Panda birth. Mei Xiang, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park’s female giant panda, gave birth to a male cub on Saturday, July 9, at 3:41 a.m. Under Mei Xiang’s care, the cub is thriving and growing daily. The cub’s birth was the result of artificial insemination conducted by National Zoo staff in March. On Sept. 19, Zoo staff gave the cub his sixth veterinary exam, determining he is healthy. At the time, he was 22.51 inches long and weighed 9.57 pounds. Zoo staff also observed that his tooth buds—swollen areas where his teeth eventually will erupt—are  pronounced, and his first teeth should start to break through in about a month.
 
IRIS donation. A 1989 IRIS 3047 printer made by IRIS Graphics in Bedford, Mass., was recently donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Behring Center by Nash Editions, a California company recognized as the world’s first fine-art digital printmaking studio dedicated to photography. Nash Edition’s IRIS printer was one of the first to be used to make fine-art digital photographs and to jump-start a new business model and method for the production of fine art photographs. Included with the donation were prints produced with the IRIS printer by Nash Editions.

Hirshhorn director. Olga Viso, deputy director of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, has been named the Hirshhorn’s new director. Viso joined the museum’s Curatorial Department in 1995 as assistant curator, was named associate curator in 1998 and served as curator of contemporary art from 2000 to 2003. She became deputy director in 2003. Viso, well-known for her expertise in contemporary Latin American art, succeeds Ned Rifkin, now the Smithsonian’s Under Secretary for Art.

Mars rivers. Robotic satellites and rovers have returned new evidence that Mars had a much warmer and wetter climate some 3.5 billion years ago, when conditions may have been more favorable for life. Geologists at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, working with colleagues at the University of Virginia, have recently discovered 21 river channels in the dry Martian valleys. Researchers determined that Martian rivers were about the same size as their counterparts on Earth, suggesting similar amounts of runoff from thunderstorms or rapid snowmelt.

Zoo director. John Berry, executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation from 2001 to 2005, has been named director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park. Berry served as assistant secretary for policy, management and budget at the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1997 to 2001. From 1995 to 1997, Berry was director of government relations and a senior policy adviser at the Smithsonian. Berry succeeds Lucy Spelman as Zoo director.