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A NASA satellite designed, built and controlled by the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ is expected to help scientists resolve wide-ranging predictions about the coming solar cycle peak in 2012 and its influence on Earth's warming climate, according to the chief scientist on the project.

Those who like the drier than normal weather Colorado has experienced in recent weeks will like the forecast for the rest of the winter. According to University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ and NOAA atmospheric scientist Klaus Wolter, a moderate to strong La Niña in the equatorial Pacific Ocean is not likely to fend off the threat of drier than normal weather for the state this winter. "What I've seen so far is, it's just not too encouraging, especially for December, January and February," Wolter said of the prospects for winter moisture in Colorado.

Making a classroom geyser from mints and soda and creating magic sand will be among the experiments highlighting the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ’s Nov. 17 CU Wizards show “Go With the Flow.” CU-Â鶹ӰԺ faculty member Janet deGrazia of the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department will present the show at 9:30 a.m. in room 140 of the Cristol Chemistry and Biochemistry Building on the Â鶹ӰԺ campus.

Students at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ are evaluating the energy efficiency of several Denver buildings run by nonprofit agencies, and their recommendations will be implemented with help from Energy Outreach Colorado, the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology (iCAST) and the city of Denver. Â鶹ӰԺ 25 students enrolled in Building Energy Audits, a course in civil, environmental and architectural engineering taught by CU-Â鶹ӰԺ Professor Moncef Krarti, are working in teams this fall to evaluate 18 buildings used as residential shelters.

A global climate researcher, a top admissions administrator, two professors, a graduate student adviser and three undergraduate students will receive awards today for their efforts to promote international education and intercultural understanding at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. Each year, the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ Office of International Education, or OIE, confers its Global Citizens Awards upon students, staff and professors who "enrich the campus with their presence and serve as role models," said Study Abroad Administrator Nathan Frank.

Former Secretary of Defense William Perry will meet with faculty and students in a roundtable discussion at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ Law School today as part of a campus visit for the College of Arts and Sciences' "Dialogue on Defense" program, which is bringing Perry to CU-Â鶹ӰԺ. The roundtable from 10 a.m. to noon will be in the Wittemyer Courtroom on the first floor of the Wolf Law Building. The roundtable is not open to the public but media are invited to attend.

Scientists of the international Pierre Auger Collaboration that included a University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ co-author have found that active galactic nuclei, thought to be powered by black holes, are the most likely candidate for the source of the highest-energy cosmic rays that hit Earth.

Retired NASA Mercury astronaut and University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ alumnus Scott Carpenter, the second American to orbit Earth, will be on campus Nov. 15 to present a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation to University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ senior Ben Safdi.

A national foundation that recognizes the achievements of science, engineering and medical scholars will award $166,000 in scholarships to Colorado students during an annual luncheon next week at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. The Colorado chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Students, or ARCS Foundation, will hold its annual scholar luncheon at noon on Thursday, Nov. 15, in the Stadium Club at CU-Â鶹ӰԺ’s Folsom Field.

Paul Leef, who has had more than 20 years of building and renovation experience in higher education, has been named director of planning, design and construction and campus architect at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. Leef will oversee the next phase of improvements and new construction to the 9.3 million-square-feet of campus buildings. His appointment in the Department of Facilities Management will become effective on Nov. 12.