On January 28

On this day in ...
... 1986 (25 years ago today), as thousands watched at Cape Canaveral, Florida, a U.S. space shuttle exploded soon after its launch. The worst accident in NASA history, the Challenger explosion claimed the lives of all 7 astronauts, among them Christa McAuliffe, 37, "a high-school social studies teacher from New Hampshire," who'd won "a nationwide competition to be the first private citizen to fly aboard a space shuttle." (credit for photo of McAuliffe, standing 2d from left, along with fellow astronauts: left to right in front row, Commander Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Dr. Ronald McNair; standing, Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Dr. Judith A. Resnik) No humans would again travel in U.S. space vehicles until September 1988.

(Prior January 28 posts are here, here, and here.)

Write On! Student Writing Competition - Deadline Monday

One of the events celebrating Santa Clara University School of Law's centennial is its Centennial Writing Competition. The competition invites submission of original, unpublished scholarly papers on the topic of "future ethical challenges lawyers may face" in the areas of

1. intellectual property law,
2. international law or
3. public interest law.

These topics correspond to Santa Clara's three areas of concentration.

There is a cash prize of $1,000 for the winning entry in each category, plus an additional $1,000 prize for the overall winner, and all three winners will be invited to present their papers and receive their prizes at an event on campus. The winning paper will also be considered for publication in the Santa Clara Law Review.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, January 31, 2011, at midnight Pacific Time.
For detailed information about the competition and how to submit entries, see here. For further information, contact centennialwriting@scu.edu.