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After Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969, Neil Armstrong spoke the now famous words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Forty years later, the historic event still resonates for Americans and people worldwide.

Ron DiIulio, director of astronomy programs at the University of North Texas and a Solar Systems ambassador for NASA, is available to discuss the 40th anniversary of man's first step on the moon.

"While the drama of the first steps on the lunar surface provided a powerfully iconic audio and visual experience for those of us old enough to recall those historic moments, the impact of the Apollo mission on the human race cannot be overstated," DiIulio said. "The list of technological miracles in the fields of medicine, electronics, clothing apparel, food preparation and numerous other areas is one that could fill volumes of textbooks."

Even during times of economic uncertainty, DiIulio said further missions to the moon and into space are vital to finding answers to remaining scientific questions. Someday, DiIulio said, astronauts could live on the moon for months at a time, much like on the International Space Station.

On a personal note, DiIulio said he had always dreamed of setting foot on the moon when he was a child. He remembers wondering if the surface of the moon would be hard or soft. When he watched Neil Armstrong take the first step on the moon, DiIulio, who was in his early 20s at the time, said he thought back to that childhood question and was overjoyed that the astronaut didn't sink.

DiIulio can be reached at his office at 940-369-7655, by cell phone at 817-929-4095 or by e-mail at Ronald.DiIulio@unt.edu.

DiIulio is also available during the day July 17 (Friday) and July 20 (Monday) to do on-camera interviews via Skype. The UNT News Service can provide you with broadcast quality video, allowing you to interview faculty experts without leaving your studios. To schedule a Skype interview with DiIulio, contact Sarah Bahari in the UNT News Service at 940-565-4835 or sarah.bahari@unt.edu.

During her hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who was chosen to replace retiring justice David Souter, is likely to face pointed questions about her views on race and affirmative action because of her previous comments, according to University of North Texas political scientist Paul M. Collins.

Collins is available for comment throughout Sotomayor's hearings, which are scheduled to begin July 13 (Monday). He is the author of "Friends of the Supreme Court: Interest Groups and Judicial Decision Making," which traces interest group participation in the Supreme Court in the form of amicus curiae ("friends of the court") briefs over the last 60 years. In the book, Collins focuses on the briefs' influence on individual justices' responses to the cases being considered, and the Court's overall decisions.

Sotomayor, he says, has been scrutinized for her statement that a "wise Latina woman" would come to better conclusions in judicial decisions more often than a white man.

"Because Sotomayor has indicated that personal characteristics -- gender and ethnicity -- shape her decision making, Republican senators will no doubt focus a good deal of attention to this issue," Collins says.

Since Sotomayor has indicated that she is a "product of affirmative action," he says, the senators should probe her on the meaning of this statement and her overall views on affirmative action -- some of which may have influenced her past decision on Ricci v. DeStafano. In the case, 19 white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter in New Haven, Conn., sued the Civil Service Board of the city of New Haven for deciding to throw out the results on an exam for 15 captain and lieutenant promotions, since the test results would have given promotions primarily to the white candidates.

While Sotomayor had ruled against the plaintiffs as a justice on the Second Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court reversed the decision on June 29.

"I expect senators to question her regarding the Supreme Court's recent decision," Collins says. 

He notes that Supreme Court confirmation hearings "often reveal more about the senators than they do about the nominees."

"Nominees rarely directly answer the tough questions, such as their positions on significant policy issues -- abortion, affirmative action, the Second Amendment," he says. "Given this, confirmation hearings have become an opportunity for senators to grandstand for their constituents and reveal very little about how a nominee will vote once on the Supreme Court."

"Barring any major surprises," Collins expects Sotomayor to be confirmed.

"Sotomayor has immense experience as a jurist and, ideologically speaking, she is far from an extreme liberal. Rather, she is a moderately liberal justice, quite similar to Justice Souter," he says. "Moreover, now that the Minnesota Supreme Court has determined that Al Franken won the 2008 senatorial election, the Democrats enjoy a filibuster-proof 60 vote majority."

Collins can be reached at his office at 940-369-8829, by cell phone at 940-395-5142 or by e-mail at pmcollins@unt.edu.

Collins is also available between 10 and 11:30 a.m. July 9 and 16 (Thursdays) to do on-camera interviews via Skype. The UNT News Service recently tested the system and can provide you with broadcast quality video, allowing you to interview faculty experts without leaving your studios. To schedule a Skype interview with Collins, contact Nancy Kolsti in the UNT News Service at 940-565-3509 or nancy.kolsti@unt.edu.

Hundreds of fans of Michael Jackson have gathered outside the pop star's rented home in Los Angeles, at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and other locations to mourn Jackson, whose death was announced last Thursday. Some fans have also launched Internet tributes to him.

The outpouring of public grief around the globe is reminiscent of the collective grief experienced by many in September 1997 at the death of Princess Diana.

Dr. Bert Hayslip, University of North Texas Regents Professor of psychology, is available to discuss grief over the death of a celebrity such as Jackson and actress Farrah Fawcett, who also died last Thursday.

Hayslip says Jackson and Fawcett, as well as many other deceased celebrities, touched an entire generation through their accomplishments and were symbols of attractiveness, success and talent. For most people, he says, the amount and intensity of grief they experience at the death of celebrities is a function of centrality -- how much they identify with the individual.

"If you've internalized a celebrity as a part of your childhood -- maybe you fantasized over being with Farrah when you were a teenager or grew up listening to Jackson's music -- then a part of you dies when that person dies," Hayslip says. "You usually feel the least grief for someone that you didn't personally know, but if the celebrity was important to you, it may be more difficult to process the person's death."

He notes that identification with a particular celebrity, such as fighting cancer as Fawcett did or having a family member die from cancer, also determines intensity of grief.

"Those who grew up with backgrounds similar to Michael Jackson's -- in poverty -- and then became successful enough to leave poverty behind would identify more with him than others and probably grieve more. Professional musicians may also grieve more," he said.

A death of a celebrity that was unexpected because the person was not elderly and not reportedly fighting an illness -- as was the case with Jackson -- may also take more time for many people to process and may impact intensity of grief, he says. But he doesn't believe that a celebrity death necessarily reminds people of their own mortality.

"I think that the death of your parents is more salient in bringing up mortality, because you realize that you will be the next generation in your family to die," Hayslip says. "Still, the death of a celebrity from cancer may lead to you going ahead and having that suspicious lump checked out, or the death of a celebrity from substance abuse may cause you to change your lifestyle."

Hayslip may be reached at his UNT office at 940-565-2675.