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The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ Natural Hazards Center will conduct a groundbreaking study of disaster preparedness among nonprofit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of a $1.3 million grant. The grant was announced today by the Fritz Institute, a San-Francisco-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the effectiveness of disaster relief operations around the world.

A candlelight vigil and conversation in remembrance of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings will be held April 18 on the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ campus at 6 p.m. at the Dalton Trumbo Fountain Court on the north side of the University Memorial Center.

Following are faculty and staff sources at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ who can comment on today's shooting at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ is responding in a number of ways to today's shooting at Virginia Tech including offering students counseling services, and a variety of community outreach efforts in residence halls. In addition, the campus will issue reminders on safety precautions.

Conference on World Affairs participant and presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware spoke Friday at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ on the topic "America's Interest, Iraq's Future." Sen. Biden's talk from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. today in Macky Auditorium on the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ campus focused on his plan to withdraw American troops from Iraq and to help stabilize the Iraqi government.

Conference on World Affairs participant Joseph Wilson spoke Thursday at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ on the topic "The Politics of Truth." Wilson's talk from 9:30-11:30 a.m. today in Macky Auditorium on the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ campus focused on the controversy surrounding his wife, retired CIA Operative Valerie Plame-Wilson, who is at the center of a Justice Department investigation to determine who was involved in disclosing her identity to reporters in the spring of 2003.

Fiske Planetarium and Sommers-Bausch Observatory will celebrate National Astronomy Day on the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ campus on Saturday, April 21, with an array of family-oriented activities from noon to 10 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, will include demonstrations of the new Science on a Sphere exhibit at Fiske Planetarium and numerous educational activities focused on astronomy in the planetarium and observatory. The observatory's telescopes also will be available for public use after 8 p.m., weather permitting.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ has received a $99,376 grant from the Daniels Fund to enhance K-12 student achievement in science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM. The funds will be used to support three College of Engineering and Applied Science programs designed to move K-12 students in Colorado toward STEM success in higher education. Students with backgrounds typically underrepresented in engineering -- including girls, minority students, low-income youth and first-generation college-bound youngsters -- will be targeted.

The Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program of the University of Colorado Law School has received more than $750,000 from private and non-profit donors to help establish a new clinic and to fund research. Pam Samuelson and Robert Glushko of Berkeley, Calif., have donated $500,000 to establish a Technology Policy Law Clinic. The donation follows a $250,000 gift from the Dale Hatfield Research and Scholars Program to create a fund to support technology policy research, regulatory education and stipends for students to pursue public interest work in technology policy.

Conference on World Affairs Speaker Rachel Maddow spoke Wednesday morning at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ on the topic "Can America Take a Punch: Reactions and Overreactions to Terrorism." Maddow's talk from 9-10 a.m. today in Macky Auditorium on the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ campus focused on America's ability to provide basic necessities in the face of natural or manmade disasters such as Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina.