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An Earth-orbiting satellite designed and built primarily by undergraduate CU-Â鶹ӰԺ students will measure atmospheric ozone and solar ultraviolet radiation as part of a larger educational effort involving K-12 students around the world. Dubbed the Citizen Explorer, the 100-pound satellite is slated for launch aboard a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in August 2000. The flight is being provided free of charge by NASA, which has designated the Citizen Explorer as a secondary payload.

Three science instruments launched in 1998 aboard a $5 million satellite designed and built by CU-Â鶹ӰԺ students, faculty and engineers are returning a treasure trove of valuable data, according to project scientists.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ jumped to 28th in the Yahoo! Internet Life survey of AmericaÂ’s Most Wired Colleges 2000, up from 61st last year. CU-Â鶹ӰԺ also now ranks 17th among all public research institutions across the country, and, for the second consecutive year, is first in the Rocky Mountain Time Zone.

On May 4th at 11:30 a.m. the University of Colorado Student Union, the University Memorial Center Board and the UMC Administration will gather with CU-Â鶹ӰԺ students, faculty and staff to celebrate the official groundbreaking ceremony for the UMC Expansion and Renovation project. The event will take place, weather permitting, outside the UMC at the northwest corner of the building. A reception will follow under the existing UMC outdoor arcade.

Students at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ are being advised to keep their end-of-the-year celebrations in check or risk disciplinary action. Ron Stump, interim vice chancellor for student affairs, recently issued an e-mail message to students with information on university and municipal sanctions for public misconduct, as well as tips on how to celebrate safely. "Many students have encountered -- and overcome -- academic and personal challenges during the course of the year," Stump said. "They have reason to celebrate their accomplishments.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ has honored two undergraduate students with the Student Employee of the Year award for the 1999-2000 academic year. Brad Judy, a microsystems support technician for CUÂ’s Information Technology Services, was selected as the first-place winner and Noelle Baroody, student assistant in the Office of International Education, was selected as the second-place winner.

When Carl Wieman of the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ and Eric Cornell of the National Institute of Standards and Technology receive the 2000 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics on April 27, the awards ceremony will be broadcast live on the World Wide Web. For the first time, the Franklin Institute's awards ceremony in Philadelphia can be seen via computer in real time at www.fi.edu . The ceremony, hosted by CBS news anchor Charles Osgood, will begin at 7 p.m. EDT.

John Birks, a professor of chemistry at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ and fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences has been selected to receive CU-Â鶹ӰԺ’s highest recognition for teaching and research, the Hazel Barnes Prize. Chancellor Richard L. Byyny announced that Birks will be recognized during summer commencement exercises on Aug. 12.

CU-Â鶹ӰԺ MBA students are hosting the eighth annual Barney Ford Auction at the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ Museum on Saturday, April 29, to fund academic fellowships that support diversity at the College of Business. The event, held at 6 p.m., supports the Barney Ford Scholarships. The scholarships were established in honor of Barney Ford, a former slave who came to Denver during the 1850s. Ford became very successful in restaurant and hotel entrepreneurial ventures before making a considerable fortune in mining.

Colorado and the nation have felt the impact as the worldÂ’s oil-producing countries raised crude oil prices in recent months, particularly in California, where premium gas has been going for as much as $2.139 a gallon. According to University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ economist Richard Wobbekind, higher gas prices this summer will effect ColoradoÂ’s economy to varying degrees. But overall Wobbekind predicts the strong economy will offset any major setbacks. A summary of how Wobbekind expects higher prices to effect Colorado follows.