10/2/01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Cheryl Smith, Iowa Space Grant Consortium, UNI College of Natural Sciences, (319) 273-6809

Vicki Grimes, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Iowa Space Grant Consortium, in partnership with WHO Radio and the "Earth and Sky" radio program, is issuing its second-annual challenge to any Iowa classroom from kindergarten to grade 12. The classroom that scores highest on a quiz based on the content of "Earth and Sky" will win a prize package totaling as much as $5,000.

"Our aim, is to get kids interested in space," said William Byrd, director of the Iowa Space Grant Consortium, a NASA-supported organization aimed at increasing interest in aerospace education and research. Academic members of the group are Drake University, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

Any K-12 classroom of students attending a charter, public, private, religious or home school in Iowa is eligible to compete.

On Oct. 11, a Space Week quiz will be posted on the precollege page of the ISGC Web site. There will be three different versions of the quiz: for grades K-3, 4-8 and 9-12. Questions will be taken from material in "Earth and Sky" broadcasts and the supporting activities. Classroom teachers will administer the quiz and forward the results to the ISGC office.

The winning classroom will receive a Meade ETX Astro telescope, a trip to the Science Station and IMAX Theatre in Cedar Rapids, an inservice program for the teacher(s) at the school and a collection of curriculum materials.

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10/2/01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Grant Tracey, UNI assistant professor of English, (319) 273-3782

Vicki Grimes, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa will host Thomas Fox Averill, short story writer and novelist, at the Visiting Writers Series, 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9, in the Thompson Commons, Baker Hall 161.

Averill, an English professor at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., will be reading from his recently published novel, "Secrets of the Tsil Café."

"The coming-of-age novel is a multicultural tour-de-force," said Grant Tracey, UNI assistant professor of English and coordinator of UNI's creative writing program. "The story's hero, Wes Hingler, rides the precipice of two worlds. His mother owns a catering service, filled with the flavors of her Italian ancestral heritage. Downstairs, his father, who grew up in New Mexico, runs the Tsil Café, filling mouths with intense New World ingredients."

Averill, a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and an O. Henry Award winner, also has published two short story collections, "Passes at the Moon" and "Seeing Mona Naked."

On his novel's intersection of food and family, Averill says, "Food is really all pervasive. It's in our cultures and religions. It's used in relationships and in seductions, and I want to give people time to think about that."

The reading is free and open to the public. For further information, contact Tracey, at (319)

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10/02/01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Douglas Shaw, assistant professor, Dept. of Mathematics, (319) 273-6805

Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Iowa high school students and University of Northern Iowa students may participate in The Wright Challenge, a Web-accessible mathematics contest now entering its second year.

Between now and Dec. 14, the "mysterious Doctor E" will present six puzzles, roughly one every other week, on the World Wide Web at www.math.uni.edu. The puzzles also will be printed in the UNI student newspaper and posted on campus. The first problem is now posted, with solutions due Oct. 8, to: doctore@math.uni.edu; or Doctor E, c/o the University of Northern Iowa Mathematics Department, 320 Wright Hall, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0506.

Prizes will include certificates suitable for framing; more than $100 in cash; and games donated by Kadon Enterprises, a premium-quality puzzle merchant.

"The UNI Department of Math sponsors this contest to encourage Iowa students' enthusiasm for mathematics and to share their love of the subject with the community at large," said Douglas Shaw, assistant professor in the department and creator of The Wright Challenge.