Science

The asteroid presumed to have wiped out the dinosaurs struck the Earth with such force that carbon deep in the Earth's crust liquefied, rocketed skyward, and formed tiny airborne beads that blanketed the planet, say scientists from the U.S., U.K., Italy, and New Zealand in this month's Geology. If confirmed, the discovery suggests environmental circumstances accompanying the 65-million-year-old extinction event were slightly less dramatic than previously thought.
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Indiana University Bloomington biologists Thomas Kaufman and Michael Wade were elected this week to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, respectively. The elections are among the highest honors American scientists can receive. Wade will officially be inducted into the American Academy at a ceremony in Cambridge, Mass., on Oct. 11. Kaufman will be inducted into the National Academy at the organization's next annual meeting (April 2009) in Washington, D.C.
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The Indiana University Department of Physics was honored by receiving awards for six of its faculty members -- a number outmatched by only five universities in the country. The American Physical Society (APS) recently released the inaugural list of its "Outstanding Referees Program" which, "recognizes scientists who have been exceptionally helpful in assessing manuscripts for publication in the APS journals."
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This June, IU physics graduate student Brian Page will join 500 of the best and brightest graduate students from around the world at a conference with roughly two dozen Nobel Prize winners. Page is one of 60 U.S. Lindau Laureates who earned a spot at the conference with funding from the National Science Foundation.
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This Thursday (April 24) evening, Indiana University Geological Sciences Professor Michael Hamburger will share his expertise, and what scientists know about the latest Indiana earthquake, in a special public forum. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On! Understanding the Indiana Earthquake of 2008," will take place in IU's Geology Building, 1001 E. Tenth St., located across from Woodlawn Field.
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Raymond L. Orbach, the Department of Energy's Under Secretary for Science, will pay a two-day visit to Indiana University, April 24 and 25. He will visit IU Cyclotron and the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute, and will tour IU's new state-of-the-art science facility, Simon Hall, as well as Swain Hall where many of the DOE projects take place. "It is indeed an honor and a privilege to have Under Secretary Orbach visit our institution," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie.
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