UND's Pedraza takes gold, bronze awards In Region VI CASE Communications Competition Juan Miguel Pedraza, writer with the Office of University Relations, walked away with a gold and a bronze award for "Excellence in Writing" from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) during the CASE District VI conference held Jan. 13-15 in Denver, Colo. Pedraza earned the awards in the Science/Technology/Research Article or Feature category. The Grand Gold Award is for his story "Tiny Mollusk Fossils Offer Clues To Huge Changes In The Earth's Geologic History," a piece about Joseph Hartman, associate professor of geology and geological engineering. [http://www.discovery.und.edu/fall_2006/molluskfossils.html]. The bronze award is for "UND-Led Team Is The First To Field-Test A Prototype Space Suit," about the Mars space suit project led by Pablo de Leon, UND Space Studies. [http://www.discovery.und.edu/fall_2006/prototype.html]. Both stories were from the 2006 Discovery Magazine published by the UND Office of Research and written and designed by the UND Office of University Relations. "These awards are not only recognition for the tremendous work that Juan has produced over the last year, but a compliment toward the entire Office of University Relations and the University of North Dakota. It is great to get recognized by your peers for a job well done. We have so many terrific stories to tell at UND," said Don Kojich, executive associate vice president for university relations. "UND is a super place to write about great research," Pedraza said. "It's really all about the researchers who're willing to tell us their stories." Pedraza is a former journalist who served as editor of Agweek Magazine, owned and operated by the Grand Forks Herald, and subsequently worked for UND Facilities and as a technical editor at the UND Energy & Environmental Research Center. He started with the Office of University Relations in December 2005. -- Jan Orvik, Writer/Editor, University Relations, janorvik@mail.und.nodak.edu, 777-3621