Stem cell research, human cloning, the Genome Project and healthcare ethics will be covered during the next installment of the President's Lecture Series at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at UM. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Kevin Fitzgerald, research associate professor in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center, will deliver "The New Genetics: A Visit from Prometheus or Pandora?" In his lecture at the University Theatre, he will discuss the latest breakthroughs in genetic research from the professional perspective of a research scientist and the spiritual values of a Christian ethicist.

He also will present a faculty-student seminar titled "Stem Cell Research: What is Progress?" at 3:40 p.m. in Gallagher Building Room 123.

In addition to his medical center position, Fitzgerald is the Dr. David Lauler Chair of the Catholic Health Care Ethics in the Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University. He has doctoral degrees in molecular genetics and bioethics, and his research focuses on the investigation of abnormal gene regulation in cancer, as well as ethical issues in human genetics.

Somewhere out there, way out there -- at a point 100 times farther from the Sun than Earth -- the solar wind slows down and merges with interstellar space.

This area, the termination shock, marks the ultimate edge of the solar system. UM scientist Dan Reisenfeld is helping NASA design a research satellite to map this remote region.

NASA recently approved funding for the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX). The mission has a price tag of about $134 million, and the satellite is scheduled to launch sometime in 2008.

Reisenfeld, a UM professor of astronomy and physics, was part of a four-member team at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Southwest Research Institute in Texas that designed a prototype for one of two instruments that will fly aboard IBEX.

Now this team, led by Dave McComas of Southwest Research Institute, will design IBEX-Hi -- an instrument that uses a large-aperture camera to detect high-energy particles coming from the edge of the solar system. A second instrument, IBEX-Lo, will hunt low-energy particles.

A longtime arts administrator has been hired to lead the Montana Museum of Art and Culture at UM. Barbara Koostra, a UM graduate, was hired as director to fill the position left vacant by the death of Nelson Britt.

For the last 15 years, Koostra has worked as an arts administrator on local, state and federal levels. She previously was executive director of the Missoula Cultural Council and communications director at the Montana Arts Council. She also worked in the communications office at the National Endowment for the Arts during 1999-2000 and was assistant director at the Missoula Art Museum in 2001.

Koostra received a music degree from Northwestern University and a master's degree in business administration from UM.

Founded in 1956, the Montana Museum of Art and Culture hosts a permanent collection of more than 9,000 works. It is the largest collection in Montana, and its exhibits focus on contemporary and historical Montana artists, including Native American artists and Asian art.

The Peace Corps has released its list of "Top-Producing Colleges and Universities 2005," and UM has retained its top-10 ranking for medium-sized institutions.

With 41 alumni volunteers, UM ranked 10th nationally among colleges with undergraduate enrollments between 5,001 and 15,000. Last year UM also ranked 10th with 35 volunteers.

This year's ranking places UM ahead of institutions such as Brown, Northwestern, Yale, Duke and Harvard. Montana State University landed at 19th on the list with 27 alumni volunteers.

UM students are invited to apply for one of two alternative spring break programs, which will take place in either California or New Mexico.

Offered by the Office for Civic Engagement, the programs will focus on teamwork and community outreach. They are scheduled for March 19-27. Three short pre-trip seminars and group meetings will take place prior to the trips.

Twelve UM students will have the chance to travel to Arcata, Calif., and work with Friends of the Dunes. The other project will send seven students to Gallup, N.M., where they will work with the National Indian Youth Leadership Project.

For more information or to apply, visit the Office for Civic Engagement in Social Sciences Room 126 or go online to the OCE Web site.

One of UM's most unique properties, an 18,000 square-foot log and stone mansion on an island in Salmon Lake, has a new name. The former Center at Salmon Lake has been renamed the Montana Island Lodge.

Administrators hope the name change will better communicate the lodge's special qualities and attract more visitors for business conferences, executive retreats, wedding parties, family reunions and weekend getaways.

Of the more than 1,700 four-year, accredited colleges and universities in the United States, only 660 are placed on the National Selective College Locator Map -- and UM made the cut.

Wintergreen Orchard House, which produces the maps, only showcases institutions that meet criteria for selectivity and size. The maps, which come in national or regional versions, are 24 by 36 inches.

A University-owned painting, John G. Brown's "Boy With Snowball," was chosen for the cover of the Jan. 5 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Just last year, the picture of a boy packing a snowball graced the cover of the January/February 2004 issue of Trusteeship, the magazine of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

"Boy With Snowball" is the only Brown work in UM's Montana Museum of Art and Culture, which contains 9,000 original works. The painting was donated to the University in 1952 by Dr. Caroline McGill, one of Montana's first female doctors.

Senior Hollie Tyler and junior Katie Edwards both scored 14 points and Montana shot 61.5 percent in the second half Feb. 12 at Montana State University, turning a 26-24 halftime lead into a 66-47 victory.

Montana remained perfect in Big Sky Conference play with the victory, improving to 8-0, 15-6 overall. The Lady Griz have now won 22 straight regular-season conference games.

The Lady Griz are back at home this week after two straight weeks on the road. Montana hosted sixth-place Sacramento State last night and will take on fourth-place Northern Arizona at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in Dahlberg Arena.

The men's basketball team shot 52 percent from the field but made only four of 24 three-pointers in a 72-62 loss to MSU Feb. 13 at Worthington Arena in Bozeman.

Junior Kamarr Davis led the Grizzlies with 16 points on five of 12 shooting from the field. Sophomore Matt Dlouhy added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Griz, who fall to 6-4 in league action, 12-11 overall.

The third-place Grizzlies are on the road for a solo Big Sky Conference contest this week, playing the fourth-place Sacramento State Hornets in a key league contest last night in Sac's Hornet's Nest.