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Police chief's retirement and rehire 'meticulously' followed UC policies, Brostrom tells panel
Vice Chancellor Nathan Brostrom, seeking to clarify facts and correct what he said was misinformation related to the retirement and rehiring of UC Berkeley Police Chief Victoria Harrison, told members of the state Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education last week that "Chief Harrison did not receive any special treatment in either her retirement package or in her compensation at rehire." Rehiring her on a contract to provide continuity during a time of especially challenging public safety demands was in the best interest of the campus, he said
(15 May)

Grads urged to take a global view, make global change
The Class of 2008, gathered under sunny skies to celebrate the end of their beginning and the beginning of their new lives, left commencement ceremonies at the Greek Theatre on Tuesday with a clear message ringing in their ears: "Go out and change the world."
(14 May)

A message to the UC Berkeley community from Chancellor Robert Birgeneau
In a message regarding the fatal shooting that took place near campus yesterday, Chancellor Birgeneau expresses UC Berkeley's commitment to working with the city of Berkeley to abate street crime, and outlines immediate actions the campus has taken.
(14 May)

Journalism student wins Lange Fellowship for "California's Main Street"
After several months of weekends photographing life along Highway 99 in the state's Central Valley, Adithya Sambamurthy said he realized he was barely scratching the surface of what travelers during the Depression-era exodus to the West called "California's Main Street." Now that he has won the 2008 Dorothea Lange Fellowship, the 28-year-old student pursuing master's degrees at the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism as well as in international and area studies, will take next year to finish his photographic expedition along the blacktop road that stretches from Bakersfield to Redding.
(13 May)

University Medal finalists find inspiration and life lessons at Berkeley
This year, five students — Matthew Johnson, Julia Malkina, Samuel Pittman, Anitha Sivasankaran, and Angelica Zen — were finalists for the University Medal. While they were finishing their semesters and anticipating commencement, they agreed to submit to a questionnaire to give the campus a look at what makes them tick.
(12 May)

On sexual and gender diversity
A statement of principle from Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau.
(08 May)

New campus-wide alliance for global health launches May 14
From projects to prevent mothers from dying during childbirth to the development of low-cost treatments and diagnostics for drug-resistant tuberculosis, UC Berkeley is bringing together global health research from across the campus in an ambitious interdisciplinary initiative to be officially launched on Wednesday, May 14.
(08 May)

Games aside, the real Olympic challenge is engaging with China
As activists excoriate the nation's rulers over human-rights issues, a campus symposium makes the case for a less confrontational attitude toward Beijing.
(08 May)

Berkeley Citations awarded to Cummins, SPH’s Spear
Two longtime Berkeley luminaries — a scholar whose work has had a significant impact on public health from California to China, and a senior administrator who has played a pivotal role in crisis management as the top aide to four different chancellors — have been awarded the Berkeley Citation for their “distinguished achievement and notable service to the university” over careers here that together represent nearly three-quarters of a century.
(08 May)

More focus needed for effective HIV prevention strategies in Africa, says new policy paper
A new policy analysis led by public health researchers at UC Berkeley and Harvard University says that the most common HIV prevention strategies - including condom use, HIV testing, vaccine research and abstinence - are not backed by rigorous studies and are having limited impact on the epidemic in Africa. More resources are needed for two less popular interventions - male circumcision and reduction of sexual partners - that have been proven effective in Africa, the researchers argue.
(08 May)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(08 May)

Craigslist founder to give commencement speech
Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, the hip and ubiquitous classified advertising Web site, says he'll be winging his keynote speech to graduating seniors at UC Berkeley's Commencement Convocation next Tuesday, May 13. But overall, Newmark says he will urge students to change the world using the tools of the Internet, and to follow these simple business do's and don'ts: "Never read a prepared speech unless you're really good at it; for a genuine perspective on corporate life, read Dilbert; and brevity is the soul of wit."
(08 May)

Top graduating senior an infectious disease detective
If there were an award for the world's most timid child, Leslie Chung-Lei Sheu would have won it as a youngster for her deep discomfort with the unknown. Today, after myriad challenges, the plucky, gregarious UC Berkeley senior is the winner of a much more fitting prize. Sheu's dogged scientific curiosity, academic success and empathy for the downtrodden have earned her the University Medal, the campus's top honor for a graduating senior.
(08 May)

Technology, biotech ventures tie for first in Business Plan Competition
New search technology provider Implicit Interfaces and biotech venture Titan Medical tied for first place at the 10th annual UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
(07 May)

Egyptologist Cathleen Keller dies at age 62
Cathleen "Candy" Keller, an associate professor of Egyptology in the University of California, Berkeley's Department of Near Eastern Studies, died of pancreatic cancer on April 18 at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. She was 62.
(07 May)

CIRM awards $20 million for stem cell research facilities
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has awarded $20.18 million to UC Berkeley to build centralized stem cell laboratories in a new research building, the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences, now under construction.
(07 May)

CIRM awards $20 million for stem cell research facilities
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has awarded $20.18 million to UC Berkeley to build centralized stem cell laboratories in a new research building, the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences, now under construction.
(07 May)

New study analyzes why endangered parrot population isn't recovering
A new study led by a UC Berkeley biologist sheds light on the factors influencing the stalled growth of the severely endangered Puerto Rican parrot, and in turn, provides an analytical tool that could help pinpoint the biggest factors hindering the recovery of other endangered species.
(06 May)

A message to the UC Berkeley community from Chancellor Robert Birgeneau
In a message regarding the tragic slaying of Cal senior Christopher Wootton, Chancellor Birgeneau extends condolences to the engineering student's family, and urges members of the campus community to seek assistance and support if needed in this time of stress.
(03 May)

Two profesors elected to American Philosophical Society
Professors Francesca Rochberg and Randy Schekman are new members of the American Philosophical Society, the nation's oldest learned society. Three UC Berkeley alumni also are among the society's 38 new members.
(02 May)

Glowing sugars light up zebrafish
Using artificial sugar and some clever chemistry, UC Berkeley researchers have made glow-in-the-dark zebrafish whose internal light comes from the sugar coating on their cells. The technique is a new tool for researchers, and will lead to a better understanding of the role of cell-surface sugars in health and disease.
(02 May)

$2 million for sustainability projects designed by students and faculty
Twenty-three projects aimed at helping people live more sustainably have been granted a total of $2 million through a new program at the University of California, Berkeley, that is funded by the Dow Chemical Co. Foundation.
(01 May)

John Cummins puts controversy behind him
After 36 years at Berkeley — including two tumultuous decades in a job that often put him in the eye of the hurricane, from political protests to hostage crises and acts of God — the "utility infielder" for four different chancellors calls it a day.
(30 April)

Quok Shee on Angel Island
Of all 200,000 immigrants held in the detention barracks on Angel Island, in San Francisco Bay, none spent longer than 20-year-old Quok Shee, a new arrival from Hong Kong in the days of the Chinese Exclusion Act. In his new book Immigration at the Golden Gate, Institute for Business and Economic Research administrator Robert Barde tells her story as part of a broader look at the West Coast's immigration system then, a narrative that resonates today. Far from being the "Ellis Island of the West," welcoming newcomers from afar, Barde says, Angel Island existed to keep them out.
(30 April)

For a beloved maestro, a very grand finale
Cal Performances’ 2008-09 season will be an extended sendoff for its longtime director, Robert Cole, featuring a wealth of celebrated performers, promising emerging artists, and newly created works in 10 series: Classical and Modern Dance, Theater, Recital, Opera, Chamber Music and Orchestra, Music Before 1850, World Stage, Jazz, 20th-Century Music and Beyond, and Strictly Speaking.
(30 April)

A new leader named for university communications
Claire Holmes, a senior Bay Area executive in national media and public relations, joins the Berkeley campus on Thursday, May 1, as its associate vice chancellor for university communications. She will serve as the lead communications adviser to the chancellor, vice chancellors, and deans of schools and colleges and will lead a team of professionals working in media relations, Web and campus communications, design, visitor and parent services, executive communications, and strategic communications.
(30 April)

Laurels
Recent faculty and staff honors and awards.
(30 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(30 April)

Engineers harness cell phone technology for use in medical imaging
With an innovative concept developed by UC Berkeley engineers, the ubiquitous cell phone could one day be used to make medical imaging accessible to billions of people around the world. Using off-the-shelf components, the researchers demonstrated the feasibility of using a mobile phone to transmit raw data from a medical scan to a central server for processing, and then receiving the final image for display on its screen.
(29 April)

High environmental certification for Haste Street Center
Officials will gather today (Tuesday, April 29) to celebrate the University of California, Berkeley's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-silver certified building - the Haste Street Child Development Center - which also is the state's first freestanding LEED-silver certified child care center.
(29 April)

Three faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences
Three faculty members of the University of California, Berkeley, are among 72 new members and 18 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the nation's most prestigious societies of scholars engaged in science and engineering research.
(29 April)

MySpace to hiphop: A view into the world of 'digital youth'
From Facebook friends to anime fan subbers, Harry Potter podcasters to online communities of teenage bulimics, kids are using Web 2.0 tools to reinvent themselves and the world. In the first public report on a nationwide study of networked youth, Berkeley researchers bring news from beyond the generational divide.
(28 April)

Five faculty elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Five UC Berkeley faculty members are among 212 scholars, scientists, artists, civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders elected April 28 to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, bringing the campus's total membership in AAAS to 227.
(28 April)

Understanding Underhill
A five-block stretch south of campus has been transformed since 2001 by the Underhill Area Projects, an ambitious — and controversial — effort to address such longstanding university needs as student housing, dining and parking facilities, and office space. Its ultimate success awaits the judgment of history, architectural and otherwise. But if you're looking for an overview of Underhill, it's all right here.
(24 April)

Refining the date of dinosaur extinction
Thanks to a recalibration of the argon-argon dating technique, geochronologists at UC Berkeley and the Berkeley Geochronology Center have established a more precise date for the dinosaur dieoff at the end of the Cretaceous period: 65.95 million years ago, give or take 40,000 years.
(24 April)

Clean energy plans dominate 2008 Global Social Venture Competition
A plan to make clean energy affordable around the world to poor, rural households without access to electricity won the grand prize of the 2008 Global Social Venture Competition at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
(23 April)

Bottom line on the Berkeley budget
When the Legislature approves a state budget later this year, the UC system is likely to be hit with a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars. Nathan Brostrom, Berkeley's vice chancellor for Administration, explains what the campus is doing to limit the damage, both in the short term and far into the future.

(23 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(23 April)

Campus's Sustainability Summit turns five
In a half-day meeting, more than 500 participants take stock of progress and challenges, small and large, in the student-fueled movement to green the UC Berkeley campus
(22 April)

A snapshot of student reading habits over two decades
What do UC Berkeley students read? From Why do Men Have Nipples? to the novels of J.K. Rowling and Jane Austen, three large surveys of freshman reading habits, each conducted a decade apart, identify ephemeral — and enduring — undergraduate reading choices.
(21 April)

Low cortisol levels found in kids whose mothers show signs of depression
A new study of young children living in extreme poverty found that those whose mothers showed symptoms of depression had low levels of cortisol, a hormone activated during times of stress, compared with children whose mothers did not exhibit depressive symptoms.
(21 April)

Point of view: Seniors on what's ahead
Thirteen UC Berkeley seniors, most of them set to graduate in mid May, share their post-graduation plans — and the final hurdles they face before commencement.
(18 April)

Energy expert Alex Farrell has died
Alex Farrell, an associate professor in the Energy and Resources Group who worked closely with state government over the past year to chart a course to reduce California's carbon emissions, died earlier this week at his home in San Francisco. He was 46.
(17 April)

Panel to explore U.S. universities' role in global development
The role that U.S. universities play in global development will be addressed in a panel discussion on Thursday, April 17, as part of the official launch of UC Berkeley's new Center for Evaluation for Global Action (CEGA).
(16 April)

Distinguished Teaching Award 2008 winners
Four professors in the arts and humanities, social sciences and environmental design are recipients of this year's Distinguished Teaching Award at UC Berkeley.
(16 April)

Chancellor, student leaders sign new plan for multicultural center
UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau and student leaders today (Wednesday, April 16) signed an agreement that is expected to improve the look and operation of the campus's multicultural center.
(16 April)

This year’s Sustainability Summit definitely has an agenda
Reflecting the growing importance of sustainability on campus, Berkeley’s fifth annual summit on the issue is expanding to a half-day, with workshops on everything from greening your own life to the energy frontier far beyond fossil fuels.
(16 April)

Bush under fire, friendly and otherwise
A Pulitzer-winning historian, a Washington bureau chief, a neoconservative pundit, and the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign gathered on campus last week to assess the Bush presidency. History, it seems, hath no fury like a brain-truster scorned.
(16 April)

Sights, sounds, and stories from around the world
Springtime signals the arrival of the San Francisco International Film Festival, which has served up a banquet of global film for 51 years. Among the festival’s venues is the campus’s Pacific Film Archive, whose senior film curator, Susan Oxtoby, personally chooses the works that will screen there — 36 of the festival’s 100-plus invited films this year.
(16 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(16 April)

Sudden Oak Death pathogen is evolving, says new study that reconstructs the epidemic
A new UC Berkeley-led study finds that the pathogen responsible for Sudden Oak Death, a disease that has felled millions of oaks and tanoaks along the Pacific Coast, is evolving, suggesting that movement of infected plants between different quarantined regions should be minimized. The study also revealed that the pathogen got its first toehold in California's forests outside a nursery in Santa Cruz and at Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County.
(16 April)

More clues to midlife dementia that erases personality
UC Berkeley and UCSF researchers are uncovering more clues to a mystifying dementia that robs its victims of empathy, emotion regulation and social competence and leads to an early death. This is the first in-depth study of emotional processing in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), a neurogenerative disorder that often surfaces in middle age. Researchers from UC Berkeley and UCSF's Memory and Aging Center say FTLD is easy to overlook because it goes after the parts of the brain that control emotions while sparing functions such as memory, calculation and navigation.
(15 April)

Campus releases freshman admission data
Campus officials today (Monday, April 14) announced that they have offered admission to 12,616 high school students for the 2008-2009 school year, following an exceptionally competitive admissions cycle propelled by a marked increase in applications.
(14 April)

The Torture Memos and Academic Freedom
In an open letter, Christopher Edley, Jr., dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, discusses law professor John Yoo's "torture memos" for the Bush administration in the context of Yoo's employment at UC Berkeley and academic freedom.
(11 April)

Unprecedented conservation map maximizes species protection on biodiversity hot spot
An international team of researchers led by UC Berkeley biologists has developed a remarkable new roadmap for finding and protecting the best remaining holdouts for thousands of rare species that live only in Madagascar, an island nation considered one of the world's jewels of biodiversity. The new plan not only includes lemurs – those large-eyed, tree-hopping primates that have become poster children for conservation – but also species of ants, butterflies, frogs, geckos and plants.
(10 April)

Student viewpoints on China, the Olympics, and the protests
Six UC Berkeley undergraduates share their thoughts on China's hosting of the 2008 Summer Games and the protests accompanying the journey of the Olympic torch to Beijing.
(10 April)

Honoring those who keep the place running
35 campus staffers, many of whom perform essential work far outside the limelight, were singled out as COSA winners in an April 3 ceremony at International House.
(09 April)

A chronicle of Berkeley: Nut Hill, chained suffragettes, and all
The town and the campus are joined at the historical hip, says Berkeley City College prof Charles Wollenberg.
(09 April)

Fruit and flowers honor a teacher who ‘knows her stuff’
This year’s student-initiated Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching goes to Ananya Roy.
(09 April)

A snapshot of diversity, Berkeley-style
In a two-day photo session, hundreds of staff, faculty, and students line up to say ‘cheese’ . . . . and ‘thank you.’
(09 April)

Shades of gray . . . with a touch of black-and-blue
In her first novel, English lecturer Melanie Abrams takes a literary yet erotic approach to dominant/submissive sex.
(09 April)

Latest U.S. News graduate rankings spotlight Berkeley’s breadth
U.S. News & World Report last week published new rankings of American graduate programs in professional fields and other areas of study, with the assessments continuing to show Berkeley’s academic excellence across a broad range of disciplines.
(09 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(09 April)

Medieval history professor, devoted to students, dead at 79
Gerard Caspary, a UC Berkeley, professor emeritus of medieval history known for his powerful intellect and his exceptional devotion to his students, died at his home in Berkeley this weekend. He was 79.
(09 April)

English Professor Robert Hass wins Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Robert Hass, an award-winning University of California, Berkeley, professor of English and former U.S. poet laureate, has won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his latest book, “Time and Materials.”
(09 April)

Six professors win prestigious Guggenheim fellowships
Six UC Berkeley faculty members, all from the College of Letters & Science, have won prestigious Guggenheim fellowships. They are among 190 artists, scientists and scholars across the nation who were awarded the 2008 fellowships this week.
(08 April)

Robert Hass wins Pulitzer Prize for poetry
Robert Hass, an award-winning UC Berkeley professor of English and former U.S. poet laureate, has won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for his latest book, "Time and Materials."
(07 April)

Conference on California climate change politics, prospects
Changing Climates: Class, Culture, and Politics in the Era of Global Warming," an April 11-13 conference, will explore the challenges, conflicts and politics of climate change in California.
(03 April)

Scandinavian language smorgasbord
Want to learn how to say "I love Cal Day" in Swedish? How about in Norwegian, Danish or Finnish? On Cal Day in Room 33 of Dwinelle Hall, the Scandinavian Department will offer free, 30-minute lessons starting at 11 a.m. that essentially offer highlights of the first day of UC Berkeley classes in beginning Finnish, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian.
(03 April)

"Math girl" makes music
A wide variety of music will echo across campus on Cal Day, but Nicole Campbell's got a niche all her own. The long-haired, acoustic guitar-strumming, third-year UC Berkeley student will be in Room 1015 of Evans Hall performing songs she wrote about math and science.
(03 April)

Birgeneau testifies before U.S. Senate panel examining greenhouse gas emissions
UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau outlined for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday the efforts underway on campus to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and discussed research initiatives that have made Berkeley a leading center on energy research and education.
(03 April)

Regents pick University of Texas chancellor to lead UC system
The Board of Regents voted unanimously last week to appoint Mark Yudof, current head of the University of Texas system and a recognized leader in American higher education, the 19th president of the University of California.
(02 April)

Meet the (flesh-eating) beetles — performing one day only
That would be Cal Day, naturally, a multi-species extravaganza of science, art, awesomeness, and just plain fun for the whole Cal family.

(02 April)

Dr. Robert Mishell, professor emeritus of immunology, dies at age 73
Dr. Robert Mishell, a professor emeritus of immunology who discovered the first method of developing antibody-producing cells in vitro, died March 6 at age 73.
(02 April)

Cal Day annual open house
Cal Day, UC Berkeley's annual open house, offers visitors the chance to become a UC Berkeley student for the day on Saturday, April 12.
(02 April)

Opening up, or dumbing down?
Web 2.0 ‘creates an environment where anyone can say anything.’ That’s either the beginning of wisdom, the end of civilization as we know it, or something in between.
(02 April)

All keyed up: 25 students vie for an 80-year-old Steinway
Generosity and serendipity both play a part in the first Berkeley Piano Competition.
(02 April)

It's My Job
In this semi-regular feature, the Berkeleyan showcases a staff member whose work is essential to the smooth functioning of the campus (or one of its many departments and units).
(02 April)

Literary scholar Annabel Patterson to deliver Tanner Lectures
Annabel Patterson, Sterling Professor Emerita of English at Yale and a distinguished literary scholar, will present the Tanner Lectures on Human Values on April 8 and 9. On April 10 she will take part in a seminar discussion with commentators from three academic disciplines.
(02 April)

Laurels
Honors, awards, and other faculty and staff achievements of note.
(02 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(02 April)

Free Photo Booth "school portraits" will capture Cal's diversity
Members of the campus community can show and tell what UC Berkeley means to them with the April 3-4 visit of portrait photographer Christopher Irion's Photo Booth at Dwinelle Plaza. These free "school portraits" aim to capture the diversity of Cal in images and words for an upcoming community "billboard," due to be unveiled in the fall.
(01 April)

New study finds glamorization of drugs in rap music jumped dramatically over two decades
A new study finds that references to illegal drug use in rap music jumped sixfold in the two decades since 1979, the year when rap made its way from inner-city urban areas to a mainstream audience. Moreover, illegal drug use became increasingly linked during this time period to wealth, glamour and social standing, raising red flags about its potential influence on young listeners, said Denise Herd, UC Berkeley associate professor and author of the study.
(01 April)

Octopus lovemaking more sophisticated than previously assumed
For decades, scientists have considered octopuses to be unromantic loners. But new research from UC Berkeley has found that at least one species of octopus engages in such sophisticated lovemaking tactics as flirting, passionate handholding and keeping rivals at arms’ length.
(31 March)

Growth hormone also guides brain wiring
A human hormone known to stimulate the growth of cells throughout the body has a new role - helping to set up the proper nerve connections in the odor center of the brain, according to UC Berkeley neuroscientist John Ngai.
(26 March)

Students' plans for spring break
From catching up on sleep to motorcycle lessons and desert-wildflower gazing, 13 UC Berkeley undergraduates share what they're planning for spring break.
(21 March)

Greek houses, co-ops gain access to emergency supply caches, disaster training
UC Berkeley students and campus and city officials have launched a first-in-the-nation student disaster-preparedness program, under which the more than 2,500 Berkeley students who live in fraternities, sororities and cooperative housing will receive six caches of emergency supplies as well as training to help them respond to major earthquakes or other natural catastrophes.
(20 March)

Folate intake linked to genetic abnormalities in sperm, says new study
It may not be just women who need extra folate in their diets to reduce the risk of birth defects. A new study by researchers at UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory puts the spotlight on the other sex, finding that healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of genetic abnormalities in their sperm.
(19 March)

A new honor for indefatigable former faculty
The first Dickson Emeriti Professorship recognizes the ongoing work of Joseph Duggan.
(19 March)

Raising the profile of immigration studies
"Human history has always been about migration," says sociologist Irene Bloemraad, "but with ever-increasing globalization, the 21st century will be a century of people on the move." Over the past five years, she has worked to raise the profile of immigration studies at UC Berkeley, where a remarkable two thirds of students are foreign born or have at least one foreign-born parent.
(19 March)

Understanding the Middle East, or not
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, a retired commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East shared this year's Nimitz lectures with the former head of the CIA's bin Laden desk. But where Gen. John Abizaid said we're on the right track in the "war on terror," Michael Scheuer said we've got it all wrong.

(19 March)

Anniversary of a rebellion
An exhibit of photos by Serge Hambourg at the Berkeley Art Museum captures the spirit of the 1968 Paris student revolt that nearly brought down the government of Charles De Gaulle. It's complemented at the Pacific Film Archive by "The Clash of '68," a series of films based on the theme of rebellion that infused the '60s generally.
(19 March)

Fun and enlightenment for 35,000 will be the order of the day
Cal Day, the campus’s annual open house, is April 12.
(19 March)

Daniel Boyarin will deliver Faculty Research Lecture
His April 1 talk on Plato and the Talmud is the second of two lectures in the 2008 series.

(19 March)

New Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(19 March)

UC Regents review preliminary conceptual design for new BAM/PFA
The University of California Regents Committee on Grounds and Buildings today (Tuesday, March 18) got its first peek at Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects' preliminary conceptual design for a new Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) near the main western entrance to the UC Berkeley campus.
(18 March)

Mathematician, puzzle lover David Gale has died
David Gale, a puzzle lover and professor emeritus of mathematics who made fundamental contributions to economics and game theory, died March 7 at the age of 86.
(18 March)

Intel and Microsoft launch parallel computing research center at UC Berkeley
Microsoft and Intel announced Tuesday, March 18, the creation of two Universal Parallel Computing Research Centers, the first at UC Berkeley and another at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The two centers comprise what is considered the nation's first joint industry and university research alliance of this magnitude that is focused on mainstream parallel computing.
(18 March)

Gecko's tail key to preventing falls, aerial maneuvers
While recent research has focused on the gecko's unusual toes as the key to climbing walls and hanging from ceilings, UC Berkeley biologists have found that its tail plays a critical role in preventing it from falling when it slips and maneuvering to solid surfaces when it does fall.
(17 March)

Art student portrays fallen U.S. troops as Iraq War approaches five-year mark
For graduate student Emily Prince, who's been drawing portraits of U.S. troop fatalities for more than three years, the Iraq War's fifth anniversary is a deeply felt milestone.
(17 March)

C.V. Starr East Asian Library to open March 17
The University of California, Berkeley's new C.V. Starr East Asian Library - the first freestanding structure at a United States university erected solely for East Asian collections - will open its stately bronze doors to the public on Monday, March 17.
(14 March)

New oak woodland reserve near San Jose
The new Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, a 3,260-acre oak woodland just east of San Jose, will provide a research site for UC scientists and an educational outpost for local college and K-12 students.
(13 March)

Better uses for campus trees
UC Berkeley planning analyst Steven Finacom was strolling across campus on Tuesday, camera in hand, when he came across an impropmtu bit of landscape art.
(12 March)

UC Berkeley and Stanford University launch joint stem cell research
Two leaders in biomedical research – UC-Berkeley and the Stanford School of Medicine – will join forces in a new stem cell initiative that will catalyze research and serve as a magnet for scholars from around the world. The Siebel Stem Cell Institute, established by the Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation, is a joint initiative between the Berkeley Stem Cell Center and the Stanford Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Institute.
(12 March)

A peer-to-peer-support resource is born
The Disability Staff Resource Network aims to empower employees seeking workplace accommodations.
(12 March)

Human trafficking steps from the shadows
Forum on modern-day slavery focuses on its victims, and on the belief of many in the United States — and in California — that it can't happen here.
(12 March)

Chemist to deliver year’s first Faculty Research Lecture
Each year, two Berkeley faculty distinguished for their scholarly research are nominated by their peers
in the Academic Senate to deliver a Faculty Research Lecture during the spring. The 95th annual Faculty Research Lectures will be delivered this year by Jean M. J. Fréchet, the Henry Rapoport Professor of Organic Chemistry and a faculty member in chemical engineering, and Daniel Boyarin, the Hermann P. and Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture in the departments of Near Eastern Studies and Rhetoric.
(12 March)

Accrediting commission notes UC compensation and governance reforms
Following a report of a special-visit team, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) has issued a letter to the University of California validating the university’s reforms in compensation and governance matters and urging continued progress in these areas.
(12 March)

School of Public Health to honor its ‘heroes’ in annual ceremony
On April 2, the School of Public Health (SPH) will honor three individuals and one organization at its 12th annual Public Health Heroes Awards ceremony, to be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
(12 March)

Laurels
Honors, awards, and other faculty and staff achievements of note.
(12 March)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(12 March)

New analysis finds alarming increase in expected growth of China CO2 emissions
The growth in China's carbon dioxide emissions is far outpacing the previously expected trajectory for the country, making the goal of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases even more difficult, according to a new analysis by economists at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego.
(10 March)

John H. Freeman, business professor and entrepreneurship pioneer, dies
John H. Freeman, a leader in the field of entrepreneurship and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, died of an apparent heart attack at his home in Lafayette, Calif., on Monday (March 3). He was 63.
(07 March)

Extra cash from government program linked to better child development, new study says
Children in impoverished families that received an extra amount of cold, hard cash from a government support program were taller, less likely to be overweight, and scored higher on cognitive, motor and language tests, compared with kids in families that received less money, says a new UC Berkeley-led study.
(06 March)

Prime-time torture gets a reality check
Among the many fans of Fox TV's 24 are U.S. Supreme Court justices and the head of Homeland Security. But the program Newsweek called "a neocon sex fantasy" also has its devotees in the U.S. military, where, according to some critics, it's viewed less as fantasy than as a training manual.
(05 March)

All in the job family
Beginning this week, the campus’s Career Compass project moves into its next phase, with supervisors reviewing the job descriptions of their non-represented employees and then “mapping” them into the new job structure created through the multi-year project.
(05 March)

UC to offer admission to all eligible undergraduates for 2008-09
The University of California will continue to offer admission in fall 2008 to all undergraduate applicants who meet its eligibility requirements, despite the fact that the governor’s budget proposes to cut state funding for the university in 2008-09, UC officials announced last week.
(05 March)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(05 March)

Cal student fashions then and now
Editors of BARE magazine scope out student fashion 'statements' on Sproul Plaza and comment on the trends.
(04 March)

Campus and new Saudi university announce partnership
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the University of California, Berkeley, today (Tuesday, March 4) announced their partnership in the Academic Excellence Alliance (AEA), designed to establish joint research, collaborate in the design of the academic curriculum, and identify and nominate the founding faculty in mechanical engineering for the new University. KAUST is a new international, graduate-level research university opening in Saudi Arabia in 2009.
(04 March)

A century of Cal student fashion to be displayed
Battered hats and dirt-encrusted brown corduroy pants might scream 1990s grunge. But these shabby fashion statements were all the rage at UC Berkeley in the late 1890s and early 1900s. "The more disgusting they were, the higher status they held," said William Benemann, curator of a new campus exhibit "From Plugs to Bling: A Century of Cal Student Fashion."
(03 March)

Bancroft Library archiving works of pioneering artist Gus Arriola
The "Gordo" comic strips, which beginning in 1941 introduced millions of people in the United States to life south of the border, is part of the rich archive of cartoonist Gus Arriola's work now residing at the University of California, Berkeley's Bancroft Library.
(29 February)

Carbon calculator provides personalized footprint
Anyone concerned about global warming will want to check out UC Berkeley's new carbon calculator to see how their lifestyle contributes to their personal carbon footprint, and to find ways to reduce their greenhouse gases emissions.
(28 February)

EBI director's talk on demystifying cellulosic biofuels can been seen on YouTube
In a talk that can be seen on YouTube, Chris Somerville, the director of the new Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), discussed why cellulosic biofuels can have major environmental and economic advantages over today's corn-based ethanol.
(28 February)

More public health professionals needed to avert crisis, warns new report
UC Berkeley's School of Public Health was part of a first-of-its-kind assessment warning of a major public health workforce crisis in the U.S. unless there is an immediate influx of funding for recruitment and training of public health professionals. The report, released Feb. 27 by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), found that more than 250,000 additional public health workers are needed by 2020.
(27 February)

Keeping the fruits of knowledge within reach
With subscription costs for traditional academic journals on the rise, the newly launched Berkeley Research Impact Initiative offers subsidies to campus scholars wishing to take the open-access publishing route, and hope for a new model of sustainability.
(27 February)

Small "helper" stars needed for massive star formation
Massive stars form rarely, but have a large influence on a galaxy like the Milky Way. They seed galaxies with most of their heavy elements, for example. A UC Berkeley astrophysicist looking into the formation of massive stars finds that stars the size of the sun must form first to set the stage for formation of a single, huge star perhaps 100 times the mass of the sun.
(27 February)

The Promise of Berkeley
A colorful, thrice-yearly magazine, The Promise of Berkeley is sent to more than 100,000 alumni and friends of UC Berkeley to keep them in touch with campus research and personalities. The most recent issue focuses on the commitment to public service that is a fundamental Berkeley value for students and faculty alike.
(27 February)

Bigfoot casts a philosophical shadow
To some eyewitness observers, giant Sasquatch footprints at the Hearst Museum of Anthropology — alleged to be those of a creature named Cripplefoot — represent a small step out of the dense woods of ridicule and into the bright light of philosophy, romance, and "vigilante science."
(27 February)

Faculty Nightstand
For this edition of Faculty Nightstand, Vicky Kahn, of the department of English and comparative literature, describes a novel by a modern writer whose works are likely to become part of the literary canon: South African novelist J.M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.
(27 February)

It's My Job
In this feature, the Berkeleyan showcases a staff member whose work is essential to the smooth functioning of the campus (or one of its many departments and units).
(27 February)

PACE reports says state's schools holding steady or improving
A new report from Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) says California's public school students lag behind much of the nation in most areas, but have managed to hold steady or improve across subjects and grade levels, with graduation rates also eking upward in era of lagging resources, a growing population and increasing diversity.
(27 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(27 February)

Strong community networks linked to fewer recurring heart problems, new study finds
A new UC Berkeley-led study shows that low-income patients with existing heart problems are significantly less likely to have another heart attack or a recurrence of chest pain if they live in a county with higher measures of trust, cooperation and social networks – something researchers call "social capital."
(26 February)

New digital projects teach English in India, monitor air pollution
An online mystery game in which student sleuths will monitor air pollution in South Central Los Angeles and in Cairo, Egypt, and a project using cell phones to teach English to children in India have won funding for two University of California, Berkeley, professors.
(25 February)

The commander-in-chief and the courts
The winner of the 2008 presidential election will potentially shape the future composition of the U.S. Supreme Court. This aspect of the presidential contest, infrequently discussed in media coverage of the primaries, took center stage Feb. 21 at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where a group of legal experts discussed "The Next President and the Courts."
(25 February)

New Asia business center to bolster UC Berkeley's offerings in Asia
The University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business is launching a new center focused on significantly increasing the school's leadership training for Asian business managers and on expanding its research collaborations with Asian universities, Dean Tom Campbell announced today (Tuesday, Feb. 19).
(20 February)

Shooting emergencies: UC police are trained to respond; learn what you should do
In the wake of recent campus tragedies, universities across the country have reassessed and are stepping up their preparedness to respond to a campus shooting or other critical emergency. At UC Berkeley, the UC Police Department is trained for such emergencies, and offers online tips for the campus community on how to respond if a shooting should occur.
(20 February)

Study finds cloudy outlook for solar panels
Despite increasing popular support for solar photovoltaic panels in the United States, their costs far outweigh the benefits, according to a new analysis by Severin Borenstein, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business and director of the UC Energy Institute.
(20 February)

Top UC administrator coming to Berkeley as associate chancellor
Linda Morris Williams, who rose through the ranks to become associate president of the UC system and chief policy adviser to President Robert Dynes, will soon join the Berkeley campus as Associate Chancellor – Government, Community, and Campus Liaison. Williams will take over a number of responsibilities from John Cummins, associate chancellor and chief of staff for the Chancellor’s Immediate Office, who is retiring in June after 36 years on campus.
(20 February)

Ang Lee’s films to be focus of ‘On the Same Page’ program
Freshmen and transfer students entering the College of Letters and Science next fall will be asked to watch two of celebrated film director Ang Lee’s productions— Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Ice Storm — as part of L&S's signature program, "On the Same Page." Lee and his longtime collaborator and screenwriter, Berkeley alumnus James Schamus, will be the program’s featured speakers and will visit the campus in October.
(20 February)

2008 UC summer programs for children
Our annual guide to great programs for kids.

(19 February)

Chancellor's chair in equity and inclusion announced
A new $5 million chair devoted to leading-edge research and teaching on equity and inclusion in society was announced today. The Robert D. Haas Chancellor's Chair in Equity and Inclusion is being established in large part through a gift from the Levi Strauss Foundation.
(19 February)

Chancellor Birgeneau extends condolences on shootings at Northern Illinois University
In a message to the campus community, Chancellor Birgeneau expresses UC Berkeley's sorrow over Thursday's shootings at Northern Illinois University, and talks of steps taken at Berkeley and elsewhere to respond to similar crises.
(15 February)

Music student adds kudos to his CV — a Grammy
As a musician and a scholar, "I'm very much about saying 'we're here,' " says American Indian singer and composer John-Carlos Perea. Over the weekend that message of Native survival got a worldwide stage, when the Paul Winter Consort CD Crestone — featuring contributions from the UC Berkeley doctoral student — won a Grammy for Best New Age Album.
(15 February)

State Ballet of Georgia launches first-ever U.S. tour at UC Berkeley
The State Ballet of Georgia launches its first-ever U.S. tour at UC Berkeley Feb. 14, presented by Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall in shows that run through Sunday. The ballet's American visit highlights the once-struggling troupe’s resurgence after an era of political repression and economic deprivation
(14 February)

Genome of marine organism tells of animals' one-celled ancestors
A ubiquitous but little-known marine organism, the choanoflagellate, is the last one-celled ancestor of humans and offers clues to how cells learned to assemble into multicelled organisms. The genome of the choanoflagellate Monisiga has now been sequenced and, according to UC Berkeley's Nicole King, offers clues to the origin of the glue that holds many-celled animals together.
(14 February)

What do we mean when we talk of love?
Psychology prof Dacher Keltner investigates the many facets of everyone's favorite heartfelt emotion — from the passionate urges of early romance to the connections some people are able to feel for humanity at large.
(13 February)

General says Abu Ghraib scandal will resonate ‘for years to come’
In a rare public appearance last week at International House, Antonio Taguba said revelations about abuse at the now-notorious Baghdad prison “affected the moral and ethical conscience of our nation,” and blamed U.S. leaders for what he called "the ambiguity of rules of war."
(13 February)

So an EECS prof and an undergrad walk into a computer lab …
Beneath its jokey exterior, Jester 4.0 is serious research, a recommender system that employs complex mathematics to match users with others of similar tastes and preferences. Someday soon, Eigentaste 5.0 — the sophisticated algorithm on which it's based — could even help Chuck Norris find a portfolio of charities to support.
(13 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(13 February)

Three faculty elected to National Academy of Engineering
Three UC Berkeley faculty are among 65 new members elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Membership in the academy is considered one of the highest professional distinctions accorded an American engineer.
(12 February)

Chancellor to legislators: UC Berkeley and city are separate entities
Chancellor Birgeneau has written to 52 elected officials in Washington, D.C., to clear up an incorrect notion that the UC Berkeley campus has any connection to actions taken by the Berkeley City Council.
(12 February)

Web conference takes on "silver tsunami"
As America scrambles to meet the retirement needs of 78 million aging Baby Boomers, UC Berkeley is cyber-surfing ahead of the so-called "silver tsunami" by launching its first-ever online conference to help create aging-friendly communities.
(12 February)

Joint Nokia research project to capture traffic data using GPS-enabled cell phones
Researchers from UC Berkeley and Nokia are testing technology that could soon transform the way drivers navigate through congested highways. In the unprecedented field experiment, transportation researchers tested the feasibility of using GPS-enabled mobile phones to monitor real-time traffic flow while preserving the privacy of the phones’ users.
(08 February)

National Academy of Sciences hosting Katherine Sherwood's 'Golgi's Door' show
Some 11 paintings and prints by UC Berkeley art professor Katherine D. Sherwood on display through Feb. 22 in the National Academy of Sciences' Rotunda Gallery in Washington, D.C. contrast historic and contemporary medical imaging with ancient symbols of magic, mystery and healing from around the globe.
(08 February)

Tracking gliding behavior in the "flying" lemur
Among the gliding animals, the colugo or "flying" lemur of Southeast Asia is the champ. It's able to glide the length of two football fields with its doormat-sized skin flaps. UC Berkeley researchers are strapping backpacks to these animals to find out how they do it.
(07 February)

Rewriting history and poking fun at the powers that be
“Enrique Chagoya: Borderlandia,” a 25-year survey of the artist’s work that showcases his wide-ranging palette, will open at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive on February 13.
(06 February)

It's My Job
In this feature, the Berkeleyan showcases a staff member whose work is essential to the smooth functioning of the campus (or one of its many departments and units).
(06 February)

Laurels
Honors, awards, and other faculty and staff achievements of note.
(06 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(06 February)

Jorge Liderman, award-winning composer and music professor, dies at age 50
Jorge Mario Liderman, a distinguished composer and a University of California, Berkeley, music professor, died suddenly Sunday (Feb. 3). He was 50.
(06 February)

Berkeley, and the nation, turn the spotlight on climate change
In an all-day series of symposiums Jan. 31 at International House, the UC Berkeley campus joined with other colleges and universities across America to 'Focus the Nation' on global warming.
(01 February)

Statistician's new method will test election outcomes
The first test of a UC Berkeley professor's new procedure for conducting hand tallies to verify election outcomes will be tested in next Tuesday's California primary. It will provide election officials with a long-awaited, reliable way to judge the accuracy of the vote count or tell them how much to expand hand tallies in the event of a close race.
(31 January)

Chancellor Birgeneau on keeping public universities affordable: ‘We have to start now’
Even before Harvard announced plans to extend financial aid to students from families with incomes up to $180,000, Chancellor Birgeneau was addressing the challenge of ensuring that qualified low- and middle-income students could afford to attend UC Berkeley. In this interview with the Berkeleyan, he talks about what he's learned — and what needs to be done.
(30 January)

Applications sought for Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund
The University of California, Berkeley is inviting local community groups to apply for grants from the Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund for 2008-2009. Non-profit organizations and neighborhood groups based in the city of Berkeley that propose projects in partnership with the campus to improve the quality of life for city residents are eligible to apply for funding.
(30 January)

Campus issues statement of environmental commitment
A milestone in the Berkeley campus's efforts to measure and mitigate its impact on the environment, this “statement of commitment to the environment” was approved as campus policy in November 2007.
(30 January)

New director in place to coordinate campus sustainability efforts
Lisa McNeilly starts work as the campus’s first director of sustainability on Wednesday, Jan. 30. The position, reporting to Vice Chancellor for Administration Nathan Brostrom, will (in the words of Chancellor Birgeneau) “better coordinate the many initiatives currently under way to reduce the long-term environmental impact of campus operations.”
(30 January)

Faculty, students available for presidential campaign interviews
As the California primary approaches, University of California, Berkeley, students, faculty and staff are available to provide news outlets with interviews and analysis of major campaign issues such as the economy and immigration. In addition, several election-related forums and events will be held on campus during the campaign season.
(30 January)

For Obama, the act’s the thing
Theater professor Shannon Steen peers into the candidate’s political persona and finds Horatio Alger, Abe Lincoln, and Stanislavski looking back at her.
(30 January)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community
(30 January)

Student viewpoints on the '08 presidential contest
Sixteen UC Berkeley undergrads weigh in on the election — the issues that concern them and their decision (or indecision) on the candidates.
(30 January)

Anna's hummingbird chirps with its tail
Male Anna's hummingbirds can now be seen in many West Coast backyards and fields executing theirdisplay dives to seduce females and drive away intruders. UC Berkeley students have now shown that the characteristic chirp at the bottom of the male's dive, thought by many to be vocal, is produced by a split-second flaring of the tail feathers.
(30 January)

Engineers create new adhesive that mimics gecko toe hairs
A new anti-sliding adhesive developed by UC Berkeley engineers may be the closest man-made material yet to mimic the remarkable gecko toe hairs that allow the tiny lizard to scamper along vertical surfaces and ceilings. The researchers say that such an adhesive could one day be used to outfit a small robot that could climb up walls.
(29 January)

New fund to help recruit top graduate students in the humanities
A $6 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that will help the University of California, Berkeley, recruit top graduate students in the humanities was announced today (Monday, Jan. 28) by Janet Broughton, UC Berkeley's dean of arts and humanities.
(28 January)

Campus joins national Focus the Nation "teach-in" with Jan. 31 global warming symposium
On Thursday, Jan. 31, UC Berkeley will join more than 1,500 institutions - most of them colleges and universities - across the United States in hosting an all-day symposium called "Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America."
(28 January)

What it's like to be new on campus
UC surveys shine a light on the freshman and transfer-student experience at Berkeley
(28 January)

Court will not rule on new student-athlete training center lawsuits until sometime after March 7
A ruling will not be issued until sometime after March 7 on the three consolidated lawsuits over planned construction of UC Berkeley's new student-athlete training center, to be situated west of California Memorial Stadium.
(25 January)

Coming attractions for spring 2008: Global warming, rebellion, and redemption
A lineup of events that will challenge the mind, entertain the senses, and depart from the conventional fills the spring semester's calendar at Berkeley.
(25 January)

Students' political, religious, and social convictions, by the numbers
Recent UC surveys shed light political engagement, religious identification, and social opinions of Berkeley undergrads — in this fourth of a five-part series.
(25 January)

Youngest student to publish ADHD memoir
Freshman Blake Taylor can add "self-help author" to his resume as he enters his second semester this week at UC Berkeley. After two years of writing his life story during vacations, his memoir "ADHD & me: what I learned from lighting fires at the dinner table is available in bookstores. Taylor is being considered the youngest American to publish a personal account of his life with ADHD.
(24 January)

Unpacking 'diversity': Students describe personal encounters at UC Berkeley
Undergrads offer first-person accounts of interactions with people 'different' from themselves — in this third of a five-part series on recent student-survey findings.
(24 January)

Students' political leanings and other factors explored

(23 January)

Campus to remove diseased Monterey pines from Gill Tract in Albany
A stand of diseased Monterey pines will be removed from the campus’s Gill Tract property in Albany beginning Monday, Jan. 28. A majority of these pines are infected with pitch canker, a fungal disease that weakens susceptible trees, leaving them vulnerable to fatal infestation by bark beetles.
(23 January)

Frances Allen: A pioneer in high-performance computing
The explorer, adventurer, and renowned computer scientist will be on campus to deliver a Regents’ Lecture, “The Challenge of the Multi-Cores: Think Sequential, Run Parallel,” at 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 31, in Sibley Auditorium, Bechtel Engineering Center. The Berkeleyan caught up with her last week for a conversation.
(23 January)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(23 January)

How students grade UC Berkeley and spend their time
In the UC Undergraduate Experience Survey, thousands of undergrads evaluate their academic experience at Berkeley and reveal how they divide their hours. This is part two of a five-part report on student-survey findings.
(23 January)

Albert Bowker, innovative chancellor, dies at age 88
Albert Bowker, a former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, an expert is statistics and an innovative administrator during his decades-long career in higher education across the country, died Sunday in a retirement home in Portola Valley, Calif. He was 88 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
(22 January)

Antoni K. Oppenheim, world expert on combustion and heat transfer, dies at 92
Antoni Kazimierz Oppenheim, UC Berkeley professor emeritus of mechanical engineering and one of the world's leading experts on combustion and radiation heat transfer, died Saturday, Jan. 12, at the age of 92.
(22 January)

Rich nations' environmental footprint falls on poor
In the first-ever global accounting of the financial costs of environmental damage caused by human activities in high-, middle- and low-income nations, UC Berkeley researchers have found that rich nations disproportionately impact poor countries, exacting a cost that exceeds what the poor owe the rich.
(22 January)

Survey results offer birds'-eye view of Berkeley student body
Nearly 12,000 Berkeley students took UC's most recent survey on the undergraduate experience — and their responses tell a lot about who they are. This story, the first in a five-part series, focuses on their family roots and campus personas.
(22 January)

Albert Bowker, innovative UC Berkeley chancellor during 1970s, dies at age 88
Albert H. Bowker, a former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, an expert in statistics and an innovative administrator during his decades-long career in higher education across the country, died Sunday in a retirement home in Portola Valley, Calif. He was 88 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
(20 January)

UC Berkeley: Craigslist to establish first endowed faculty chair in new media
UC Berkeley announced plans on Jan. 17 to establish the first endowed faculty chair at the Berkeley Center for New Media with a donation of $1.6 million from craigslist, one of the most popular Web sites in the world. The donation, which will support research, symposia and lectures, will be matched with $1.5 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for a total of $3.1 million.
(17 January)

UC policy report says chemical exposures cost state estimated $2.6 billion
Serious gaps in existing laws regulating the production and use of hazardous chemicals fail to protect public health and the environment, according to a new report released Jan. 17 by researchers at UC Berkeley and UCLA. As a result of this inadequate oversight, chemical and pollution-related diseases among children and workers in California cost the state's insurers, businesses and families an estimated $2.6 billion in direct and indirect costs, says the report.
(17 January)

New life for the New Deal
Whether we know it or not, Californians are still enjoying the legacy of the Depression era's vast public-works programs, whose workers gave us bridges, parks, hospitals, water systems, art, and more. The Living New Deal Project — an ambitious collaborative effort by geographer Gray Brechin, the campus's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, and citizens throughout the state — aims to make sure we know it.
(16 January)

Fiction readers get their moment in the campus spotlight
The campus’s popular Lunch Poems series will gain a prose companion when Story Hour in the Library debuts next Thursday, Jan. 24, at 5 p.m. in Doe Library’s Morrison Library.
(16 January)

It's My Job
In this new feature, the Berkeleyan showcases a staff member whose work is essential to the smooth functioning of the campus (or one of its many departments and units).
(16 January)

Obituary
Paul Plouffe, a longtime lecturer for chemical engineering’s undergraduate writing program, has died. He was 68.
(16 January)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(16 January)

Parasite morphs ant into ripe red berry
Parasites occasionally change the behavior or looks of their host, but a nasty tropical nematode alters both, making its ant host's parasite-filled abdomen resemble a ripe red berry. According to UC Berkeley and Univ. of Arkansas biologists, this behavior is a strategy the nematode evolved to entice birds to eat the ant's abdomen and spread the parasite in their droppings.
(16 January)

Teen pregnancy the norm among dinosaurs
Until recently, paleontologists had found only one dinosaur fossil that was identifiably female: a T. rex that was 18 and pregnant when it died. UC Berkeley researchers now report two more - fossil bones from a 10-year-old female Allosaurus and an 8-year-old female Tenontosaurus - that together indicate dinosaurs grew quickly and became sexually mature before reaching their adult size. Because these dinosaurs typically lived only 30 years, female dinosaurs got pregnant and laid eggs in adolescence.
(14 January)

New Web site highlights campus's 2008 election experts
As the U.S. presidential campaign heats up and attention begins to turn to the Feb. 5 California primary, expect to see more UC Berkeley experts quoted in the print and broadcast media.
(10 January)

Experts available regarding presidential campaign
UC Berkeley experts from a variety of disciplines and perspectives are available to discuss issues and developments in the U.S. presidential race, especially as attention turns to the Feb. 5 California primary. A listing of key experts, along with background on their areas of expertise and research, is available on a new elections web page created by the Media Relations office.
(10 January)

Orphaned bear cub snuggles into new home at UC Berkeley's Sagehen reserve
A 1-year-old orphaned black bear cub was relocated to UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station on Jan. 3, joining two other orphaned bears who were successfully relocated to the reserve in 2005.
(03 January)

Professor wins Mellon prize for influential unconventional research
University of California, Berkeley, professor Thomas W. Laqueur has been selected as a Mellon Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award recipient for his influential study of such unconventional topics as the history of sexuality, death and dying, and the body and gender. He and the campus will receive approximately $1.5 million.
(03 January)

SETI@home looking for more volunteers
The longest-running search for radio signals from alien civilizations is getting a burst of new data from an upgraded Arecibo telescope, which means the SETI@home project needs more desktop computers to help crunch the data.
(02 January)

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