Much work remains before the campus of Dillard University, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, can reopen for classes in the fall. Even so, the Class of 2006 will process along the Avenue of the Oaks during commencement exercises this Saturday, July 1. This article examines the financial challenges still facing Dillard, and notes that private contributions, including those from Brown University, have had significant impact.

Planetary Science Professor Carle Pieters is vice chair of an ad hoc National Academy of Science committee charged with preparing a report, “The Scientific Context for the Exploration of the Moon.” To begin the work, she and the other 14 members of the committee met with a chief scientist from NASA on June 20-22.

A statewide survey of 719 Rhode Island voters shows Sen. Lincoln Chafee in a virtual tie with Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse. Whitehouse would have a strong lead if Steve Laffey were the Republican candidate. The survey also finds Gov. Don Carcieri with a 5-percentage-point lead over Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty and finds voters opposed to amending the state constitution to build a gambling casino in West Warwick. The survey was conducted by Professor Darrell M. West, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy and the John Hazen White Sr. Public Opinion Laboratory.

Professor Darrell M. West, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy and the John Hazen White Sr. Public Opinion Laboratory, is interviewed about his latest Rhode Island-wide poll showing Sen. Lincoln Chafee in a virtual tie with Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse, and Whitehouse with a strong lead if Steve Laffey were the Republican candidate. The survey also finds Gov. Don Carcieri with a 5-percentage-point lead over Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty. West appeared live on the 5:30 p.m. newscast. Interviews with Professor West also were broadcast on radio station WRNI and on “The Arlene Violet Show” on radio station WHJJ.

A statewide survey of 719 Rhode Island voters shows Sen. Lincoln Chafee in a virtual tie with Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse. Whitehouse would have a strong lead if Steve Laffey were the Republican candidate. The survey also finds Gov. Don Carcieri with a 5-percentage-point lead over Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty. Professor Darrell M. West, who conducts the poll, offers his analysis of the poll results. This article appeared in the Boston Globe and in other New England newspapers and on news Web sites.

A majority of Rhode Islanders oppose changing the state Constitution to allow the proposed Harrah's-Narragansett Indian casino, according to a Brown University poll that also showed two of the state's highest-profile Republicans, Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee and Gov. Don Carcieri, in increasingly tight races. Professor Darrell West, who conducted the poll, offered his analysis of the poll results. A similar article appeared in the Pawtucket Times.

Brown University is among the neighbors opposing a Thayer Street restaurateur’s request for a liquor license.

Brown University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have established a formal affiliation to support research and teaching with an emphasis in materials science, an area of strength at both institutions. Brown has strong programs in physics, chemistry and engineering and is home to the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. Oak Ridge is the Department of Energy’s largest multipurpose science and energy laboratory, and home to the world’s most powerful electron microscope, which can be used to study defects in materials at the atomic scale.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will give $35 million over the next five years to encourage entrepreneurial education at selected U.S. colleges and universities, including Brown University. The foundation said schools invited to apply for the grants were chosen in part because of their “ability to create a culture of entrepreneurship that permeates the campus.”

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will give $35 million over the next five years to encourage entrepreneurial education at selected U.S. colleges and universities, including Brown University. Each of the colleges will be a given a planning grant to develop a proposal, which will be presented to an independent panel of judges in December. Each participating school is eligible to receive a grant, based on its proposal and commitment to entrepreneurial education. Inc.com is the companion Web site to Inc. magazine.

Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Scott Haltzman, author of "Secrets of Happily Married Men: Eight Ways to Win Your Wife's Heart Forever," offers tips to keep romance alive.

Professor of Engineering Arto V. Nurmikko and Richard K. Chang of Hamden, Conn., have developed particle optical tracking and detection. The patent has been assigned to Brown University Research Foundation.