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Note to Editors: For media registration information regarding the conference, contact CU-Â鶹ӰԺ's Emily CoBabe Ammann at (303) 735-5814. A four-day, international NASA Astrobiology conference in Â鶹ӰԺ hosted by the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ will include a public symposium April 13 on campus featuring talks by three prominent scientists and a theologian.

Thirteen University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ faculty and staff members received the 2005 Marinus G. Smith Recognition Awards from the CU Parents Association. The award recognizes CU-Â鶹ӰԺ faculty, instructors and staff who have made a significant impact on the lives of one or more CU-Â鶹ӰԺ undergraduates. Students and parents were asked to nominate candidates who were deserving of this recognition.

A photography exhibit by a University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ professor featuring landscapes altered by human construction in the West will be on public display through the month of April at Â鶹ӰԺ's National Center for Atmospheric Research. Titled "The House, the Road, and the Valley," the exhibit was created to show how modern culture has changed the landscape in both harmonious and discordant ways, said Tad Pfeffer, associate director of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. The show contains 21 photos of the changing West, many of them on Colorado's Front Range.

A free public screening and discussion of "The Greatest Good," a new documentary film made in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Forest Service, will be presented April 13 at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. The Center of the American West and the International Film Series are presenting the film at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Muenzinger Psychology building on the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ campus. Producer and director Dave Steinke will introduce the film and answer questions from the audience.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ's highest faculty recognition for teaching and research, the Hazel Barnes Prize, has been awarded to sociology professor and women's studies senior scholar Janet Jacobs. Jacobs will receive an engraved University Medal and a $20,000 cash award, the largest single faculty award funded by CU-Â鶹ӰԺ. She will be recognized at spring commencement exercises May 6 and a reception in her honor will be held during fall semester 2005.

A five-student team from the University of Colorado has won $50,000 in a national urban design competition held in Salt Lake City. The CU team defeated student teams from Harvard University, Columbia University and the University of Texas at Austin in the finals of the competition held April 1. The four finalists were selected from 71 submissions to the Urban Land Institute Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition, which is open to graduate students in real estate-related areas of study at universities throughout North America.

The "Colorado Creed," a student initiative to reflect pride and honor in the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ community, will be formally presented April 11 at an unveiling ceremony. Student organizers will be joined by CU-Â鶹ӰԺ Chancellor Phil DiStefano and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Ron Stump in a 1 p.m. ceremony on the south side of Old Main on the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ campus.

Seventeen University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ School of Journalism students will get a chance to apply classroom knowledge to the world of professional sports broadcasting on Saturday, April 2. With permission from Altitude Sports Network, students from journalism instructor Chad Wachs' sports broadcasting class will broadcast and tape the 7 p.m. Colorado Mammoth versus Anaheim Storm National Lacrosse League contest at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

The entrepreneurship program at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ's Leeds School of Business has been ranked 14th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report in its 2006 Best Graduate Schools edition, up from 15th in the 2005 edition. This year's ranking marks the sixth consecutive year the program has been ranked among the top 20 programs nationally.

Five University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ graduate specialty programs were rated in the top 20 nationally in a new but limited U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings report scheduled for release April 1.