Billy Kardys, chef at Piazanos Grab-n-Go outlet in Cheyenne Arapaho residence hall, adds sub sandwiches to the stock. Kardys won first place in the National Association of College and University Food Services culinary challenge. (Photo by Glenn J. Asakawa/University of Colorado)

Four faculty receive DARPA awards for microsystems innovations
Four new faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering will receive Young Faculty Awards from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to support innovative research in microsystems technology. Assistant Professors Scott Bunch, Harold Park, Wei Tan and Ronggui Yang are among 39 "rising stars" selected for the awards at 27 universities across the country. Each will receive a grant of about $150,000 to develop and validate their research ideas during the coming year. CU-Boulder received the largest number of awards of any university in the competition. Cornell University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan each received three faculty awards.

Culinary contest winner to compete in national challenge
Bill Kardys, lead chef for the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Piazanos café, won the National Association of College and University Food Services’ regional challenge in early April, and will represent CU-Boulder at the organization’s national conference in Washington, D.C. in July, where he will compete against chefs from colleges and universities from around the nation. CU-Boulder chefs have won the regional challenge three out of the past four years.

CU-Boulder faculty, staff boast three additional Pulitzer Prize winners
In the last eight months, CU-Boulder has added three Pulitzer Prize-winning members to our faculty and staff. Dave Curtin, winner of the 1990 feature-writing Pulitzer for "Adam & Megan," a story about two young burn victims, is assistant director of executive communications. Staff photographer Glenn Asakawa was awarded a 2000 Pulitzer for his images following the shootings at Columbine High School, and Jim Sheeler, who won a 2006 feature-writing Pulitzer for his "Final Salute" story series in the Rocky Mountain News about an officer charged with informing family members when loved ones died in combat, will join the SJMC faculty this fall. Read the Westword article highlighting these three.

Puksta scholarship winners announced
Seven students will receive Puksta scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year. The Puksta Scholars Program is aimed at grooming the next generation of leaders who have a high sense of civic duty, ethical standards and strong academic goals and is provided by the Puksta family with support from the CU-Parent Fund. This year's Puksta scholars are Caroline Wilson, Matthew Truijillo, Nykeyia Chambliss, Razan Naqeeb, Nicholas Martinez, Catherine Engelhart Fowler and Kathryn McLachlan. They will join ten other continuing Puksta scholars. Each will receive a $4,500 scholarship. The scholars were selected from a competitive field of 52 applicants. The scholarships are the largest of their kind on the CU-Boulder campus.

Congratulate our graduates at commencement, May 9
The end of the academic year is upon us and commencement is fast approaching. The ceremony will take place on Friday, May 9 at 8:30 a.m. at Folsom Field, regardless of weather. A live webcast of the ceremony will be available on the website.