Student wins $23K scholarship

For the first time, a UA physics graduate student was awarded the $23,000 National Science Foundation scholarship.

Sera Markoff, second-year graduate student, is one of 300 students in the nation to receive the award which includes tuition, fee waivers and a travel allowance.

Under the supervision of UA professor Fulvio Melia, Markoff is conducting research on high-energy radioactive emissions of massive black holes at the nuclei of active galaxies.

Markoff said she will combine the data from astrophysics and particle physics to model the spectrum of black holes.

"The research fellowship is a great opportunity for me because it will allow me to concentrate on research without worrying about how I'm going to pay the bills," Markoff said.

---

UA senior named Big Sister of year for western U.S.

A UA senior was just named Big Sister of the year for the western part of the United Sates.

Tamieka Howell, exercise and sport sciences senior, has worked with Big Brothers/Big Sisters for the last 21/2 years as a mentor, tutor and sports coach.

"I got involved with the organization because I was an only child and I did not have anyone to take me places," Howell said. "I wanted to give another child the chance to do things with an older mentor.

"When I met my little sister she was very shy. I think that I have helped bring her out of that shell and let her experience things she would not have had the chance to do."

Howell spends four to eight hours a week with her little sister, 12-year-old Shanna, and plans to stay active within the organization while she peruses a career as a doctor.

Dave Green, recreational educational coordinator for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, said Howell was nominated for the award because of her dedication to the program.

"I just did my share," Howell said. "I'm so busy now I don't think I could find any more time to be more involved."

---

UA alum awarded $70K research fellowship

A UA alumnus, now assistant professor of astronomy, has been awarded the $70,000 Sloan Research Fellowship.

Hans-Walter Rix is among 100 scientists in the United States and Canada to receive the award.

Rix said he will use the two-year grant to focus on two projects. The first will measure the amount of dark matter around the elliptical galaxies. There appears to be 10 times more matter than scientists can account for, he said.

Rix is also trying to piece together "snapshots" of galaxy components at different time periods to understand how single galaxies have aged through time and whether ours is similar to those nearby.

Scientists have argued that our galaxy is somewhat similar to galaxies around us, he said. "It is like taking kindergarten pictures from two different cites and trying to connect the similarities," he said.

The 1991 graduate was a research assistant in the NASA Theoretical Astrophysics program. He then received a three-year Hubble Fellowship to do post-doctoral research at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.

---

ASUA Bookstore gets new name

Students buying books for the upcoming semester will no longer go to the ASUA Bookstore.

This semester, the store's name was changed to the UofA Associated Students Bookstore.

Frank Farias, the store's director, said the old name was causing confusion among the public and for merchants.

Supplies and bills for the store were sometimes being mailed to Arizona State University's bookstore or the Arizona Book Store, 815 N. Park Ave.

The new name, adopted in February, is intended to clarify that the store is a UA enterprise that works with the student government.

Farias said he is proud of the bookstore's long relationship with the Associated Students.

ASUA managed the store from 1937 to the 1960s, when the university took over its management. However, the store continues to have a financial connection with ASUA, Farias said.

The bookstore finances commencement ceremonies and the department of student programs, and supports campus clubs and organizations through an ASUA recreation fund, Farias said.

He said the only expense in changing the name was purchasing a sign with the new name. But, he said, the sign would have been replaced soon anyway.