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Doug Duncan, an astronomer and researcher from the University of Chicago, is the new director of Fiske Planetarium and Sommers-Bausch Observatory at the University of Colorado at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ. Duncan was director of astronomy at the University of Chicago's Adler Planetarium and a senior research associate in the department of astronomy and astrophysics. He also worked with the American Astronomical Society, where he focused on improving teaching and public communication for astronomers throughout the United States.

A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the construction of new student housing at the University of Colorado at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ's Williams Village complex will be held Aug. 16 from 11 a.m. to noon. The event will take place in an open area between Darley Commons and the tennis courts. Free parking will be available in an adjacent lot off of Baseline Road, near 30th Avenue. The Williams Village student housing expansion project is specifically designed for upper-division students and will feature apartment-style housing and academic support facilities and services.

Lifting the travel embargo with Cuba could lead to major economic gains in the U.S. travel industry, according to Professor Patrick Long and special projects manager Ed Sanders of the Center for Sustainable Tourism at the CU-ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Leeds School of Business.

Note to Editors: Media are welcome to attend the final project presentations by students enrolled in the SMART program. The presentations begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, in CU-ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ's Eaton Humanities Building, room 150. Three undergraduate students enrolled in the Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training, or SMART, program at the University of Colorado at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ have created a talking vest to help an 11-year-old Colorado boy who has Down Syndrome.

The Urban Land Institute has honored University of Colorado Real Estate Center Director Byron Koste with the 2002 Pathfinder Award. The Pathfinder Award is given annually to individuals who advance ULI's mission to provide responsible leadership to enhance the total environment. ULI is the premier professional organization in the real estate industry.

Editors: State-by-state flood damage estimates are available on the Internet at http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/sourcebook/index.html . Click on "Floods." Pennsylvania and California lead the nation in flood damage, according to a new national database of historical flood damage estimates.

With about 4,000 people expected to attend the final University of Colorado at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ summer commencement exercises Aug. 10 at 8:30 a.m. on the historic Norlin Quadrangle, attendees should plan to arrive early. Free parking will be available in the Euclid Avenue Autopark, lot 204 off 18th Street and Broadway, lot 310 off 18th Street and Wardenburg Drive and in lot 308 at Regent Drive and Kittredge Loop Road. Lot 359 and the Regent Drive Autopark are also open and free.

Mary Covell, business manager of the University Memorial Center at the University of Colorado at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, has been appointed to the position of associate director, according to Carlos Garcia, UMC director. The appointed has been approved by Chancellor Richard Byyny and is effective immediately. She replaces former assistant director J.C. Ancell, who retired in January.

Ana Gutierrez, a junior ranked second in her class at Aurora Central High School, is this year's recipient of the Leadership, Excellence, Achievement and Diversity scholarship awarded by the CU Parents Association. The award was presented to Gutierrez at a July banquet for high school students who successfully completed the CU-ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Pre-Collegiate Development Summer Residential Program. The award consists of $10,000 divided into four annual supplements of $2,500.

The University of Colorado at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ is launching a national search for a director of the Center for Advanced Training in Engineering and Computer Science. Vince Micucci, CATECS director, has announced his retirement, effective Feb. 7, 2003. CATECS, a program of the Division of Continuing Education, serves as the distance learning arm of CU-ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ's College of Engineering and Applied Science.