Science & Technology

<p>Scientists seeking to understand the origin of the human mind may want to look to honeybees -- not ancestral apes -- for at least some of the answers, according to a University of Colorado Boulder archaeologist.</p>

<p>Two students at the University of Colorado Boulder have been awarded major teaching fellowships by the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation, or KSTF, for 2011. CU-Boulder undergraduates Julia Ratcliff and Cacia Steensen were among 37 new fellowships awarded nationwide for teachers of biology, mathematics and physical science.</p>

<p>Karl Linden, professor of environmental engineering and a water treatment expert, has been leading a yearlong study of the environmental fate of the oil dispersants used in the Gulf of Mexico cleanup. His research team has traveled to the Gulf area to collect samples and is investigating the chemical constituents in the dispersant, as well as its sunlight-based decay in the laboratory. Linden can be reached at 303-492-4798 or <a href="mailto:karl.linden@colorado.edu">karl.linden@colorado.edu</a>.</p>

<p>The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused social disruption and psychological stress among Gulf residents that is similar to the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez spill and the impacts are likely to persist for years, a new study finds.</p>

<p>Engineering students at the University of Colorado Boulder are gearing up for a week of intensive activity April 19-23 when they will celebrate Engineering Days and display hands-on design projects at two Design Expos.</p>

<p>University of Colorado Boulder Distinguished Professor Carl Lineberger has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the National Science Board. The nomination has been sent to the United States Senate for confirmation.</p>

<p>Conventional wisdom suggests that average citizens hate politics, loathe hyper-partisan gridlock, balk at voting even in presidential election years and are, incidentally, woefully ill-informed.</p>

<p>Dr. Arthur J. Nozik, senior research fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), will be awarded the Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest, from the American Chemical Society's Northeastern Section at Harvard University on April 14.</p>

<p>It's not often that plants are described as diabolical, but spotted knapweed has that rare distinction. A 2004 issue of Smithsonian magazine, for instance, dubbed it the "wicked weed of the West," a "national menace" and a "weed of mass destruction."</p>

<p>Houston-based energy firm ConocoPhillips has made a major gift toward the University of Colorado Boulder's Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building to bring together world-class scientists and engineers working toward solutions in fields such as medicine and energy.</p>