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A natural hazards expert at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ says Hurricane Floyd illustrates the increased risk the United States faces from large but infrequent natural events like gigantic hurricanes. The cost of natural hazards in the United States has averaged as much as $1 billion per week since 1989 and is expected to keep rising, according to Professor Dennis Mileti, chair of the sociology department and director of the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center.

Editors: Photos are available through Geoff Skelton, (303) 492-5002. Fasten your belts and get ready for takeoff. Anyone whoÂ’s never been to Mars, Venus, Neptune or Pluto better take note: the ship is leaving from the Fiske Planetarium in Â鶹ӰԺ, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. Captain Ann Dromeda and her crew plan to explore the nine planets of the solar system, as well as the stars and constellations that decorate the night sky.

A domed astronomical observatory should be in place at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ’s 9,500 foot-elevation Mountain Research Station by early October as a result of a cooperative effort involving four Â鶹ӰԺ groups.

The first of a three-part videoconference on youth violence, followed by a local panel discussion, will be offered to the public on Sept. 21 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. The free videoconference will be held in room 4 of the Coors/Events Conference Center from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m, followed by a panel discussion from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The panel will be moderated by sociology Professor Delbert Elliott, director of the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ center and a national authority on juvenile delinquency.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ is adding five new programs to the existing choices undergraduate students have for studying abroad next year. The new semester study abroad programs will include a field study seminar, which introduces the concept of learning about cultures through field experience, in addition to an independent study project conducted during the last four weeks of the semester. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5, and additional language prerequisites may apply.

Editors: Â鶹ӰԺ 80 seventh-grade students from 22 metro-area middle schools will attend the show as part of a Science Academy with CU-Â鶹ӰԺ's Pre-Collegiate Middle School Academic Program. Precollegiate is designed to motivate educationally and/or economically disadvantaged middle school children to successfully complete their pre-secondary and secondary school careers and prepare them to succeed at and graduate from a post-secondary institution.

Scientists, engineers, students and business representatives will present their latest research findings and exchange new ideas at the 12th annual Colorado Biotechnology Symposium at the University of Colorado on Sept. 14. The conference, to be held at the University Memorial Center, will bring together biotechnology researchers from university, industry and government laboratories in Colorado to share recent research and development progress.

A panel discussion on "Covering Columbine: Decision Making During Crisis" will be held Saturday, Sept. 18, at 11 a.m. in Hale Science, room 270, at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. The seminar is sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Meg Moritz, journalism professor and associate dean, will moderate the discussion. According to Moritz, the discussion will reveal what went on in newsrooms as the story broke and how journalists struggled to be comprehensive, competitive and yet sensitive to an entire community in crisis.

A group from the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ Alumni Association will participate in the Race for the Cure 5K run/walk starting at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 3, at DenverÂ’s Civic Park. CU-Â鶹ӰԺ alumni and friends should call (303) 492-8484 if they wish to join the CU alumni team. The fee is $22. "We are expecting a team of 100 alumni, students and their families to join us on race day," said Kent Zimmerman, president of the CUAA.

Advances in computing and other technology have made the old axiom, "bigger is better," obsolete. Phenomenal miniaturization over the last few decades has led to new products and capabilities once thought impossible. Emerging from this trend is an entirely new discipline known as micro-electro-mechanical systems, or MEMS, which holds promise for even greater advances in transportation, communications, medicine, robotics and defense systems.