Submit items to Lauren Bivona or Norm Meader at enews@email.arizona.edu preferably by 5:00 pm Wednesday of each week. Please include "EarthWorks" in the subject line.

On-line version available at http://www.geo.arizona.edu/events/enewsletter/EarthWorks-05-09-08.html (for Pine and webmail users).

In This Issue:

Departmental News
         •   From the Head
         •   Congratulations to Laura Lopez-Hoffman
         •   College of Science Commencement Ceremony
 
University News
         •   Kudos from the College of Science
         •   Relocation Services for Employees
         •   Measles Outbreak in Tucson
         •   June 24 - WRRC Annual Conference - Earlybird Registration Ends May 15
         •   Phoenix Lands on Mars
 
Funding/Job/Intern Opportunities
         •   CAP Award for Water Research
         •   Summer Student Employment Opportunities at the USGS

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

From the Head

Karl is out of town this Thursday and Friday in Houston, Texas, at the Geosciences Alumni Happy Hour. We'll look to hearing from him next week.

Karl W. Flessa
Professor and Head [top]

Congratulations to Laura Lopez-Hoffman

Congratulations to Laura Lopez-Hoffman in her new position as Assistant Professor, School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona, effective June 2, 2008.

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College of Science Commencement Ceremony

Thursday, May 15, 2008
1:10 p.m. - 3 p.m.

The College of Science will celebrate its spring 2008 commencement ceremony at Centennial Hall. Departments will be presented in "reverse" alpha order, beginning with Speech, Language and Hearing.

For questions or more information, contact: Christina Dentel, College of Science, 520-626-1092, cdentel@email.arizona.edu.

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UNIVERSITY NEWS

Kudos from the College of Science

Please join me in congratulating our two new Regents Professors, Elizabeth Vierling and Howard Ochman. As you know this is a very significant University Distinction. Also join me in congratulating all of our colleagues that were recently promoted.

ASTRONOMY
Daniel EISENSTEIN Full Professor

BIOCHEMISTRY
Nancy HORTON Associate w/Tenure

CHEMISTRY
Craig ASPINWALL Associate/wTenure
Katrina MIRANDA Associate/wTenure

COMPUTER SCIENCE
Kobus BARNARD Associate w/Tenure

GEOSCIENCES
Bob DOWNS Full Professor
Paul KAPP Associate w/Tenure

MATHEMATICS
Karl GLASNER Associate w/Tenure
Rebecca MCGRAW Associate w/Tenure
Joe WATKINS Full Professor

MCB
Joyce SCHROEDER Associate w/Tenure
Franz TAX Associate w/Tenure
Deb TOMANEK Full Professor

PHYSICS
Elliot CHEU Full Professor
Alexander CRONIN Associate w/Tenure
Dimitrios PSALTIS Associate w/Tenure
Erich VARNES Associate w/Tenure

PLANETARY SCI/LPL
Caitlin GRIFFITH Full Professor

SLHS
Barbara CONE-WESSON Full Professor

Great Universities are the result of great faculty and I am thrilled that these colleagues have been recognized for their achievements in science and education.

Thanks, Joaquin

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Relocation Services for Employees

Many of you are familiar with Above & Beyond Relocation Services (ABRS), the firm that has provided relocation services to new members of the University of Arizona community since 2001. Human Resources is pleased to announce that these no-cost services are now also available to current employees who may be looking for a change of residence within the greater Tucson or Phoenix metropolitan areas.

ABRS's no-cost, personalized, one-stop-shopping services include:

Contact with an ABRS area consultant who listens to the needs of the employee and provides customized information about housing options.

A careful match with an experienced real estate professional on the ABRS team (representing several realty companies) and orientation to the perspective housing market.

Pre-negotiated discounts with partner mortgage and title companies offered to those assisted by an ABRS-matched realtor.

To read what some of your colleagues have said about the support provided by ABRS, click on the link: http://www.aboveandbeyondrelo.com/testimonials.asp.

While employment candidates require a UA referral for relocation services, current employees may contact ABRS directly. In Tucson, call (520) 321-0007; in Phoenix, call (602) 388-8070; email: referrals@aboveandbeyondrelo.com;
website: www.aboveandbeyondrelo.com.
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Measles Outbreak in Tucson

Since 1992, The University of Arizona has mandated that new students document that they have received immunization against measles before they are allowed to register for classes. This requirement was the result of an outbreak of measles on college campuses in the early 1990s that resulted in the closure of several campuses across the US. The Campus Health Service is responsible for managing this proof of immunization program in order to protect the campus community from this infectious disease. Most students satisfy this requirement through receipt of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine given to them as one of a series of recommended childhood vaccines.

As you may have heard, there have now been seventeen confirmed cases of measles in Tucson since February of this year. These cases originated from a case of measles that occurred in a visitor from Switzerland who was cared for at Northwest Hospital. Measles is a highly contagious viral infectious disease. Currently, there are measles outbreaks occurring in Switzerland and Israel, so travelers to these regions are particularly at risk of acquiring measles if they have insufficient measles immunity. Measles also still occurs in most countries of the world. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recently communicated guidelines for the prevention of measles. The following are the highlights of these recommendations:

- Any person born during or since 1957 should have received at least one and ideally two doses of the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine or have documented immunity to measles (through a blood test).

- Those persons born before 1957 are considered to be immune from measles (considered to have had the measles infection and the natural immunity that occurs after that infection). However, given the current measles situation, it is recommended that anyone born before 1957 confirm that they are immune to measles (through blood testing).

Given the measles outbreaks that is occurring in Tucson and these recommendations from the CDC, I would recommend that all UA faculty and staff check their measles immunity status by either confirming that they have received at least one dose of the MMR vaccine or by having a blood test done to check their immune status against the measles. Either of these options can be accomplished through your health care provider.

Feel free to contact me at 621-6489 if you have any questions regarding these recommendations.

-Harry McDermott, M.D., M.P.H.

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June 24 - WRRC Annual Conference - Earlybird Registration Ends May 15

We have put together an exciting and diverse agenda and lined up a roster of distinguished and knowledgeable speakers, including U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Bob Johnson, Central Arizona Project Board President Susan Bitter Smith, and Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Herb Guenther. Please join us for what we expect to be a wide-ranging and insightful discussion.

The complete agenda, along with registration information, can be found on the conference page http://ag.arizona.edu/azwater/programs/conf2008/.

Early Bird Registration (closes May 15th) is $125. Beginning May 16th, registration will be $150. Reduced rates are available for students. A limited number of scholarships are available.

Please help us spread the word about this very timely and forward-looking conference by posting our announcement on your website, including it in your newsletter, and/or passing it on to others.

Email Jane Cripps (Jcripps@cals.arizona.edu) or call (520)792-9591 for more information.

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Phoenix Lands on Mars

Sunday, 25 May 2008
3:00 pm — 8:00 pm
Location: Kuiper Space Sciences Building

Join us as we celebrate the PHOENIX Lander's touchdown on the red planet!

Beginning at 3 p.m., a NASA/JPL TV feed will be available in the Kuiper, Sonett, and Flandrau buildings, with PHOENIX and HiRISE mission staff available to discuss the projects and the science.

From President Shelton's Open Letter to The UA Campus Community:

In less than two weeks, we hope to witness the successful landing of the UA's mission to Mars. Launched in August, this is the first mission to Mars that has ever been operated by a public university. Once the lander is safely on the Martian surface, the potentially groundbreaking science will be conducted from our mission control center here in Tucson. The world will literally be watching to see what University of Arizona scientists uncover on Mars, yet this is only one example of an incredible range of scientific achievement that we saw on campus this year.

For a list of activities planned for this event, see: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/calendar/calendar.php?ID=107.

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FUNDING/JOB/INTERN OPPORTUNITIES

CAP Award for Water Research

First Place: $1,000, Second Place: $500

Deadline June 1

The CAP Award is available to graduate and undergraduate students at any college or university in the State of Arizona. Research submitted for this award should focus specifically on water issues that affect Central and Southern Arizona and the Colorado River. Papers can focus on legal, economic, political, environmental, or water management issues, as well as any other issue that might be of interest to CAP or Arizona water users.

For more information, visit http://www.cap-az.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=54 or call Vicky Campo at (623) 869-2176.

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Summer Student Employment Opportunities at the USGS

USGS needs to hire two students for this summer on campus. The descriptions of the two positions are below:

POSITION 1

Student in the Earth Sciences or with a strong interest in Earth or Environmental Science who would be interested in data input tasks and a small amount of field work.

Principle tasks: Learn groundwater data base; review existing groundwater data for errors; adjust continuous, transducer-based automated groundwater data to manually measured water levels; input quality assured and quality controlled data into data base.

Possible additional tasks: Measure groundwater levels in field; input other data types as necessary; other tasks as requested by USGS WRD staff.

NOTE: This is principally a data-input position.

Begins:       Immediately
Term:          Summer 2008, possibility of extension through the fall semester
Contact:      Bruce Gungle, Hydrologist, USGS-WRD, 670-6671, ext. 233

POSITION 2

The Lower Colorado River Decree Accounting project has need of student help for the summer. Our project involves inventorying wells in the field and then processing, coding, and entering the data into our databases. The work is primarily office work, we need additional help in the coding and entry of data, but could involve some field work at the minimum to help understand the source and type of data collected. A good understanding and use of computers is required. You would be interacting with the other project staff members and scientific staff.

Office-side:
1. Able to work independently on Windows-OS computer using typical software, e.g. Excel, Word
2. Detail-oriented data-entry tasks in Unix and Windows environments
3. Familiarity with internet and database queries
4. Providing input in planning field endeavors such as gathering data through the internet and other sources, including
contacts with other agencies

Field-work:
1. Work in a team-oriented environment
2. Able to be on travel status for 5 consecutive days, or longer if desired
3. Able to use or learn to use GPS survey-grade equipment, water-level sounding equipment, and ancillary equipment
4. Willing to develop/practice quality-conscious data acquisition

Begins:       Immediately
Term:          Summer 2008, possibility of extension through the fall semester
Contact:      Sandra Owen-Joyce, Hydrologist, USGS-WRD, 670-6671 ext. 274
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