$3M grant to create world-class archeological research program

A new Archaeological Science Program will begin in the fall semester of 2003, creating the first major program of its kind in the United States.

The National Science Foundation awarded UA a five-year, $3 million Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program grant. The grant is largely aimed at graduate students, but will also enable undergraduates and Tucson-area high school and middle school teachers to incorporate a wide array of scientific disciplines to their research in archaeology.

The grant will expose students to scientific fields related to archaeology, including chronometry, paleoecology and materials technologies. The grant will support 80 percent of the graduate students with stipends, tuition and internships in laboratories.

Students interested in applying for the program should follow their department guidelines for admission.

Athletics thanks active service members with 2-for-1 tickets

The UA Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has recognized Saturday's football game as Service Appreciation Night and is offering active service members a two-for-one ticket discount.

All active members of the armed services, fire and medical services, and law enforcement agencies are eligible for the discount. There is a limit of four paid tickets per person with a current active service I.D.

In addition, during halftime of the UA vs. Utah football game on Saturday, Sept. 14, the athletics department will recognize those who developed last year's Human Freedom Flag in Tucson, as well as observe a moment of silence to recognize the victims, their families and heroes of Sept. 11.

Active service members can purchase tickets through the McKale Center ticket office at 621-CATS, or at the Arizona Stadium ticket office Saturday from 10 a.m. to game time.

UA planetary scientist publishes finds on ancient global wildfires

A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research by UA associate professor David A. Kring and Daniel D. Durda of the Southwest Research Institute, reported global wildfires were ignited by a catastrophic impact of an asteroid or comet.

The report expanded on research by UA professor H. Jay Melosh and others in 1990, calculating that the fires did not ignite at once, but rather in multiple phases throughout the world.

According to the new study, fires spread through southern North America and the Indian subcontinent. However, Asia, Europe, Antarctica and possibly much of Australia may not have been ignited.

The study shows debris from a major impact believed to be 10 million times more energetic than the nuclear bombs that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused the fires, creating misery for life on Earth days after impact.

A movie depicting a simulation of the event can be viewed at the Lunar and Planetary Lab Space Image Center website at http://lpl.arizona.edu.