UA Scientists to watch MESSENGER launch

MESSENGER, a spacecraft built to orbit the planet Mercury, will blast off Earth late Sunday evening, Aug. 1.

Two University of Arizona professors are part of the science team that will begin to analyze data sent back to Earth once the craft has entered the planet's orbit. However, they'll have to wait a while, because the spacecraft doesn't reach Mercury's orbit until March 2011.

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) Mission will make its first attempt to escape Earth's gravity field Aug. 1 at 11:16 p.m. Tucson time.

UA's planetary sciences Professor Emeritus Robert Strom is at the launch site in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. William Boynton is the other UA planetary sciences professor involved with this mission, which is based at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Karl Harshman, UA's lead software engineer on Boynton's Messenger team, is also at Cape Canaveral for the launch.

Team scientists have a 13-day window to get MESSENGER off our planet and into space if the launch is scrubbed Sunday.

MESSENGER - named after a trait associated with the Roman god Mercury - will travel for almost seven years and 4.9 billion miles to the planet that is only 28 million miles away. In contrast, the Cassini spacecraft traveled 2.2 billion miles on its 7-year journey to Saturn, which is one billion miles away from Earth.

During its trip to the planet closest to the sun, MESSENGER will flyby Earth one year after lift-off, Venus once in October 2006, and again in June 2007. There also will be three flybys of Mercury itself in January and October 2008, the last in September 2009.

The spacecraft is designed to last one year in Mercury's orbit, but could last another year if everything goes well, Strom said.

More information can be found at http://messenger.jhuapl.edu.

Outstanding Undergraduates Showcase Research

Seventy graduate school-bound juniors and seniors from schools across the United States and Puerto Rico will exhibit their summer research at the University of Arizona on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

The University and Tucson communities are invited to attend the 4th Annual Undergraduate Summer Research Program Poster Session and Closing Ceremony on Tuesday, Aug. 10, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Union Memorial Center, South Ballroom. The closing ceremony will follow at 3 p.m.

These outstanding students have participated in a 10-week intensive summer research program under the supervision of a UA faculty mentor.

They have conducted research in the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities and participated in workshops that prepare them for successfully applying to graduate school. These scholars have a high grade point average, strong research experience and a desire to pursue graduate education.

The research program is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Minority Health Disparities Summer Research Opportunities program (MHD); the NIH Minority Access to Research Careers program (MARC); the U.S. Department of Education's Ronald E. McNair Achievement Program (MAP); and the UA-funded Summer Research Institute (SRI).

PBS Documentary on Latino Art, Culture Premieres in Tucson

A series of half-hour documentaries on Latino art and culture in the United States will premiere in Tucson with three episodes.

Hector Galán, executive producer of the series, will be present for questions regarding the series. Galán has contributed more than 30 hours of programming to the national Public Broadcasting System including "The American Experience" and landmark four-part series "Chicano! History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement," for which Galán was invited to the White House to screen for then President Bill Clinton.

This premiere is the kick-off event of the Latino Producers Academy, (LPA) which will take place in Tucson from Aug. 6-12. The University of Arizona department of Media Arts, the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and TV Professional Program are co-sponsors of LPA with The Tucson Chapter of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).

This is the second consecutive year that Tucson has hosted the LPA during which 30 up-and-coming filmmakers work for a week under the guidance of major New York and Hollywood filmmakers to develop their projects.

NALIP, founded in 1999, addresses the professional needs of Latino/Latina independent producers in all genres, whether it be documentaries, television or feature films. The Tucson chapter was organized this year. Among the goals of the Tucson chapter are to encourage local talent and to help bring filmmakers back to Tucson.

The "Visiones" premiere is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday at the Leo Rich Theatre, 260 South Church Avenue, and is free and open to the public.

For information and to schedule interviews with the producers of "Visiones" or the organizers of the LPA, contact: Julieta González, UA News Services, 520-626-4336. Contact Ben López, 520-247-5520 regarding NALIP membership information.

Cherry Avenue Traffic Restrictions in August

Cherry Avenue north of Speedway, between Helen and Drachman streets, will be closed to southbound traffic Aug. 2 through 30. Northbound traffic only will be open.

Southbound traffic will be detoured to the Ring Road to Campbell Avenue. Sidewalks along Cherry will remain open.

This traffic plan has been coordinated with Risk Management, UAPD and Parking & Transportation Services. Contact Melissa Dryden, Facilities Design & Construction at 520-621-9251 with questions.

Police Training in Progress

If you haven't yet heard the screams and gunshots coming from the Franklin building, the University of Arizona Police Department would like to inform the campus community that through Saturday the UAPD, the Tucson Police Department and the Pima Community College Department of Public safety will be participating in a sometimes noisy training exercise on campus.

Police will use Franklin for realistic police scenarios with simulated gunfire, people screaming, activated fire alarms and small explosive charges to mimic a real police emergency response.

Marked police cars, crime scene tape and signs that read "Police Training Exercise In Progress" will be placed in and around the Franklin building and the surrounding area. UAPD is asking everyone to avoid the area if possible. They also ask for patience with the noise levels during this training exercise.

The UAPD and other police departments appreciate your support in their continued efforts to maintain high levels of response expertise.

If you have questions please call Sgt. Eugene Mejia at 520-626-8007 or Sgt. Bob Sommerfeld at 626-3289.