Media Relations

Papers by Brown University scientists show that water on ancient Mars was pervasive and was working hard, changing the minerals below ground and on the surface. The paper in Nature by planetary geologist John Mustard lends the first in-depth look at the various terrains in which water-bearing minerals were present. A companion paper in Nature Geoscience by graduate student Bethany Ehlmann shows a clay-rich delta that may store past life. 07-180

A research team led by Brown University planetary geologist James Head has determined that volcanism played a central role in forming Mercury’s surface. The evidence of volcanic activity lends important insights into Mercury’s geologic history and appears in a special section describing the MESSENGER mission’s recent flyby of Mercury in the July 4 issue of Science. 08-002

Brown University researchers have discovered a nanomaterial that can absorb the mercury emitted from a broken compact fluorescent lamp (CFL). The researchers, led by Robert Hurt, professor of engineering, and engineering student Natalie Johnson, have created a mercury-absorbent container lining that can be used commercially. The packaging invention, for which Brown has applied for federal patents, would relieve a major concern with CFL use and comes as CFL sales are projected to skyrocket. 07-182

Public art and activism collide this summer, as Brown University artist Mark Tribe stages reenactments of Vietnam-era protest speeches on the sites where they were originally delivered roughly four decades ago. The speeches, part of a national public art initiative called The Port Huron Project, will be held in Los Angeles, Oakland, and New York City. 08-004