President Hamilton is the recipient of the first ever Academic Freedom Award from the National Association of Scholars. The award is presented to a person in a position of academic leadership who makes a significant contribution to the cause of academic freedom and integrity. Hamilton will receive the award March 10 at a ceremony in Fairbanks.

Sukumar Bandopadhyay has been named Dean of the School of Mineral Engineering. He has served as interim dean since July 2001 and has been with SME since 1982 as a professor and department head.

The Arctic Region Supercomputing Center recently installed a printer that can create three-dimensional objects from computer files. The device creates three-dimensional objects up to 10.5x8x7 inches out of casting wax. Bill Brody, Chris Hartman and Glenn Chappell, all of ARSC, have been working on a three-dimensional computer interface that will eliminate the need for a mouse as an input device.

Students from UAF, Toyama Perfectural University and Tokai University in Japan have collaborated on the construction of a rocket payload scheduled to be launched from the Poker Flat Research Range this month. The rocket, part of the Alaska Student Rocket Program, will travel more than 50 miles and has a payload designed and built entirely by students with NASA and university personel providing essential flight support functions.

KUAC-FM is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Geophysical Institute by broadcasting highlights of science as recalled by GI researchers. The segments air during the Afternoon Concert program at 2 p.m. on Fridays.

UAF is hosting the 13th annual Alaska Statewide High School Science Symposium March 9 - 10 in the Natural Sciences Facility. Participants will present oral and written summaries of their projects which are reviewed by a panel of judges. The top seven finalists will each receive a one-year tuition scholarship to UAF. The top presenter receives a $4,000 scholarship and will represent the state at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

The UAF Graduate School has announced a funding opportunity to encourage the development of new graduate degree programs. For more information visit http://www.uaf.edu/gradsch/developing.new.degrees.html

The UA Scholars program has enrolled 829 students in the UA system, with 313 here at UAF. Of the high school students who were chosen as UA Scholars for fall 2001, 41 percent enrolled as full-time students – an increase of 33 percent from 1999. For more information visit http://www.alaska.edu/oir/Students/.

The College of Science, Engineering and Mathematics is hosting its 2nd annual Alaska Summer Research Academy for students in grades 8 - 11. Participants will live on campus while participating in Conducting Scientific Research June 2 - 8 or Exploring Engineering and Computer Science June 9 - 15. Participants earn two UAF credits per camp. For more information contact Doug Schamel at 6297, Patty Fisher at 1867 or visit http://www.uaf.edu/csem/asra/.

Faculty members may purchase or rent academic robes for commencement through the UAF bookstore. Deadline for ordering is March 25. For more information call 6859 or contact fybook@uaf.edu.

The Institute of Arctic Biology Research Greenhouse now has a Web site to provide information about the greenhouse, the types of research projects currently underway and archives of past research. For more information visit http://www.uaf.edu/grnhouse/.

UAF's recruitment video is available for checkout from University Relations on VHS and PAL European formats as well as on CD for Windows users. For more information contact Robyn at 7571.

The 29th annual Festival of Native Arts continues at the Davis Concert Hall
March 8 - 9 from 6 p.m. - midnight. There is an arts and crafts sale each night in the Great Hall and a special Pow Wow performance will be held March 9 from noon - 2 p.m. For more information visit http://www.geocities.com/festivalofnativearts.

Alan Charles Kors, founder of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, will present a public lecture entitled, "The Betrayal of Liberty on the American Campus," on March 11 at 7 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium. The lecture will be followed by a debate on speech codes, cultural sensitivity, freedom of speech in a time of war and other issues.

UAF's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, along with the Alaska Section of the American Chemical Society, presents "The Application of Chemistry to the Examination of Works of Art," a free presentation by Susan Lomax, March 11 in the Natural Sciences Facility room 202. A reception is set for 4 p.m. with the talk to follow at 4:30 p.m. For more information call 5510.

UAF Outdoor Adventures presents the SnowSmart Avalanche Lecture by Crane Johnson March 12 at 8 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium. The lecture is free and will discuss the factors that contribute to avalanches, how to recognize and avoid them and the basics of avalanche rescue. For more information call 6027 or contact fywild@uaf.edu.

The UAF Leadership Program presents UAF LEADS workshops throughout the semester. March 12 in Gruening 413 is "Be Your Own Boss" and March 14 in Gruening 408 is "Building a Successful Club Foundation." Both workshops are being held at
1 p.m. For more information and a complete list of the semester's workshops visit
http://www.uaf.edu/leadership/.

The UA Museum is hosting "Thousand Mile Journeys," a Saturday Family Program about migrating whales and salmon, March 16 from 10 a.m. - noon for children age 7 - 12. Registration is $15 per child. Two Junior Curators' Camps are being offered during Spring Break; Egyptology for grades 4 - 6 March 18 - 19 and Mammals for grades 6 - 8 March 21 -22. Both programs run from 8 a.m. - noon with a $50 registration fee per student. For more information about either program call 6948.

The UAF Career Expo '02 takes place March 27 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and March 28 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. For more information call 7596 or visit http://www.uaf.edu/career/.

The UA Museum's 17th annual Chocolate Bash fundraiser "Sluices, Stars and Chocolate Bars" is being held April 7 from 7:30 - 10 p.m. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door. You must be 21 to attend. For more information call 7505.

UAF Career Services has received an Aurora Award from the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau for their work with the Alaska Travel Industry Association Job Fair. The award is given for "consistently exceptional contributions to the development and/or increase of the Fairbanks visitor industry."

Mark Fortunato and Katie Schaetzle, Department of Residence Life, were both awarded the National Community Service Program Award for December by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls for organizing the first-ever UAF Airport Shuttle. The shuttle carried more than 200 students to the airport for the semester break.

Nomie Torres, a UAF Bookstore student employee, was nominated as the Alaska representative for the western regional Student Employee of the Year award. Torres was selected from a pool of UAF Exceptional Student Employee Award recipients of 2001.

The Nanook hockey team, for the first time ever, has clinched home ice advantage for the first round of the CCHA playoffs. The Nanooks take on Ferris State in a best-of-three match-up March 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. and March 10 (if necessary) at 3 p.m. at the Carlson Center.

The UAF rifle team will be seeking a fourth consecutive national title at the NCAA championships being held March 15 - 16 at Murray State University in Kentucky.