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Stories
from 2001:
Engineers
subject three-story structure to major earthquake
A full-scale three-story apartment building sustained only minor damage
after engineers put it through a series of powerful shake tests.
(press
release, 21 December)
World's
smallest laser caught in act of lasing by UC Berkeley chemists
Chemists at the University of California, Berkeley, have taken snapshots
of the world's smallest laser in action.
(press
release, 20 December)
Researchers
explore 1,000 years of Hawaiian history in search of insights
into cultural & environmental sustainability
Many of the cultural and natural co-evolutionary processes
that happened in Hawaii over the millennium prior to European
contact have also happened elsewhere and are taking place
today on a global environmental scale. Researchers are exploring
this past in an attempt to help us foretell and guide our
own futures.
(press
release, 19 December)
Seismic
test of retrofitted apartment results in only minor damage (with video)
A seismically retrofitted three-story apartment building swung from
side to side but survived almost unscathed when Berkeley engineers subjected
it to shaking equivalent to that which occurred during the major 1994
Northridge, California earthquake. Video provides several views of the
simulated quake.
(press
release, 13 December)
UC
Berkeley graduate students' Sept. 11 anthology generates worldwide
interest among teachers and students
Two
Berkeley graduate students in anthropology are generating
global interest with "September 11: Contexts and Consequences,"
a 600-page paperback reader they edited to provide critical
thinking and informed debate about the international conflict.
(press
release, 5 December)
Lobster
sniffing: how lobsters' hairy noses capture smells in the sea
Investigating
how lobsters sniff their way around a watery world, researchers are
learning how animal antennae capture odor molecules. By understanding
which designs of odor-catching antennae work successfully in nature,
robot builders are honing in on efficient ways to create odor sensors.
(press
release, 30 November)
Professor
Michael Rogin, political scientist and influential teacher, dies following
short illness
Michael Rogin, political science professor and master teacher here for
more than three decades, has died at the age of 64. Rogin was a prolific
author and will be remembered for his compassion, his wit, and his "passionate
engagement."
(press
release, 29 November)
Transgenic
DNA discovered in native Mexican corn, according to a new study by UC
Berkeley researchers
In a study
published in Nature, researchers report that some of Mexico's native
varieties of corn, grown in remote regions, have been contaminated by
transgenic DNA.
(press
release, 29 November)
Expert
on head impacts sets out to reform way authorities diagnose shaken baby
syndrome
Mechanical
engineer Werner Goldsmith has written more than 50 papers on the biomechanics
of head and neck injury. Goldsmith says medical examiners are focusing
on symptoms with ambiguous causes yet overlooking a telltale sign, neck
damage.
(press
release, 27 November)
Triangular-flapped
aircraft wing significantly reduces wake turbulence
Adding triangular
flaps to the design of aircraft wings dramatically cuts the strength
of turbulence generated in a plane's wake, according to research at
the University of California, Berkeley. Researchers say the new wing
designs would quickly render wake turbulence harmless after takeoffs
and landings.
(press
release, 20 November)
UC
Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science entry garners "Toy of the Year"
award
The Lawrence Hall of Science, famed as a museum and for its development
of science curricula, has entered the toy market and scored big. A fizzy
chemistry kit called Soda Pop Science, has won a "Toy of the Year" award,
an honor some have termed the Oscars of the toy industry
(press
release, 19 November)
Researchers
find 17 states still offer no Medicaid coverage for smoking cessation
treatments
More states
are providing Medicaid coverage to help smokers quit, but 17 states
still do not. Researchers argue that helping smokers quit not only provides
health benefits, it can reduce costs associated with tobacco-related
diseases. In fact, they maintain that smoking cessation treatments may
be the gold standard for cost-effectiveness in medical care.
(press
release, 8 November)
New
drug policy study reveals legalization is not the only alternative to
America's "war on drugs"
A new study
based upon 10 years of research concludes that the nation's drug problems
cannot be solved by blanket legalization nor by a zero tolerance policy.
After exploring
America's previous encounters with prohibition and regulation as well
as various drug policies being tried in Western Europe and elsewhere,
researchers conclude that the best approach falls within a range of
options outside of the extremes of blanket legalization and zero tolerance.
(press
release, 8 November)
UC
Berkeley officials taking action to halt spread of tree-killing pathogen
found on campus
Sudden Oak Death has infected three trees on the Berkeley campus, leading
campus officials to take aggressive steps to contain its spread and
protect the landscape. Officials believe the disease only recently spread
to campus and that they have managed to detect it at the outset.
(press
release, 31 October)
UC
Berkeley expert on insect flight receives prestigious MacArthur "genius"
award
His e-mail
moniker is "flyman," he is one of the world's experts on the aerodynamics
of flying insects, and as of today (Oct. 24), Michael Dickinson is a
MacArthur Fellow. Dickinson, 38, professor of integrative biology in
UC Berkeley's College of Letters & Science, was among 23 new fellows
announced today by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
(press
release, 24 October)
Molecular
motor powerful enough to pack DNA into viruses at greater than champagne
pressures, researchers report
The DNA inside some viruses is packed so tightly that the internal
pressure reaches 10 times that in a champagne bottle, according to researchers
here and at the University of Minnesota. The molecular motor responsible
for this compression can pack DNA to a pressure of about 60 atmospheres.
Researchers
suspect that this helps the virus spurt its DNA into a cell once it
has latched onto the surface.
(press
release, 18 October)
New
student political publication debuts with first issue focused
on aftermath of September 11
Students here have lanched the Berkeley Political Review,
a quarterly publication written from a students' perspective
that looks at issues such as coalition building and international
relations, civil liberties and national security, and the
troubled economy. The first issue, which is online,
focuses on the nation's response to the September 11 attacks.
(press
release, 16 October)
Soy
protein prevents skin tumors from developing in mice, UC Berkeley
researchers find
New research
may add yet another boost to the healthy reputation of the
humble soybean. A study published Oct. 15 in the journal Cancer
Research shows that mice with the soy protein lunasin
applied to their skin had significantly lower rates of skin
cancer than mice without the lunasin treatment.
(press
release, 15 October)
UC
police offer tips for safe handling of mail
(60K PDF file)
Many people on campus have questions about how mailrooms
and offices should handle mail that may contain a written
threat of chemical or biological material inside, or mail
that may contain some form of powder. UC Police provide guidelines
and advice developed jointly by health professionals, the
FBI, and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
(15
October)
George
Akerlof wins Nobel Prize in Economics
George
A. Akerlof, an economics professor at the University of California,
Berkeley, and author of a landmark study on the role of asymmetrical
information in the market for "lemon" used cars,
today (10/10/01) was named a co-winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize
in economics.
(10
October)
Tickets
available for Nobel Centennial celebration in San Francisco
Tickets remain available to a special Friday, October 26 symposium
celebrating the California Nobel Prize Centennial. According
to the Consulates General of Sweden, which initiated the centennial
program, California with 103 Laureates has the largest concentration
of Nobelists in the world. Of these, 17 are from UC Berkeley.
At the Oct. 26 event, held at San Francisco's Exploratorium,
Nobel Laureates - including UC Berkeley's Daniel McFadden
and Donald A. Glaser - will discuss the impact of the prize
on their lives and the world.
September
11: Updates on the Campus Response
This web site includes links to articles detailing the ongoing
campus reaction to the terror of September 11. Articles include
coverage of the September 17 memorial service at which more
than 12,000 members of the campus community joined to mourn
and reflect on events.
Report
from ground zero: Engineer studies World Trade Center rubble
for insights on how to strengthen future buildings
Structural engineer Abolhassan Astaneh conducted a two-week
scientific reconnaissance of the collapsed towers. Learning
of plans to immediately recycle the steel rubble, he helped
persuade authorities to allow strutural engineers to examine
the metal to determine its future structural integrity.
(Berkeleyan,
4 October)
New
multi-drug resistant strain of E. coli emerges across country
In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine,
UC Berkeley researchers found that a new strain of E. coli
bacteria accounted for 38 to 50 percent of the drug-resistant
forms of urinary tract infections in women from three distinct
regions in the United States.
(press
release, 3 October)
Iron-deficient
children at risk for higher levels of lead in their blood
Iron deficiency can threaten the mental and physical development
of young children. Now, a study by researchers from the University
of California, Berkeley, and the state health department adds
new evidence that insufficient iron levels may also be putting
children at higher risk for increased lead exposure.
(press
release, 3 October)
Cal
Homecoming and Parents Weekend 2001
Cal Homecoming & Parents Weekend brought 4,000 members
of the campus family back to Berkeley on September 28 to 30.
Check out the online slide show for an overview of events.
Voting
officials should move from punch card ballots to electronic
and optical scan systems, UC Berkeley research shows
Among the nation's 100 largest voting jurisdictions, which
served 40 million voters in the 2000 election, electronic
and optical scan machines outperformed all other machines,
producing fewer overcounted or undercounted votes. Researchers
found that punch card ballot systems were the worst performers.
(press
release, 1 October)
Rolling
right through campus: UC police to start safety education
program at Berkeley on Monday
In an effort to improve pedestrian safety on the Berkeley
campus, the campus Police Department will kick off a new Bicycle
Education Safety Training program. Starting Monday, Oct. 1,
patrol officers will begin issuing citations to bicyclists,
skateboarders, rollerbladers and people on scooters who roll
through pedestrian-only areas on campus. The dismount zones
- in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays - include Sproul
and Dwinelle plazas on the south side of campus.
(press
release, 27 September)
Jobs
and sales double when trash is recycled instead of disposed,
UC Berkeley report finds
The environment isn't the only thing benefiting from recycling.
Diverting garbage also gives the California economy a hefty
boost, according to a report by a UC Berkeley economist. An
analysis of 1999 data reveals that diverting trash in California
created twice as much personal income and generated twice
as many jobs as dumping it into landfills. The analysis was
authored by George Goldman, a cooperative extension economist
in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at
UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources, and by Aya Ogishi,
a doctoral student in the same department.
(press
release, 27 September)
Chancellor,
Mrs. Berdahl honor standout campus-community collaborations
At a time when the importance of community has been highlighted
in the starkest terms, Chancellor and Mrs. Berdahl paid tribute
to nine programs that bring campus resources to bear on pressing
needs of local residents. "Given the events of the past couple
of weeks, we appreciate more fully than ever the nature of
community," Berdahl said at the University and Community Partnerships
recognition celebration.
(Berkeleyan,
27 September)
McCain
comes to campus to help honor American hero
A private memorial service for Cal alumnus Mark Bingham turned
into a public celebration of the life of a hero when U.S.
Sen. John McCain honored Bingham, one of the passengers aboard
hijacked United Airlines Flight 93. McCain noted that the
hijackers on Flight 93 may well have had the U.S. Capitol
as their target. The actions of Bingham and others aboard
to bring the flight down over western Pennsylvania may well
have saved his life that day, McCain said.
(Berkeleyan,
26 September)
UC
Berkeley-led initiative to promote societal benefits of information
technology wins $7.5 million grant from NSF
The National Science Foundation has announced a five-year,
$7.5 million grant to the Center for Information Technology
Research in the Interest of Society, a new UC Berkeley-led
initiative that will sponsor innovative research to solve
some of the nation's toughest economic and social challenges.
The NSF grant will support work in two of the major application
areas that CITRIS is exploring: energy efficiency and disaster
preparedness.
(press
release, 25 September)
Cal
alumni from "The War Classes" to the 1990s to gather for Homecoming
and Parents Weekend
Students at the UC Berkeley - most of whom have never faced
the prospect of war - will meet UC Berkeley alumni who know
the subject well this coming weekend. From Sept. 28-30, alumni
from the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War eras will
be on campus to celebrate reunions. The events are part of
the annual Cal Homecoming & Parents Weekend, which is expected
to draw some 4,000 alumni, parents, students and friends.
(press
release, 24 September)
Innovative
'town and gown' partnerships receive high honors from UC Berkeley
chancellor
Nine of the leading programs that represent partnerships between
UC Berkeley and northern California community groups were
honored at the second annual University/Community Partners
Recognition reception on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at UC Berkeley.
Hosted by Chancellor Robert Berdahl and his wife, Peg Berdahl,
the event highlights projects in the areas of public health,
economic development and revitalization, cultural and educational
enrichment, youth literacy services and legal assistance for
low-income and disabled individuals.
(press
release, 24 September)
Positive
emotions, including laughter are important paths out of trauma,
according to UC Berkeley psychologist
Could laughter be the best medicine for dealing with trauma?
A UC Berkeley social psychologist says it should be high on
the list, along with other positive emotions, as a way to
get past trauma. While Americans may be confused about feeling
positive emotions in this time of national tragedy, Psychology
Professor Dacher Kelter urges the use of laughter, awe, amusement,
love, compassion, pride and desire to find the path out of
trauma.
(press
release, 20 September)
Better
pay for airport screeners improves job performance, reduces
turnover, say UC Berkeley researchers
Increasing wages for airport security workers significantly
reduces turnover and improves job performance, according to
a preliminary study by a UC Berkeley research team examining
innovative programs at San Francisco's airport. The report
comes as national attention focuses on how to improve security
and safety at airports, as well as on the impacts of low pay,
inadequate training and turnover among the nation's 8,000
pre-board baggage screeners.
(press
release, 20 September)
Cal
Athletes Honor East Coast Victims
In
tribute to those East Coast victims of the terrorist attacks
of Sept. 11, Cal athletes will display the American flag on
their uniforms this fall. The Golden Bears football team will
wear flag decals on their helmets at this Saturday's game
against Washington State in Pullman, Wash. In addition, cloth
patches of the U.S. flag will arrive on campus early next
week and will be worn by other Cal athletic teams in competition.
During
ceremonies prior to the Bears' home football game against
Washington Sept. 29, UC Berkeley's athletic department also
will honor former Cal athletes Mark Bingham (rugby) and Brent
Woodall (football), as well as other members of the Cal family
who are missing or feared dead as a result of this national
tragedy.
(20
September)
UC
Berkeley Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl affirms campus's commitment
to First Amendment rights.
Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl has issued a statement on freedom
of speech and expression, urging that we respect the right
of others to freely speak and publish their points of view,
especially during this time of heightened sensitivity and
emotion.
(press
release, 19 September)
Prof
argues that new steps aren't enough to ensure airline security
Airline security will not be assured by technology alone.
Nor will eliminating curbside check-in and creating long passenger
lines at the ticket counters necessarily help, according to
a Professor Karlene Roberts in the Haas School of Business
whose associates are looking hard at the industry in the light
of last week's tragic hijackings.
(Berkeleyan,
19 September)
The
Campus Remembers
Under a gray, somber sky, more than 12,000 gathered on Memorial
Glade on the UC Berkeley campus on Monday, Sept. 17, to reflect
and remember the dead and missing in the terrorist attacks
in New York and Washington, D.C. Some brought flowers, others
raised flags and signs of peace -- all sought the solace of
a community devoted to reason and tolerance. Chancellor Robert
M. Berdahl told the crowd, "Let those of us who hold the candle
of learning in our hands, hold firm in the vigil for freedom
and reasoned discourse."
(Web
feature, 18 September)
Links:
Campus
gathers, 12,000 strong, to mourn, reflect
A
moment worth remembering
Slideshow
Web
site lets public check on loved ones in New York, Washington
A UC Berkeley faculty member and two computer science students
have created an Web site to help people check on the safety
of loved ones following terrorist attacks on the East Coast.
The site allows individuals in the affected cities to post
information about their status, and others to search the database
through the Internet.
(press
release, 12 September)
Berkeley
national security expert is eyewitness to World Trade Tower
attack
Associate Professor Steve Weber, an expert on national security
issues, witnessed from a Manhattan skyscraper the attack on
the World Trade Center on Tuesday morning. The political scientist,
who last year worked on a blue-ribbon report to Congress on
national security in the 21st century, saw the plane crash
into the second tower from the 16th floor of Rockefeller Center.
The national commission on which he served devoted considerable
attention to homeland defense and terrorism. But he said an
attack of the dimensions of the September 11 events would
not have been seen as a serious scenario. "It's inconceivable;
it's never happened anywhere in the world," he said.
(Berkeleyan,
11 September)
Campus
comes together in time of tragedy
Throngs of students, faculty and staff came together in Sproul
Plaza on Tuesday to process their emotions following the terrorist
attacks on the United States and work through their emotions.
Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl and other campus leaders joined
the group on the plaza. He said the campus remains open, but
it is not "business as usual" at Berkeley.
(Berkeleyan,
11 September)
Chancellor
Berdahl, President Atkinson issue statements in wake of tragedy
Both University of California, Berkeley Chancellor Robert
M. Berdahl and University of California President Richard
C. Atkinson expressed their shock and sadness at the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., and
said that while the University would remain open, counseling
and support would be available to students, faculty and staff.
(11 September)
Museum
to re-open Sept. 12 with new fall exhibits
The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, closed
since spring for seismic retrofit work, will re-open Sept.
12 with a set of new exhibits. The fall exhibition program
includes a display of large-scale sculpture by Martin Puryear
and a museum retrospective of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, a Korean-American
conceptual artist. Construction on the museum's interior will
be finished in time for the opening, but exterior work will
continue into the fall.
(Berkeleyan,
10 September)
Conferences
mark 50th anniversary of U.S.-Japan peace treaty
Two conferences sponsored in part at least by the campus mark
the anniversary of the 1951 peace treaty the United States
signed with Japan. One conference, "The United States and
Japan: An Enduring Partnership in a Changing World," will
look at the relations between the two former enemies, now
strong allies. And a counter-conference will address Japanese
aggression against neighboring nations during World War II.
(Berkeleyan,
5 September)
Links:
Campus
scholars, students join politicos to debate issues of U.S.-Japanese
interest
Counter-conference
addresses Japanese aggression against neighboring nations
Campus
announces merit salary plans for non-represented staff
With a tight state budget, campus administrators approved
a plan last week that will provide a merit increase equal
to the merit control figure for all non-represented staff
who receive a ranking of satisfactory or higher on their performance
evaluation. The figure, to be determined in the coming weeks,
will not be higher than the 2 percent allocated to UC for
salaries and benefits. Represented staff salary increases
are subject to the collective bargaining process, and plans
for faculty increases are still under development.
(Berkeleyan,
5 September)
Building
naming honors Maslachs
The Clark Kerr Campus residence hall known for 20 years simply
as Building No. 8 got a new name last week - George and Doris
Cuneo Maslach Hall - in honor of the couple's decades of service
to UC Berkeley. George Maslach is a former professor, dean,
provost and vice chancellor. His wife, Doris, is a strong
student housing advocate who was instrumental in helping the
campus acquire the Clark Kerr Campus.
(Berkeleyan,
5 September)
Doris
Calloway, pioneering nutritional scientist and UC Berkeley
professor emerita, dies at 78
Ground-breaking scientist Doris Calloway rose to the top of
her career in several arenas during her 27 years at UC Berkeley.
She died Friday, Aug. 31. Her "Penthouse" studies, for example,
which ran from 1964 to 1981, monitored the diets of volunteers
who lived six at a time for up to three months in an apartment
in Morgan Hall. She meticulously studied their protein metabolism
- anaylzing even their sweat, hair and skin loss. Those studies
influenced national standards for dietary allowances. Calloway
also was the first woman to become a senior administrator
at UC Berkeley - in 1981, then-Chancellor Ira Michael Heyman
appointed her provost of the professional schools. "She broke
the ice, and that wasn't easy," said Heyman, a UC Berkeley
professor emeritus of law and city planning. " She was one
of my most cherished appointments as chancellor."
(press
release, 5 September)
Haas
school partners with Columbia to start national social venture
competition
The Haas Schcool of Business is taking its Social Venture
Competition national in a new partnership with Columbia University
and the Goldman Sachs Foundation. The competition invites
aspiring entrepreneurs to develop plans for businesses that
have a clear, quantifiable social return as well as a healthy
financial bottom line.
(press
release, 5 September)
Tickets
available for Nobel Centennial celebration in San Francisco
Beginning Wed., September 5, tickets are available to a special
Friday, October 26 symposium celebrating the California Nobel
Prize Centennial. According to the Consulates General of Sweden,
which initiated the centennial program last year, California
has the largest concentration of Nobelists in the world. From
Oct. 24-27, celebrations will take place in San Francisco
and Los Angeles. At the Oct. 26 event, held at San Francisco's
Exploratorium, Nobel Laureates - including economist Daniel
McFadden and physicist Donald A. Glaser, both from Berkeley
- will discuss the impact of the prize on their lives and
the world.
(Berkeleyan,
4 September)
Cancer-detecting
microchip - a micromachined cantilever - is sensitive assay
for prostate cancer and potentially other diseases, researchers
report
A microscopic diving board the size of a human hair may prove
to be an ideal detector of proteins or DNA, with potential
application in disease diagnosis or drug discovery. The MEMS
device, a microcantilever, bends when molecules bind to the
surface. A team from UC Berkeley, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
and USC report in Nature Biotechnology its successful use
in detecting the blood markers doctors look for in prostate
cancer. An array of cantilevers could be used to create a
"cancer chip" for diagnosing or following the course of many
cancers simultaneously. The technique has broader application,
however, such as for detecting point mutations in single-stranded
DNA.
(press
release, 30 August)
Academic
Senate chair lays out agenda for academic year
David Dowell, professor of city and regional planning, is
steering the Academic Senate's efforts on a variety of fronts
this academic year as the group's chair. Among the big items
on the agenda: Working with administrators to update the campus's
long-range development plan, grappling with such issues as
enrollment growth, expanding research initiatives, and tightening
space on campus.
(Berkeleyan,
29 August)
The
long goodbye: Former executive vice chancellor and provost
Carol Christ starts her last year on campus and looks to the
future in a new role
Carol Christ, the campus's former executive vice chancellor
and a former provost and dean of the College of Letters and
Science, looks back on her Berkeley career in her last year
on campus, as she preps for her next role as president of
Smith College. In a question and answer session with the Berkeleyan,
Christ talks about her accomplishments at Berkeley and her
thoughts about leading one of the nation's top liberal arts
colleges for women.
(Berkeleyan,
29 August)
Have
cottage, will travel: With its relocation and facelift complete,
Fox Cottage becomes home to the Staff Ombuds office
No
one said moving an 8-ton, 70-year-old historical brick landmark
would be easy. But seven months after seismic upgrades, a
delicate two-block journey and extensive preservation work,
Fox Cottage is open for business. The cottage, located on
Bowditch Street, is now home to the Staff Ombuds Office.
(Berkeleyan,
29 August)
Former
Chancellor Tien, professor of engineering, receives top award
from National Academy of Engineering
Former Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien, University Professor and
the NEC Distinguished Professor of Engineering, has been named
the recipient of the prestigious Founders Award of the National
Academy of Engineering. He is being recognized "for his pioneering
research in gas thermal radiation, thermal insulation, and
microscale heat transfer, as well as for his leadership in
education for youth around the world." Tien's research in
heat transfer and thermal science contributed to the safety
of high-rise buildings during fires, the design of insulating
tiles for the space shuttles, and emergency core cooling systems
for nuclear reactors. The Founders Award was established in
1965 to recognize an Academy member who has made lifelong
contributions to engineering and whose accomplishments have
benefited the people of the United States. The award consists
of a gold medallion and a certificate.
(Web
feature, 29 August)
Moderate
spanking earlier in childhood produced no lasting harm among
adolescents, says UC Berkeley study.
A UC Berkeley psychologist reported at the Aug. 24 meeting
of the American Psychology Association that occasional spanking
does not damage a child's social or emotional development.
Diana Baumrind, who co-authored the report with Elizabeth
Owens, another research psychologist at UC Berkeley's Institute
of Human Development, studied the long-term consequences of
spanking in more than 100 middle-class, white families. The
study was launched in response to anti-spanking advocates
who have claimed that physical punishment, by itself, has
harmful psychological effects on children. Baumrind and Owens
did not focus on families who use spanking frequently and
severely.
(press
release, 24 August)
UC
Berkely, Princeton team find inexpensive way to reduce toll
of respiratory illnesses from indoor cooking fires in Third
World.
After monitoring illness and pollution levels for three years
in a Kenyan village, UC Berkeley and Princeton University
researchers have discovered that particulate matter pollution
levels inside homes that use traditional open fires - with
wood, charcoal, dung or crop residue as fuel - can be ten
of times greater than those in western industrialized countries.
One-third of the world's population cooks in this fashion,
says study coauthor Daniel Kammen, UC Berkeley professor of
energy and resources. After introducing households to inexpensive,
simple and cleaner-burning stoves, Kammen and his colleague
Majid Ezzati found a sharp reduction in the level of indoor
pollution, which can cause acute respiratory infections.
(press
release, 23 August)
New
faces, new classes, new projects at UC Berkeley as fall semester
begins.
The fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 27, for most UC Berkeley
students, who are arriving on campus in droves this week,
Welcome Week. Among the some 31,500 students expected to enroll
are 3,955 freshmen, 1,728 transfer students, and 2,590 new
graduate students. One of the most important goals of the
coming semester, according to Chancellor Berdahl, is fire
safety for students, both on and off campus. The Student Safe
Housing Task Force he assembled is providing every student
with a detailed guide to fire safety and information on ways
to secure safe living quarters. Among the interesting characteristics
of this year's freshmen and new transfer students is that,
for the second year in a row, the proportion of women is record-setting.
This fall, 55 percent of freshmen and 55.1 percent of new
transfer students are women.
(press
release, 23 August)
Justin
Christensen, ASUC's second highest ranking officer, set to
encourage all students, whether disabled or not.
Justin Christensen hopes to inspire students with his personal
story of growing up profoundly hard-of-hearing and arriving
at UC Berkeley, a place he considers inspirational. This fall,
the 20-year-old junior is the first disabled executive officer
of the ASUC in memory. He's also the new co-president of the
Disabled Students Union and "one of the most industrious and
ambitious student leaders I've worked with," said Karen Kenney,
UC Berkeley dean of students. Christensen says his motto is
"The ability to listen and understand is far more valuable
than the ability to hear."
(press
release, 23 August)
Chancellor
Berdahl to welcome new undergraduates at series of receptions.
As part of Welcome Week, the chancellor is inviting all new
undergraduate students to meet him - as well as faculty and
staff members - at a series of receptions that start Thursday,
Aug. 23, and run through Tuesday, Sept. 4. The receptions
will be held at four residence halls. For more information,
visit New-Student
Receptions or call Lila Blanco at (510) 643-7003.
(22
August)
Welcome
Week Web site helps incoming, returning students best prepare
for fall semester
A one-stop shop for back-to-school information is available
on the Web for students arriving for the fall semester. Its
main focus is Welcome Week - this week - Aug. 19-24. Produced
by the Office of New Student Services, the site includes a
checklist of things to do before school starts, daily events
held during Welcome Week, important dates to remember - including
this Thursday's Calapalooza 2001 Activity Fair for Undergraduates
- and where to learn about buying a computer, getting a hepatitis
B shot, managing stress, joining a sorority, and more.
(21
August)
'Blues'
benches for West Oakland
West Oakland's 7th Street corridor was a thriving hub of blues
bars, jazz clubs and shops for the city's African-American
community in the early 1900s. A group of students working
with Walter Hood, chair of Berkeley's Department of Landscape
Architecture and Environmental Planning, have temporarily
transformed some of the empty lots that now dot its landscape.
Their outdoor art installation - involving 24 individually
designed 'blues benches' - pays tribute to the area's legendary
blues scene.
(Berkeleyan,
16 August)
Berkeley's
new athletic director outlines his goals and philosophy for
Cal's athletic programs
The Berkeleyan recently talked with Cal's new athletic director,
Steve Gladstone, a crew coach who has led the men's rowing
team to numerous national championships. Gladstone talks about
how he got his start as a coach (after a foray in the investment
industry), his goals for Cal athletics, and his thoughts on
the commercialization of college sports.
(Berkeleyan,
16 August)
Related
link: calbears.fansonly.com
Campus
planet hunters detect Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a nearby
star
A planet that's at least three-quarters the size of Jupiter
is the latest find by UC Berkeley astronomers Debra Fischer
and Geoffrey Marcy, working with researcher Paul Butler of
the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Improved measurement
techniques allowed the experts to find the planet, which is
orbiting the star 47 Ursae Majoris (47 UMa) in the Big Dipper.
The star is one of 100 stars that Marcy and Butler first targeted
in 1987 when, in search of evidence for planets, they began
collecting data on stellar wobbles. A planet the size of this
one - and at this distance from its star - produces slight
long-period wobbles in the motion of the star that, until
now, were impossible to detect.
(press
release, 15 August)
Related
link: exoplanets.org
Vista
College students set to arrive at UC Berkeley for fall semester
through new campus mentoring program
A unique mentoring program set up by Kathleen Jones-West,
a student who transferred to UC Berkeley from Vista College
in 1998, will produce its first fruits in a few weeks when
four Vista graduates arrive at UC Berkeley for the fall semester.
In the "Starting Point" program, about 100 UC Berkeley student
mentors help raise the confidence level of community college
students so that they'll apply to UC Berkeley, just a few
city blocks from Vista. "There are a lot of Vista students
who underestimate and do not take themselves seriously," said
Jones-West, now a second-year graduate student in UC Berkeley's
School of Social Welfare. "I didn't think I was capable (of
attending UC Berkeley)...If it weren't for a mentor, I would
not have made it." Many of the mentors are from the same backgrounds
as their mentees. "It helps greatly to learn from someone
who has walked in your same shoes," said Marie Lucero Padilla,
assistant director of UC Berkeley's Academic Achievement Programs,
which co-administers the program with the Re-entry Student
Center. UC Berkeley has adopted Starting Point as a regular
part of its curriculum. It's set to expand from Vista College
to San Francisco City College this year, followed later by
Contra Costa and Chabot community colleges.
(press
release, 14 August)
Laura
Tyson, dean of UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, to resign
her post in December for job in England
Laura Tyson has announced plans to resign from her administrative
duties at the Haas School of Business on December 31, 2001,
to become dean of the London Business School. Tyson, 54, was
appointed dean of the Haas School in July 1998 and is the
only woman currently leading a major business school in the
United States. She will be on leave from the UC Berkeley faculty
and plans to return to campus at some point in the future.
Before becoming dean at the Haas School, Tyson served in the
Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1996 and, as the President's
national economic advisor, became the highest-ranking woman
in the Clinton White House. Tyson's many contributions to
the Haas School include negotiating an agreement with the
campus to grant the business school greater financial and
operational autonomy. As a result, the Haas School has been
able to attract and retain world-class faculty members by
paying market-rate salaries.
(press
release, 13 August)
Related
link: Financial
Times
Aug.
13 issue of TIME magazine names Carlos Bustamante and Tim
White as leaders in science and medicine
As part of its five-part series "America's Best," TIME magazine
lists UC Berkeley molecular biologist and "protein wizard"
Carlos Bustamante and "man hunter" Tim White, a UC Berkeley
integrative biologist, as among 18 leaders in science and
medicine. The series is designed to be "the definitive list
of people who stand for the best in America today," according
TIME's press release. Bustamante, 50, is a professor of biochemistry
and molecular biology in UC Berkeley's College of Letters
& Science. Bustamante uses cutting-edge technology to study
cells' moving parts in an effort to manipulate the proteins
that cause disease. He is involved in the campus's Health
Sciences Initiative and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute
investigator. Tim White, also 50, a professor in the College
of Letters & Science, co-directs a research project in Ethiopia
that has unearthed fossils that reveal key turning points
in the story of human evolution. The 18 leaders were highlighted
on a "CNN Presents" special on Sunday, Aug. 12, and by Bryant
Gumbel of the "CBS Early Show" on Monday, Aug. 13.
(Time Magazine, 13 August)
For
more on TIME's 18 picks for "America's Best" in science and
medicine, go to these related links:
Protein
Wizard
Man
Hunter
Impact
of global warming on U.S. agriculture larger and more negative
than expected, say UC Berkeley resource experts
The impact of global warming on U.S. agriculture appears to
be much larger and more negative than has been recognized,
according to a new analysis by UC Berkeley agricultural experts.
Moreover, the impact is unambiguously negative, and there
is little chance that a significant rise in global temperature
could benefit U.S. agriculture, the scientists report. They
estimate that a five degree temperature rise -projected to
occur in the next 30-50 years at current rates of carbon dioxide
accumulation in the atmosphere - could result in $15 billion
to $30 billion in annual damage to American crops.
(press
release, 8 August)
Campus
accepting nominations for public service and international
achievement by alumni
UC Berkeley contributes more volunteers for the Peace Corps
than any other university, and the campus has produced leaders
from the grassroots to the international level. To highlight
the Berkeley tradition of public service, the campus is accepting
nominations for the Elise and Walter A. Haas International
Award and the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award. The Haas
International Award is open to UC Berkeley alumni who are
natives, residents, and citizens of a nation outside the United
States, and who have a distinguished record of service to
their country. The Haas Public Service Award recognizes alumni
who have made a significant public contribution to the betterment
of society in the United States, particularly at the community
level. Both honors are among the most prestigious awarded
by UC Berkeley. The deadline for nominations is August 20,
2001.
(Web
site, 7 August)
UC
Berkeley students to be among 100 first-generation undergraduates
presenting research as McNair Scholars
Some 100 undergraduate students from across the West - who
are the first in their family to goto college and are being
groomed to be the Ph.D. candidates of tomorrow - will present
their research findings at UC Berkeley August 10-12. Aided
by $2,500 research stipends, the McNair Scholars have conducted
research on such topics as non-custodial African American
fatherhood, Maya perceptions on ancestral remains, power in
architecture, college student body image, gansta rap vernaculars,
and middle class Latinos and academic achievement. Part of
a federally-funded program at 156 universities in 42 states
and Puerto Rico, the UC Berkeley McNair Scholars Program is
named after the late Ronald McNair, an astronaut and laser
physicist who died in the 1986 Challenger explosion. McNair
Scholars funds allow students to study rather than work in
the summer and receive guidance from mentors - graduate student
instructors and some of Berkeley's top professors.
(press
release, 1 August)
Former
President Bill Clinton's science and technology advisor,
Thomas Kalil, takes up post at UC Berkeley
Thomas Kalil, a science and technology adviser to former President Bill Clinton,
has joined the UC Berkeley campus as special assistant to the chancellor. Kalil
will help develop new research initiatives and increase UC Berkeley's role in
shaping the national agenda. Kalil, who served under Clinton for eight years,
eventually becoming deputy assistant to the president for technology and economic
policy and deputy director of the National Economic Council, will primarily work
with researchers in the California Institute for Bioengineering, Biotechnology
and Quantitative Biomedical Research, called QB3, and CITRIS, the Center for
Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society. He will help faculty
members develop research and education initiatives that respond to national priorities
and that build strong partnerships with government agencies, the private sector
and community-based organizations.
(press release, 31 July)
Former
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Carol Christ named
president of Smith College
Carol Christ, professor of English and former executive vice chancellor and
provost, has been named president of Smith College, one of the nation's leading
liberal arts colleges for women. Christ served as UC Berkeley's top academic
officer from 1994 to 2000 and from 1990 to 1994 as provost of the College of
Letters and Science, Berkeley's largest college. She is credited with sharpening
Berkeley's intellectual focus and building top-ranked departments in the humanities
and sciences. She has been a champion of women's issues and diversity, and
played an important role in shaping campus policy in response to Proposition
209, the 1997 California law barring the consideration of race in college admissions. "I
am delighted that Carol has been appointed president of Smith College," UC
Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl said. "While it is Berkeley's great loss,
and her contributions to this campus will always be greatly valued, Carol's
tremendous energy, vision and intellect make her eminently qualified to lead
the Smith campus community. I applaud Carol for her accomplishments, and Smith
for choosing someone of such fine caliber to guide their campus in this new
century." Christ will become Smith's 10th president in June 2002. Until that
time, she will remain on the Berkeley faculty, where she is a widely respected
scholar of Victorian literature.
(30 July)
Legislative
update: Budget provides mixed news for UC campuses
Gov. Gray Davis has approved the state budget, providing $3.2 billion in state
funds to UC for the 2001-2002 fiscal year. The budget is mixed news for UC
in that it provides an increase of 4.7 percent, yet falls short of UC goals
for faculty and staff compensation. The budget provides only a 2 percent increase
in funds for compensation. However, the budget is good news for UC Berkeley.
Davis and the Legislature provided $20 million in initial state funding for
CITRIS, the Center for Technology Research in the Interest of Society, which
brings the power of information technology to bear on societal problems. CITRIS
monies come from the capital budget, which is separate from the operational
budget that is used to pay for operating expenses and salaries. Read related
stories about this year's budget.
Gov.
Davis approves state budget, providing mixed news for
UC
(Berkeleyan,
27 July)
UC
Berkeley-led initiative to bring information technology
to the service of society survives state budget process;
receives $20 million in first year
(press
release, 27 July)
Let
there be light: Astronomers join in new optical search
for E.T.s
They've been listening for more than four decades for a whisper from an intelligent
civilization light years away. Now a team of astronomers in the Bay Area is
looking for winking stars—blinking pinpoints of light in the night sky
that appear to be deliberate signals, possibly sent from an intelligent civilization
living nearby. The new optical SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence)
experiment, characterized by one astronomer as "the new kid on the block" of
SETI programs, is a vast improvement over previous telescopic searches.
(Web feature, 27 July)
UC
Regents approve Dual Admissions plan, expanding UC access
for high-achieving students
The UC Board of Regents approved on July 19 a new way for the state's top students
to gain admission to a UC school. Dual Admissions will guarantee a spot for
students who graduate between the top 4 and 12.5 percent of their classes,
provided they satisfactorily complete their first two years at a community
college. The plan takes effect in 2003, with the first students expected to
enroll in 2005.
(Berkeleyan,
27 July)
Berkeley
economist Michael Katz is appointed to U.S. Justice Department
Economics professor Michael Katz has been appointed deputy assistant attorney
general for economic analysis in the U.S. Department of Justice. In his new
role, Katz, a leading scholar of antitrust law in the high-tech industry, will
supervise economic analysis within the federal government's antitrust division
and direct that division's economists. Since 1987, he has served as a professor
on the Berkeley campus, and currently holds a joint appointment as a professor
of economics and business administration. In addition to his professorship,
Katz directs Berkeley's Center for Telecommunications and Digital Convergence.
His research interests have drawn him into some of the highest visibility antitrust
lawsuits of recent times, most notably the recent lawsuit over the proposed
breakup of Microsoft, Inc.
(26 July)
NASA's
Wind spacecraft flies through Earth's magnetic tail to
capture rare event
Through a combination of good luck and shrewd data analysis, UC Berkeley researchers
using NASA's Wind spacecraft have become eye witnesses to a rare event: the
mysterious process that allows the solar wind to connect to Earth's magnetic
field. Known as reconnection, this process allows the magnetic field of the
Sun - as carried in the solar wind - to connect to Earth's magnetic field,
allowing energy and matter to flow like solar porridge from one to the other.
The new findings, reported in the July 26 issue of Nature, are based on Wind's
fortuitous flight right through the reconnection region as the process was
occurring in April 1999.
(press release, 25 July)
UC
Berkeley students set up clinic for Telegraph Avenue
homeless youth
An innovative clinic run by UC Berkeley students is providing assistance to
the many homeless youth who congregate along Telegraph Avenue. During the summer,
the homeless population nearly doubles as young people ages 11 through their
20s converge from all parts of the country on the famous avenue adjacent to
campus. The Berkeley students aim to bring a range of medical and humanitarian
services to these homeless youths who usually shun such help. The Youth Clinic
is the most recent offshoot of UC Berkeley's Suitcase Clinic, which has served
some 11,000 homeless people since it was established near campus 11 years ago
by medical students and faculty members from UC Berkeley's School of Public
Health.
(press
release, 25 July)
Cal
swimmers take top honors at World Swimming Championships
in Japan
Swimmers from Cal continue to be stellar at the World Swimming Championships
in Fukuoka, Japan as Haley Cope, the 2000 Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year who just
recently completed her eligibility for the Bears this past spring, won the
gold medal in the 50-meter backstroke Tuesday. Cope is the second Cal swimmer
to win a gold medal at the World Championships as Anthony Ervin, a 2001 Olympic
gold medalist, won the first gold medal for the United States Monday in the
50-meter freestyle.
(Intercollegiate Athletics Web site,
25 July)
Related
links:
Haley
Cope takes the gold in 50-meter backstroke at World Championships.
(25 July)
Anthony
Ervin wins gold in 50-meter freestyle at World Championships
(24 July)
California
Alumni Association appoints Randy Parent as its new executive
director
Randall Parent, former deputy city attorney for the city and county of San
Francisco, is the new executive director of the California Alumni Association,
representing graduates of UC Berkeley campus. Parent, 46, succeeds James Burk,
who retired from the position after serving since 1994.
(press release, 23 July)
Cal's
Anthony Ervin wins gold medal in 50-meter freestyle at
World Championships.
Olympic gold medalist and Cal swimmer Anthony Ervin won another gold medal
Monday at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Ervin, the 2001
Olympic gold medalist in the 50-meter freestyle swim, won the 50-meter freestyle
at the 2001 World Championships in a time of 22.09 over Pieter van den Hoogenband
of the Netherlands.
(Intercollegiate Athletics press
release, 23 July)
UC
Regents approve Dual Admissions plan, expanding UC access
for high-achieving students
The UC Board of Regents approved on July 19 a new way for the state's top students
to gain admission to a UC school. Dual Admissions will guarantee a spot for
students who graduate between the top 4 and 12.5 percent of their classes,
provided they satisfactorily complete their first two years at a community
college. The plan takes effect in 2003, with the first students expected to
enroll in 2005.
(Office
of the President press release, 23 July)
Digital
Feature: Unearthing
man's ancestors - Latest fossil find suggests our long-lost
ancestors may have walked upright nearly 6 million years
ago
The first humans to emerge may be about 1 million years older than anthropologists
had previously thought. Last week's discovery of fossilized teeth, toe, collar,
hand and jaw bones - made by an international team of paleoanthropologists,
including UC Berkeley graduate student Yohannes Haile-Selassie and UC Berkeley
paleoanthropologist Tim White - appears to belong to the oldest human ancestor
ever unearthed. View scenes from the field site via video clips and a slide
show. Also read the press release detailing the findings and selected news
coverage of the research.
(web feature, 18 July)
Related
link: Ethiopian
find shows human ancestors walked upright nearly 6 million
years ago
(press release, 11 July)
Human
ancestory takes another step back in time
The lineage leading to humans may be about 1 million years older than anthropologists
thought. Time magazine's July 23 cover story takes a look at last week's record-breaking
find, a handful of fossil fragments in Ethiopia from early hominids who walked
upright about 5.8 million years ago. The discovery by a UC Berkeley graduate
student, and new data about Ethiopia's climate 5.5 million years ago, suggests
that humans may have come down from the trees to begin walking for more obvious
reasons.
(18 July)
Related
link: Ethiopian
find shows human ancestors walked upright as early as 5
million years ago
Grant
to help UC Berkeley deliver evolutionary concepts to
teachers, parents via the Web
A $390,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute will help UC Berkeley's
Museum of Paleontology create a comprehensive Web site on evolution, complete
with resources for those who teach evolution and fun activities for students
learning evolutionary concepts. The developers want it to be a nationwide resource
for teachers and parents who are frustrated by anti-evolutionist arguments,
such as claims that evolution is a "theory in crisis" that "scientists are
abandoning."
(press
release, 18 July)
Eye
researchers study ways to predict retinal changes that
lead to vision loss
Small, barely detectable, changes in the retina may predict the onset of vision
loss in people with diabetes and allow early treatment, if a study beginning
this summer at UC Berkeley's School of Optometry is successful. Preliminary
tests have found a striking relationship between these small changes and existing
eye damage. The school has now launched a $1.6 million research project to
study these changes in people with diabetes.
(press
release, 18 July)
Uncovering
the secrets of a coral reef predator
UC Berkeley biologist Roy Caldwell takes you to the depths of the Atlantic
and into Aquarius, the world's only underwater research laboratory, where he
and a team of scientists are studying the mysteries of the stomatopod, a distant
relative of the shrimp and lobster. Caldwell, along with Berkeley's Mark Erdmann
and Helen Fox, will spend the next nine days off the Florida coast studying
the enigmatic crustacean, which is a major invertebrate predator living on
coral reefs. Visitors to the mission's Web site can view the latest Stomatopod
research, see the laboratory and surrounding sea life with underwater Web cams,
and e-mail questions to the aquanauts.
(17 July)
$500,000
grant to UC Berkeley will help teachers turn school gardens
into science classrooms
As gardens sprout in K-12 school yards around the country, a small group of
UC Berkeley educators is intent on making sure they nourish the mind as well
as the body. With a $500,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
staff at the UC Botanical Garden will take curricula they've developed around
school gardens and re-tool them for teachers to use across the nation.
(press
release, 13 July)
Campus
uses technology developed in its laboratories to improve
utilities efficiency
Small, inexpensive sensors developed at Berkeley to monitor and help control
energy consumption are helping the campus save electricity, gas and water automatically
in campus buildings. Engineering researchers have teamed up with physical plant
engineers to put these breakthrough technologies in place to operate several
campus energy systems, with the future potential for doing more. The wireless "smart
dust" sensors can measure a building's temperature, effluent discharge, and
power supply, and even capture weather data, irrigation needs or monitor Strawberry
Creek's pH and salinity levels, according to physical plant technicians.
(Berkeleyan, 12 July)
Related
link: Digital
feature: Sensors that slash energy bills
Research
shows individual need for positive self image impedes
AIDS efforts
A person's instinctive need to feel good about themselves adversely affects
their ability to respond to many AIDS prevention campaigns and their willingness
to change their behavior or seek treatment, according to new research by Priya
Raghubir, marketing professor at the Haas School of Business, and Geeta Menon,
associate professor of marketing at New York University. Their research provides
insight into how public health officials and social marketers can design more
effective AIDS prevention campaigns.
(press
release, 12 July)
UC,
technical employees union reach contract agreement
The University of California and the University Professional and Technical
Employees union have reached tentative agreement on a two-year contract for
technical employees. Union members are expected to vote on the agreement in
the next three weeks. The agreement calls for salary increases for 2000-01
to be retroactive to Oct. 1, 2000, and increases for 2001-02 to be effective
Oct. 1, 2001.
Debra
Harrington, labor relations manager at Berkeley, said payroll
officials are working to determine the most efficient way
to process the large number of payouts required at Berkeley
so that they can process the payments as soon as possible.
Information about the payout process will be provided through
campus control unit administrators and will be available
on the HR Web site -hrweb.berkeley.edu- when the details
are finalized.
(Berkeleyan,
11 July)
Ethiopian
find shows human ancestors walked upright as early as
5 million years ago
UC Berkeley researchers scouring the dry washes encircling an Ethiopian site
where scientists seven years ago found fossils of 4.4 million-year-old human
ancestors have unearthed even older fossils that show our ancestors may have
walked on two legs as early as 5.2 million years ago. The latest findings are
of the earliest hominids known to exist.
(press
release, 11 July)
Come
back to Cal......Make plans now to attend Homecoming & Parents
Weekend on Sept. 28-30
Homecoming & Parents Weekend includes more than 25 lectures by UC Berkeley's
renowned faculty; student led tours of campus; a festival for Cal Bears of
all ages;, the homecoming rally; and the football game between the Bears and
the University of Washington Huskies. If you're an alum, connect with classmates
from the World War II Classes, and those from 1948, 1949, and all subsequent
years ending in "1" or "6." Parents can attend special receptions, seminars
and other events throughout the weekend. Check back with the Homecoming & Parents
Weekend Web site frequently for the latest updates. You also can register online
via a secured form.
(10 July)
New
College of Letters & Science division brings innovations
in student advising
Undergrads don't get lost in the crowd in the College of Letters & Science
- UC Berkeley's largest college - thanks to a concentrated effort to meet the
educational needs of students. From new sophomore seminars to a course for
freshmen on the college's intellectual landscape, the college's new Undergraduate
Division is focusing on students and their academic success. At the top of
the priority list is improved advising, with more student drop-in hours and
a secure database of student records that replaces more than 30,000 paper files.
(9
July)
Related
link: College
of Letters & Science reinvents itself
Strange
effect of superfluid helium may help physicists more
accurately measure rotating objects, like Earth's slow
spin
In the quantum world, waves can act like particles and particles like waves,
interfering like overlapping ripples in a pond. Now, physicists at the University
of California, Berkeley, have shown that this same quantum interference occurs
between samples of superfluid helium-3, a liquid so cold - a thousandth of
a degree above absolute zero - that it flows without resistance. Demonstration
of this effect may enable scientists to measure extremely slight increases
or decreases in the rotation of objects, including Earth's slow rotation.
(press
release 5 July)
Atkinson
to discuss UC admissions proposals at national conference
today in San Francisco
UC President Richard Atkinson will deliver a speech on "The California Crucible:
Demography, Access and Excellence at the University of California" today in
San Francisco at the 2001 International Assembly of the Council for Advancement
and Support of Education. UC is pursuing a series of initiatives to maximize
access to the university for high-achieving students. These proposals include
a "dual admissions" program offering simultaneous admission to a community
college and UC for top students in each California high school, replacement
of the SAT I with subject-based achievement tests, and comprehensive review
of all student applications for UC admission. The speech is at 3:45 p.m. in
the Hilton San Francisco and Towers, Grand Ballroom A, 333 O'Farrell St.
(2
July)
Gladstone
named top Pac-10 coach for fourth year
Athletic Director and Men's Head Crew Coach Steve Gladstone was named the Pac-10
Conference Men's Rowing Coach of the Year by Pac-10 Comissioner Tom Hansen
on June 28. Gladstone led the California men to the Intercollegiate Rowing
Association national title this spring for the third consecutive year. California
was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. Rowing Coaches Poll throughout the year and completed
a third-consecutive undefeated season. The Bears also won the Pac-10 Championships
for the fourth straight year.
(28 June)
Zoologists
discover new salamander species under almost every log
A salamander species discovered in southeastern Mexico highlights the agile
inventiveness of evolution as well as the many species waiting to be discovered
in out of the way spots and even under our noses. The soil dwelling salamander
looks identical to a salamander living in mountain foothills several hundred
miles away, but DNA analysis by UC Berkeley zoologists showed them to be distinct
species. Experts can't tell them apart, but they apparently evolved from different
ancestors and are not one another's closest relatives. The finding demonstrates
an evolutionary concept called parallelism, where two organisms independently
come up with the same adaptation to a particular environment.
(press
release, 28 June)
School
of Optometry selects internationally recognized vision
scientist Dennis M. Levi to take the helm
An internationally recognized vision specialist from the University of Houston,
Dennis M. Levi, will take the helm Aug. 15 as dean of the School of Optometry.
Levi, who began his teaching and research career in Houston 30 years ago, achieved
prominence for his work in amblyopia, the major cause of permanent vision loss
in children.
(press release, 27 June)
School
of Public Health's Wellness Letter offers tips on living
a healthy life
Learn about myths, hopes and facts associated with breast cancer, and get some
healthy recipes from the latest issue of the Wellness Letter, the widely read
newsletter from health experts at the School of Public Health.
(25
June)
Study
sheds light on value of analysts' stock recommendations,
finds that 2000 was a disaster
The stocks that security analysts panned in 2000 trounced those that were most
highly touted, according to a new study co-authored by faculty at the Haas
School of Business, UC Davis and Stanford University. They found that the most
highly recommended stocks returned 31.2 percent less than the market, on average,
while the least favorably recommended stocks gained almost 49 percent more
than the market.
(press
release, 14 June)
Sociologist
discovers that American ideas of love contradict each
other
Americans want contradictory things in marriage: permanent commitment and free
choice. They resolve this paradox by keeping alive two opposite ideas of love,
according to new research by a UC Berkeley professor of sociology. One idea
is a down-to-earth belief that one must work at keeping love alive through
compromise, personal growth or religious faith. The other is a romantic belief
in one everlasting "true" love.
(press
release, 20 June)
Environmental
report is latest step for proposed new science, tech
centers
Construction
noise and the loss of recreational space were identified
as the significant, unavoidable environmental impacts associated
with building new health sciences and technology research
facilities on campus, according to a draft environmental
impact report. The campus proposes to replace two outdated
and seismically poor research buildings - Stanley Hall and
old Davis Hall - with modern, safe structures in the northeast
area of the campus.
(press
release, 20 June)
New
atomic tunneling technique promises to speed progress
in quantum computing
A new scanning tunneling microscope, designed to measure the counter clockwise
spin-up or spin-down rotation of a single atom, has given UC Berkeley scientists
their first look at the weird electrical interactions of a high temperature
superconductor. The technique, reported in the June 21 issue of Nature,
has important implications for the burgeoning field of quantum computing.
(press
release, 20 June)
HESSI
launch delayed until Pegasus rocket investigation is
completed
Launch
of the UC Berkeley/NASA HESSI (High Energy Solar Spectroscopic
Imager) satellite, already delayed twice due to possible
problems with the Pegasus launch vehicle, has been put
on hold indefinitely. A new launch date is expected to
be announced once an investigation of a recently unsuccessful
Pegasus launch has been completed.
(press
release, 20 June)
UC
Berkeley economists find no shortage of culprits to explain
California's high gasoline prices
Californians
pay more for a gallon of gas than anyone in the United States,
and UC Berkeley economists say they have found out a number
of reasons why. While the researchers cite plenty of reasons
for California gasoline prices climbing 22 percent, from
$1.60 a gallon at the start of the year to almost $2 a gallon
by Memorial Day Weekend, they say a large share of blame
rests with the high profit margins enjoyed by California
refiners.
(press
release, 19 June)
Power
alert: The latest on the energy crisis' effects on campus |
