Tuesday Dec. 11, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Calif.

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder will confer 1,898 degrees on Friday, Dec. 21, during university commencement ceremonies at the Coors Events/Conference Center. The commencement ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. and last about an hour. Guests are expected to be in their seats by 9:10 a.m. and early arrival is strongly suggested due to possible traffic delays. The ceremony is free and open to the public and no tickets are required.

Editor's Note: A press briefing on the subject with Armstrong will be held 11 a.m. Monday Dec. 10 in room 112 of the Moscone Center in San Francisco. New Study Shows Early Signals Of Climate Change In Earth's Cold Regions Global mean temperatures have risen one degree Fahrenheit over the past 100 years, with more than half of the increase occurring in the last 25 years, according to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder Senior Researcher Richard Armstrong.

CU-Boulder business and engineering students will compete for $47,500 in prize money at the semi-annual Bank One Business Plan Competition Dec. 12. Bank One's five-year support of the event has helped it grow into a nationally recognized competition.

Sommers-Bausch Observatory at the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder will host a special public open house on Friday, Dec. 14, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., to allow visitors to safely view a partial eclipse of the sun using the observatory's solar telescope. According to Keith Gleason, a coordinator at the observatory, the moon will obscure 15 percent of the diameter of the sun at maximum eclipse, which occurs at 2:40 p.m. local time.

The CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business will present its 37th annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook Forum at 1:15 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17, in the Grand Ballroom at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. The comprehensive state outlook features trends and forecasts prepared by more than 70 key business, government and industry professionals and is compiled by the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business.

On Dec. 12, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder's student "Solar Decathlon" team will unveil its design of a model solar home, which will generate enough energy to meet daily household needs and even power an electric vehicle. The team will present its design at a reception with Paul Farnan, congressional assistant to Congressman Mark Udall, and Richard King, program manager with the U.S. Department of Energy. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the CU Henderson Museum, located on Broadway near 15th Street.