UC Berkeley NewsView of Campanile and Golden Gate Bridge
NewsCenter
Today's news & events
News by email
For the news media
Calendar of events
Top stories
Untitled Document
Archive
Archive photo strip

News stories from 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

2002 stories

UC Berkeley going on winter break
Exams are over, the holidays are upon us, and the University of California, Berkeley, is heading into its annual winter break. Most campus units will be closed from Tuesday, Dec. 24, through New Year's Day.
(20 December)

Veteran journalist joins UC Berkeley as new head of Public Affairs
Award-winning journalist George A. Strait, Jr., will be the new assistant vice chancellor for public affairs at the University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl announced. Strait's appointment begins Jan. 6.
(19 December)

Flawed FBI reporting system undercounts disability hate crimes
Although disabled people comprise one-fifth of the population in the United States, according to FBI statistics they have "just one chance in a million" of being the target of a hate crime, according to Mark Sherry, a University of California, Berkeley, researcher. The author of a new report, "Don't Ask, Tell or Respond: Silent Acceptance of Disability Hate Crimes," Sherry says those numbers are ludicrously low.
(18 December)

Methane clouds discovered at south pole of Saturn's moon Titan
Teams of astronomers at the California Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered methane clouds near the south pole of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, resolving a fierce debate about whether clouds exist amid the haze of the moon's atmosphere.
(18 December)

Wannabe stars shine at Apollo Amateur Night auditions at UC Berkeley
The rain was pouring down in sheets, but it couldn't dampen the hopes of the rappers, R&B singers, mind-readers, comedians and guitar players lined up for their shot at stardom in Zellerbach Hall. Dozens of acts of all ages and talents took the stage to audition for the Apollo Theater Amateur Night on Tour, which will be hosted by Cal Performances on January 31, 2003. From that group, one lucky act will win $1,000, two plane tickets to New York, and the chance to strut their stuff live at the famous Apollo Theater stage in Harlem.
(16 December)

Dec. 19 launch will boost UC Berkeley-built satellite to orbit
The first and possibly last of the cheaper-faster-better university-class satellites funded by NASA in the 1990s is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Dec. 19, and will carry a single instrument built at UC Berkeley.
(16 December)

Scientists use South Pole telescope to produce the most detailed images of the early universe
Using a powerful new instrument at the South Pole, a team of cosmologists has produced the most detailed images of the early universe ever recorded.
(13 December)

Sequencing of lowly sea squirt's genome provides insights into vertebrate evolution
Sea squirts may be ugly, spineless pests, but a newly completed draft of the creature's genome is providing scientists with important insights into the evolution of their distant relatives, the backboned animals that include humans.
(12 December)

Robert Berring named interim dean of UC Berkeley School of Law
Robert Berring, a University of California, Berkeley, law professor with more than 20 years of teaching and administrative experience, has been named interim dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl announced.
(11 December)

Breaking Gimpy: Researchers crack security system designed to block Internet robots
A clever security system designed to stop the legions of automated Internet robots, or "bots" — which contribute to the Internet equivalent of computer-generated telemarketing calls — has now been cracked by a pair of computer scientists from the University of California, Berkeley.
(10 December)

UC Berkeley student wins prestigious Rhodes Scholarship
Ankur Luthra, a University of California, Berkeley, senior who is double majoring in electrical engineering and computer sciences (EECS) and business administration, has won a 2003 Rhodes Scholarship.
(9 December)

Noted science writer Michael Pollan appointed to UC Berkeley journalism school
Noted journalist and best-selling author Michael Pollan has been appointed to the John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, starting next semester.
(6 December)

For the campus community: a guide to UC Berkeley's sexual harassment policies
Recent events have raised questions about sexual harassment policies and procedures at the University of California, Berkeley. This page consolidates information about the campus’s existing policies and mechanisms for responding to allegations of sexual harassment.
(5 December)

Geophysicists report experimental evidence supporting theory of mantle plume and hot spot stability
Add a dollop of salad oil to a vat of motor oil, then heat. That's the recipe used by two UC Berkeley geophysicists to produce the first laboratory evidence in support of a theory that explains the formation and persistence of the Earth's hot spots, such as the one underlying the Hawaiian Island chain.
(5 December)

Researchers say fossil fuels for cooking and heating may be best for world's 2 billion poor
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the use of fossil fuels for household cooking and heating may make more environmental sense for the estimated 2 billion rural poor in the world, according to a researcher from the University of California, Berkeley.
(5 December)

Richard Lazarus, UC Berkeley psychology faculty member and influential researcher, dies at 80
Richard S. Lazarus, recently named by the journal "American Psychologist" as one of the most influential psychologists in the history of the field and a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, died on Nov. 24 in Walnut Creek, Calif. He was 80 years old and had served on the UC Berkeley faculty since 1957.
(4 December)

Law school dean resigns after harassment allegation: a Q&A
John Dwyer, dean of UC Berkeley's School of Law (Boalt Hall), has announced his plans to resign as dean and from the faculty in the wake of an allegation of sexual harassment against Dwyer that allegedly occurred in December 2000 involving a law student. The following are answers to questions that have arisen about the allegation and university's investigation into the complaint.
(2 December)

John A. Zivnuska, pioneer in forest economics and UC Berkeley professor emeritus, dies at 86
John A. Zivnuska, an internationally recognized expert in forest economics and policy, professor emeritus and former dean of forestry at the University of California, Berkeley, died on Nov. 18. He was 86.
(2 December)

UC Berkeley Extension announces program consolidation, layoffs
In response to the continuing weakness of the local economy and a projected budget deficit of $7.9 million, UC Berkeley Extension, the continuing education arm of the University of California, Berkeley, is consolidating course offerings and cutting staff by the equivalent of 34 full-time positions, Dean James E. Sherwood announced.
(2 December)

UC Berkeley literacy program attracts Oakland youths, seniors with digital storytelling
The Parkway Theater near Oakland's Lake Merritt will host a digital video film festival on Dec. 8, when artists ranging in age from 7 to 72 assemble to present their personal multimedia stories and poetry. The semi-annual festival are part of Digital Underground Storytelling for Youth (DUSTY), a collaboration between the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Education and West Oakland's Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement.
(2 December)

UC Berkeley scientists detail neural circuit that lets eye detect directional motion
One specialized cell type in the retina responds only to objects moving in a particular direction—left to right, for example. Scientists thought they understood how these directionally selective ganglion cells work, but a new study by UC Berkeley biologists shows the neural circuit involved in this simple calculation is more elaborate and redundant than assumed.
(27 November)

John Dwyer, dean of Boalt Hall, announces plans to resign from deanship, faculty
Professor John Dwyer announced his resignation as dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall), as well as his resignation from the faculty.
(27 November)

The Axe is back, and it's cruising campus
Celebrating Cal's first Big Game victory of the millennium, hundreds of Cal students and boosters paraded across campus Monday with the spoils of victory – the coveted Stanford Axe.
(25 November)

Robert Brentano, esteemed UC Berkeley history professor, dies at age 76
Robert Brentano, a brilliant University of California, Berkeley, history professor whose 50 years of teaching and leadership on campus drew profound admiration and respect from students and professional colleagues alike, died on Thursday. Nov. 21. He was 76.
(25 November)

UC Berkeley-led research team finds brain's perception depends upon the source of cues it receives
When the human brain is presented with conflicting information about an object from different senses, it finds a remarkably efficient way to sort out the discrepancies, according to new research conducted at the University of California, Berkeley.
(21 November)

UC Berkeley, Joint Genome Institute target chloroplasts for clues to green plant evolution
As biologists try to tease out the finer details of the green plant family tree, one key may lie in the cellular organelle - the chloroplast - that makes green plants green.
(21 November)

Joseph "Perry" Danton, former dean of library science, dies at age 94
Joseph Periam "Perry" Danton, professor emeritus and former dean of the University of California, Berkeley's School of Librarianship, died at an Oakland hospital on Nov. 12 following a brief illness. He was 94.
(20 November)

UC Berkeley psychologist discusses strategies to reduce effects of classroom stereotypes
Clark McKown, faculty fellow in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, has been studying the effects of stereotypes on children, and he believes it is a significant issue that must be addressed both at home and in school. To that end, he recently addressed a conference of educators, school counselors and administrators to bring to light the subject, as well as to discuss strategies for preventing stereotyping.
(19 November)

UC Berkeley Professor Ronald Takaki wins Fred Cody Award for lifetime literary achievement, service to community
Ronald Takaki, professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California Berkeley, will receive the 2002 Fred Cody Award for lifetime literary achievement and service to the community. The award is given annually by the Bay Area Book Reviewers Association.
(18 November)

NCAA restores 9 football scholarships, upholds bowl ban
The National Collegiate Athletic Association restored nine scholarships to the UC Berkeley football program in response to the school's appeal of a rules violation charge, but did not lift the one-year postseason bowl ban or lessen the length of California's probation. Chancellor Berdahl, in a statement issued after the NCAA decision, expressed his appreciation for the Appeals Committee's work, but also his disappointment that post-season play is no longer a possibility for this year's football team.
(18 November)

Berkeley student Sergio Rapu grapples with taking Easter Island into the 21st century
Rotary World Peace Scholar Sergio Rapu is a little different from your typical UC Berkeley student -- he's 53, the father of two college-age children, and a native (and former governor) of Easter Island, the exotic and isolated home of those monolithic stone heads. His academic goal is probably also unique: to find a way that Easter Islanders can protect their heritage while finding their place in the 21st century.
(15 November)

Campus memorial service: Even in death, Chang-Lin Tien illuminates and inspires
Friends, family and colleagues of Chang-Lin Tien packed Zellerbach Hall on November 14 for a memorial service honoring the beloved former chancellor. Listening to the many heartfelt tributes, even those who never met him knew that this perpetual motion machine not only advanced UC Berkeley's spirit and opportunity, but was the finest example of them. Webcast of memorial service available.
(15 November)

Six UC Berkeley professors among 50 top women in science, 50 scientific visionaries chosen by national science magazines
Two national science magazines recently picked six University of California, Berkeley, faculty for their top-50 lists of leaders in science and technology.
(15 November)

UC Berkeley professor emeritus Richard Brinkmann dies at 81
Richard Brinkmann, a professor emeritus of German at the University of California, Berkeley, and a proponent of an international approach to the study of German, died on Nov. 2. Brinkmann belonged to a generation of Germanists who helped reshape the discipline of literary studies and intellectual history in Germany and the United States.
(14 November)

Henry May, legendary set designer, art director and UC Berkeley professor, dies at 81
Henry May, an award-winning scenic designer for stage and television as well as a professor emeritus of dramatic art at the University of California, Berkeley, has died at the age of 81.
(13 November)

UC Berkeley researchers report exceptionally bright eruption on Io
Routine monitoring of volcanic activity on Jupiter's moon Io, now possible through advanced adaptive optics on the Keck II telescope in Hawaii, has turned up the largest eruption to date on Io's surface or in the solar system.
(13 November)

Middle East film series at UC Berkeley to focus on education and understanding
The University of California, Berkeley, this week is launching a Middle East film series, "Between Forgetting & Remembering: Palestinian and Israeli Cinemas," to help promote education, discussion and understanding about the people and issues of the region.
(12 November)

New California AIDS survey shows need for more HIV education, prevention programs
Many Californians support access to clean needles for injection drug users and giving condoms to prisoners to prevent the spread of HIV, according to a statewide survey by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the California Department of Health Services.
(12 November)

Magnetic processes in space can accelerate electrons to near light speed
A chance observation of high-energy electrons emanating from a tiny region of space where the sun and Earth's magnetic fields intertwine provides the first solid evidence that a process called magnetic reconnection accelerates electrons to near the speed of light in the Earth's magnetosphere and perhaps throughout the universe where magnetic fields entangle.
(7 November)

Phillip Damon, professor emeritus of comparative literature, dies at age 80
Phillip Damon, a University of California, Berkeley, professor emeritus of comparative literature who was considered an expert on the influence and heritage of the classics in the medieval period, has died at the age of 80. Damon, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease for more than a decade, died at his Berkeley home on Oct. 22.
(7 November)

Berkeley's peace scholars: 10 students from afar, each on a mission
Zewdineh Beyene wants to make an early-warning system he has developed for heading off conflict in northeast Africa a model for the entire continent. Australian lawyer Ian Wadley will concentrate on ways to resolve international disputes over resources like fresh water and petroleum. Tenzin Bhuchung, an ethnic Tibetan born in India, intends to address religious repression, education, and unemployment in Tibet through more targeted negotiations with China. And these are just three of the passionately committed men and women who arrived this fall as UC Berkeley's first class of Rotary World Peace Scholars.
(6 November)

More students – and more women – enroll at Berkeley this term
Campus officials announced today that 33,145 students have enrolled this fall at the University of California, Berkeley, 585 more students than expected. Compared to last year, the undergraduate population shows an increase in students from every ethnic group. Women continue to outnumber men among the undergraduate population.
(5 November)

UC Berkeley psychology professor writes gripping account of his father’s mental illness
Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology at University of California, Berkeley, has moved beyond the academic to the very personal in his latest book. "The Years of Silence Are Past: My Father's Life with Bipolar Disorder" is a compelling account of his father's lifelong struggle with what also is known as manic-depressive illness.
(5 November)

Bioterrorism defense: Q&A on quarantine, forced vaccination & public health
UC Berkeley public-health expert Arthur Reingold, M.D., discusses the nation's state of readiness for biological attacks. Reingold, head of the epidemiology division at the School of Public Health, talks about what preparations we've made, quarantining and forced vaccination, and the long-term sickness of the public health system.
(4 November)

Popular weed killer atrazine found to feminize native frogs
Native male leopard frogs throughout the nation's Corn Belt are being feminized by an herbicide, atrazine, used extensively to kill weeds on the country's leading export crops, corn and soybeans, according to a survey conducted by University of California, Berkeley, biologists and reported this week in Nature.
(30 October)

Chang-Lin Tien, former UC Berkeley chancellor and internationally known engineering scholar, dies at 67
Chang-Lin Tien, who, as chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1990-97 was an outspoken supporter of equal opportunity in higher education and who preserved the campus's preeminence despite a prolonged state budget crisis, died Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Kaiser Permanente hospital in Redwood City. He was 67 years old.
(30 October)

Edwin Bayley, founding dean of UC Berkeley's journalism school, dies at 84
Edwin R. Bayley, founding dean of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, died Sunday (Oct. 27) at a Green Bay, Wis., hospital. He was 84 and had been ill for several months.
(29 October)

Gene Myers, computer algorithm pioneer in human genome sequencing, to join UC Berkeley faculty
More than two years after the landmark sequencing of the human genome, the computer whiz behind the algorithms used to decipher millions of pieces of the genetic material is coming to the University of California, Berkeley, for his next big challenge.
(29 October)

Architecture professor has designs on housing the homeless
While "blockbuster" projects like Frank Gehry's Bilbao art museum continue to rack up magazine covers, architect and UC Berkeley professor Sam Davis is concentrating on something much less glamorous – providing housing for the poor and homeless.
(25 October)

Anthropology museum announces the hiring of its first full-time director
Research anthropologist Douglas Sharon, executive director for 21 years of the San Diego Museum of Man, will become the first full-time director of the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, the campus announced today.
(24 October)

New biophotonics center will apply state-of-the-art optical tools to medicine, biology
Despite recent breakthroughs involving the use of light to treat and study disease, those techniques only scratch the surface of what is possible in the emerging field of biophotonics. In an effort to change that, scientists at 10 institutions around the country, including the University of California, Berkeley, announced a new Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology to accelerate the application of state-of-the-art optical tools to biology and medicine.
(24 October)

Your brain is teaching your nose new tricks, say UC Berkeley researchers
Any wine connoisseur knows the nose can learn to recognize subtle new aromas, but where does that learning take place? A new study by UC Berkeley neuroscientists has determined that we learn new smells in an area of our brains, not just in our noses, indicating that the adult brain has more capabilities to change and perhaps recover from injury than previously thought.
(23 October)

New evidence strengthens case for black hole at center of galaxy
Two decades ago after UC Berkeley physicist Charles Townes and his colleagues, including post-doc Reinhard Genzel, claimed to have evidence for a massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, new and nearly incontrovertible evidence strongly indicates that our galaxy indeed has a massive compact object at its core.
(23 October)

Interactive, high-tech artwork recalls Chinese immigration tragedy
Step inside a silicon-sheathed capsule outside Kroeber Hall at UC Berkeley, and you'll find yourself amid 58 live bamboo stalks, tomato seedlings, sauna-like heat and very unusual background music.
You have just entered "Oxygen Flute 2.0," an interactive work of art that blends elements of architecture, music and computers to make statements about the environment, the interdependence between living things, the global economy, immigration, modern agriculture and the convergence of the natural with the synthetic. Slideshow: See and hear Oxygen Flute
(21 October)

Berkeley panel questions Al Qaeda link to Bali bombings
A panel of UC Berkeley Southeast Asian faculty, visiting scholars, and journalists convened Friday (10/18) to discuss the October 12 bombings in which more than 180 people died in Bali nightclubs. They urged caution in being too swift to link Al Qaeda to the bombings. Recent history, they agreed, indicates that the bombers are more likely to belong to either the Indonesian military or domestic insurrectionist groups.
(21 October)

Homecoming & Parents Weekend spans the generations
Homecoming & Parents Weekend ’02 was a family reunion that spanned nearly a century of Cal history. From graduates to future alumni, and for Berkeley veterans and neophytes, it was a chance to make new friends, revisit old haunts and cheer the Golden Bears on to victory. Watch a slideshow of the weekend's highlights.
(21 October)

Are mass smallpox vaccinations safe? A Q&A with Berkeley epidemiologist Dr. Arthur Reingold
A federal advisory committee's recommendations to vaccinate more than half a million hospital workers against smallpox because of the threat of a bioterrorist attack has raised serious concerns about whether such vaccinations are safe and necessary. In a Q&A session, Dr. Arthur Reingold, professor and head of epidemiology at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, discusses the safety of such a mass inoculation as well as other issues confronting the campus's new Center for Infectious Disease Preparedness.
(18 September)

UC Berkeley textile expert Ed Rossbach dies at 88
Ed Rossbach, considered the dean of contemporary American textiles because of his influence on generations of young fiber artists in the United States, died on Monday, Oct. 7, after a long illness. Rossbach, 88, was a professor emeritus of design at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught in the former departments of decorative art and design from 1950 to 1979.
(16 October)

Deciphering the Middle East: Q&A with Professor Nezar AlSayyad, chair of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
With the U.S. Congress authorizing the use of force against Iraq, the Middle East is on everyone's minds. Yet few can name all the countries that make up the region, or even begin to describe their histories and governments. As part of an ongoing series about the region, we turned to one of UC Berkeley's experts, Nezar AlSayyad, who has been chair of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies since 1995, for a crash course in the Middle East. He talks about the Middle East's political and cultural diversity, women's rights, why Arab states oppose Iraqi regime change, and why Islam is here to stay.
(15 October)

Destroying a stereotype: Meet Berkeley's ROTC students
Think you can stereotype the college ROTC student? Think again. UC Berkeley's Naval, Army, and Air Force ROTC programs are experiencing a surge in enrollment, and they're attracting a more diverse crowd than just dyed-in-the-wool, gung-ho military types. Of course, the scholarships help, but so does the chance to make a difference – and the chance to jump out of airplanes on the weekend.
(11 October)

Study finds "two-tier" system in state-funded prekindergartens: disparity in education, pay, stability
Within state-funded prekindergarten systems, teachers in publicly-operated settings are better educated, better paid and enjoy more job stability than their counterparts in privately-operated settings, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Center for the Child Care Workforce in Washington, D.C.
(7 October)

CDC award to help UC researchers establish national environmental public health tracking system
Numerous studies have linked chronic diseases such as asthma with environmental pollution, but a lack of sufficient population-wide data has made it difficult to understand how and where a range of environmental factors are linked to health. That will soon change thanks to a three-year grant to the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. The grant from the Centers for Disease Control will help establish a sophisticated surveillance system that will track the associations between diseases and environmental pollutants, and identify communities where these contaminants may be causing health problems.
(7 October)

Haas study sees second recession more likely than slow recovery
The national economy is more likely headed for another serious recession rather than a continued slow recovery, according to a new report from the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
(4 October)

San Francisco car-sharing system is catching on, UC Berkeley study shows
An increasing number of drivers are sharing car keys in San Francisco, where an automobile sharing program began last year, according to a new report by the University of California, Berkeley's Institute of Urban and Regional Development.
(3 October)

A good map is hard to find
The less we knew about the world, the more beautiful were our maps. At least, that's the impression you get from looking through the thousands of 20th century topographical, nautical, aerial, political and other maps for sale Saturday (10/5) by UC Berkeley's geography department and its Earth Science and Map Library. Nearly all of the cartography on sale in the University's Pauley Ballroom will be priced at $2. If that's too much for you, then be patient: they'll be marked down by half in the sale's last two hours.
(2 October)

UC Berkeley study finds promise in using Chinese herbs to treat hepatitis B
Chinese herbal treatments combined with standard therapy may be more effective than standard therapy alone for treatment of chronic hepatitis B, according to an analysis of randomized, controlled trials led by University of California, Berkeley, researchers.
(1 October)

New studies find ADHD among girls a serious – but overlooked – problem
Although boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) greatly outnumber girls, girls have been underdiagnosed and their condition is greatly underappreciated, according to a pair of studies in the October issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. The lead author is Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology at University of California, Berkeley.
(1 October)

Student conduct hearings begin for Wheeler occupation
The first student conduct hearing related to the April 9, 2002, occupation of Wheeler Hall began today. A series of administrative hearings, in which approximately 30 students face charges that they violated the campus Code of Student Conduct, have been scheduled and are expected to conclude by the end of October.
(30 September)

Primer from Lawrence Hall of Science gives parents tips on how to get involved in children's education
How involved should you get in your kid's science project? How much homework is too much? How do you kindle your child's curiosity when her teacher doesn't? A new book from the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, attempts to answer these questions and more, and provides clear, jargon-free, practical ways that parents can play an important educational role in their kids' life.
(26 September)

Berkeley gets CDC grant, joins network of public health academic centers fighting bioterrorism
A new $2.8 million federal grant will help University of California, Berkeley, researchers battle bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks and other emergent public health threats through a new Center for Infectious Disease Preparedness. The three-year grant establishes UC Berkeley's School of Public Health as the site of one of four new academic centers for public health preparedness.
(26 September)

UC Berkeley researchers awarded $2.1 million NIH grant to study smoking prevention efforts in China
A $2.1 million federal grant will help researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, study the economic impact of smoking prevention efforts in China, the largest consumer of tobacco products in the world.
(25 September)

Hearings to begin Monday for UC Berkeley students facing charges from Wheeler Hall sit-in
Dates of student conduct hearings have now been set for many of the University of California, Berkeley, students arrested during the April 9 occupation of Wheeler Hall, according to campus officials. Each student will have the opportunity to present his or her case in a series of administrative hearings scheduled to begin Monday (Sept. 30) and conclude by the end of October.
(25 September)

UC Berkeley-led project gets $13 million grant to bridge computer software and systems science
A project led by the University of California, Berkeley, to modernize embedded software systems, which run everything from an aircraft's navigation system to a child's robotic pet, is getting a $13 million boost from a National Science Foundation grant.
(25 September)

NSF grant to UC Berkeley will fund exploration of new types of quantum computers
A team of chemists, physicists and engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, has received $4.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to test whether several cutting-edge technologies are suitable for building the first practical quantum computer.
(25 September)

Youths more conservative than their elders on some issues, survey reveals
The generation gap between youths and older adults might not be what you'd expect, and on some political issues involving religion and abortion, young people may be the most conservative of all, according to a new survey by University of California, Berkeley, political scientists.
(24 September)

Webcast: Viability of alternatives to factory food debated at Berkeley
In a discussion that can be viewed online via webcast, food heavyweights Alice Waters, Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollan, Mark Hertsgaard, Corby Kummer, and moderator Orville Schell discuss whether organic, community-scale agriculture and food production can replace conventional, large-scale agribusiness, and the likely costs of such a dramatic shift.
(23 September)

Top medical research award goes to Berkeley Prof. Randy Schekman
Many high school students dread science fair projects, but Randy Schekman lived for them. Similar passions have driven his research for 30 years, and today have earned Schekman, a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, the nation's highest award for basic medical research, the Lasker Award.
(22 September)

Generation Y wrestles with 9/11 in new Web video project
After the attacks of September 11, Americans of all ages struggled to understand how the world perceives us, agonizing over our place in the world. With "Middle Eastern | American: An Interactive Video Tapestry," UC Berkeley alumna Ana Pinto da Silva (Architecture, 1991) takes this process public with interviews of 42 wildly diverse students who share their opinions of the best and worst of American and Middle Eastern cultures.
(19 September)

Hearst Memorial Mining Building reopens to new era of engineering
When the Hearst Memorial Mining Building at the University of California, Berkeley, first opened in 1907, the study of mining was vital to the campus and the nation. At a rededication ceremony this Sunday (Sept. 22), 95 years later, the building's doors will reopen to new frontiers in materials science and engineering research.
(18 September)

Unlocking the secrets of animal locomotion
Cockroaches may someday inherit the Earth, but before they do, Professor Robert J. Full plans to learn all their secrets. In his PolyPEDAL Laboratory, Full studies insects, crabs and lizards for insight into nature's engineering: how they run, bypass obstacles and navigate their worlds with only the tiniest of brains. View Flash animations, video clips
(16 September)

Bear in Mind: Conversations with the chancellor
Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl enjoys asking questions: "I learn something new in every conversation," he says. And with the debut of a new radio-style Web talk show called "Bear in Mind," you can listen in on those conversations as Berdahl interviews Berkeley faculty, staff, students and visitors about world events, their expertise, experiences and more.
(12 September)

Campus comes together again to remember 9/11
A year after the Sept. 11 attacks against America, thousands again filled Sproul Plaza on Wednesday to mourn the victims and commemorate the heroes. Following a moment of silence for personal reflections, student leaders organized a program of speeches and music looking back to the tragedies of a year ago and examining how the nation and the campus have changed in the past 12 months.
(11 September)

Berkeley's most senior junior took the long road to Cal
When Patricia Kinman graduated from her Hayward high school, she wanted to attend UC Berkeley "more than anything," she says. But financial constraints compelled her to take a government scholarship and become a nurse instead. That was 1945. Almost six decades later, this 75-year-young Berkeley student is finally living out her dream.
(9 September)

Chancellor issues statement, appalled at charge that campus Sept. 11 events are unpatriotic
In an evening press conference, Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl responded to what he labeled "outrageous allegations" published by The California Patriot, a student journal, that UC Berkeley is unpatriotic in commemorating the events of September 11. "This allegation is wrong. This allegation is an insult to everyone at this University," Berdahl said.
(5 September)

Panel urges more exercise, balancing caloric intake with physical activity
A new study released today by the National Academies' Institute of Medicine provides the most detailed criteria yet for deciding what levels of fat, carbohydrate and protein Americans should aim for in their diet, according to two University of California, Berkeley, experts on the panel that developed the report. Among the panel's recommendations are doubling the amount of physical activity previously advised - from a minimum of 30 minutes per day to 60 minutes per day - balancing energy intake and expenditure, and minimizing intake of saturated fats, cholesterol and trans fatty acids.
(5 September)

Remembering Sept. 11: Memorials planned on campus
In the hours and days after last fall's terrorist attacks, thousands of students, faculty, staff and others gathered on the UC Berkeley campus to mourn, to reflect and to speak out. A year later, Sept. 11 will again be a time for coming together as a community to remember those who died and to reaffirm the values of free speech and civil discourse.
(5 September)

UC researchers confirm coast redwood and Douglas fir as hosts for Sudden Oak Death pathogen
Two of California's most highly prized trees — coast redwood and Douglas fir — are susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death, University of California researchers have confirmed.
(4 September)

Cal striker takes shot at Berkeley women's soccer record
Senior Laura Schott is more goal-oriented than most of her UC Berkeley classmates. And this star forward for the Cal women's soccer team has her eye on seven goals in particular as she takes aim at the Berkeley women's record for career goals and points, set more than a decade ago by soccer titan Joy Fawcett.
(3 September)

Targeting enzymes that immortalize cancer cells
Discovery of a clever trick that cancer cells use to make themselves immortal may lead to a way to stop their unchecked growth, according to scientists at the University of California, Berkeley.
(30 August)

Middle East tensions: A UC Berkeley chronicle
As the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks approaches, and turmoil continues to roil the Mideast, the campus looks back on a year of tension and tolerance. Controversies over free speech, hate crimes and academic freedom have fueled emotional protests, but campus leaders have worked to defuse tensions and foster tolerance, restraint and learning. A special report
(28 August)

Dispatches from the 2002 U.N. World Summit on Sustainable Development
Yogi Hendlin, a fourth-year political science student in the College of Letters & Science at UC Berkeley, attended the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. Hendlin, who attended as a representative of the non-profit Adbusters Media Foundation, is filing a series of dispatches from the summit.
(26 August)

"Bear in Mind" exhibit salutes the California grizzly
The story of the extinct California grizzly, which endures today as a state and Cal emblem, will be saluted in "Bear in Mind," a new exhibit running from August 26 to November 27 at The Bancroft Library. An online multimedia slide show provides a preview of the exhibition.
(23 August)

Campus prepares for potential strikes
The Coalition of University Employees, which represents clerical employees on the Berkeley campus, has given notice that it plans to hold a strike on the first three days of classes. In addition, a one-day strike has been called by the American Federation of Teachers, which represents UC lecturers (non-Senate faculty), for Wednesday, Aug. 28. Information on campus operations in the event of a strike, as well as updates on negotiations, are available on the Web.
(22 August)

New class will teach journalism students how to cover corporate business
The "Business Watchdogs" class to be taught by former Wall Street Journal reporter Molly Williams will teach students how to read company financial statements and balance sheets, decipher basic accounting and better understand the complex facets of corporate business coverage.
(22 August)

UC Berkeley's first entirely online course could lead way to more classes without a classroom
The University of California, Berkeley, is offering its first course taught solely through the Web, and it's a gem. "Gems and Gem Materials," an undergraduate class being taught this fall by Jill Banfield, a professor of earth and planetary sciences, is getting a trial run as cautious faculty members wait to hear what students think.
(22 August)

Back to school, Berkeley style: Welcome Week kicks off fall term
With the start of Fall 2002 classes just around the corner, it's time to dust off the books and unpack the dorm decor for the more than 32,000 students who will call UC Berkeley home this year. Get plugged into essential links for new and returning students, and get updated on the new crop of classes, students, housing options and construction projects.
(16 August)

Berkeley professor Sheldon Miller to join NIH's National Eye Institute
Sheldon Miller, Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology and Professor of Vision Science at the University of California, Berkeley, has been named to a prestigious position at the National Eye Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health.
(13 August)

Dying coal industry, culture are focus of documentary project by UC Berkeley photojournalist
While millions watched TV reports of the recent rescue of nine miners in Pennsylvania, documentary photographer Ken Light was just a state away, quietly photographing the death of the coal industry and culture.
(12 August)

New book offers behind-the-scenes look at Free Speech Movement
It's been nearly 40 years since the Free Speech Movement exploded onto the University of California, Berkeley, campus, changing the political atmosphere at colleges and universities across the country and providing generations to come with a model for student activism. Two history professors hope their new book will give readers a fuller, more complex view of the movement's origins, development and legacy.
(12 August)

Pedro Sanchez, UC Berkeley expert in agroforestry and tropical resources, wins prestigious 2002 World Food Prize
Pedro A. Sanchez, a pioneer in the field of tropical soils and agroforestry at the University of California, Berkeley, is the 2002 winner of the World Food Prize. The award is the highest international honor bestowed upon an individual for achievements in improving the world's food supply and reducing hunger.
(12 August)

Mind your own business: Teens learn entrepreneurial ropes — and start thinking about college
With CEOs who once smirked on the covers of Fortune and BusinessWeek now reduced to mug shots, you'd think that "entrepreneur" would have fallen off teenagers' top 10 careers lists. But according to the 40 East Bay ninth-graders who recently spent two weeks at the Summer Entrepreneur Camp run by UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, nothing beats working for yourself.
(8 August)

UC Berkeley's sociology department is home to new magazine designed to reach readers beyond the ivory tower
Berkeley's Department of Sociology has a long-held tradition of researching and teaching about topics that have practical meaning to people's everyday lives. So, it's no surprise that this department, part of the College of Letters & Science, is the home of a new quarterly publication for readers beyond the halls of academia.
(8 August)

Growing popularity of weblog publishing spurs new J-school course
Blogs are everywhere, and they’re spawning at a rapid pace! Not to worry, though; they’re not alien creatures invading Earth, but rather the latest rage in online publishing and the subject of a new class at Berkeley this fall.
(5 August)

Wireless sensors from Berkeley, Intel help conservation biologists monitor elusive Maine seabird
For scientists studying the Leach's Storm Petrel, monitoring the shy seabird's nest activity meant sticking a cumbersome remote camera or a daring arm into burrows. But starting Monday (Aug. 5), biologists and petrel buffs around the world will be able to monitor a popular breeding site in real time through the Internet while sitting comfortably in front of their computers.
(5 August)

Chancellor offers condolences on death of Berkeley grad in Israel attack
Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl expressed his sadness and offered his condolences on the death of UC Berkeley grad Marla Bennett, who was one of seven people killed in a bomb attack at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.
(1 August)

Industrialized nations follow U.S. lead on market-driven welfare reform, says new book by UC Berkeley social welfare professor
Industrialized nations around the world are adopting the United States' increasingly market-driven approach to providing welfare benefits, according to Neil Gilbert, a professor of social welfare at UC Berkeley, in his new book, "Transformation of the Welfare State: The Silent Surrender of Public Responsibility" (Oxford University Press). While the United States has led the way in back-to-work programs for welfare recipients, many European countries are not far behind.
(30 July)

Education grad student studies fate of child soldiers – and of childhood – in Sierra Leone
With the waning of Sierra Leone's long and bitter civil war, Susan Shepler, a student in UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education, returned to the West African country to examine the plight of children being demobilized and returning to civilian life after months or years as soldiers, drug runners, cooks, water-carriers and sex slaves for forces on all sides of the conflict.
(26 July)

Tortured Salvadorans awarded $54.6 million by Florida jury; Boalt Hall clinic provided key help
A Florida jury's award of $54.6 million to three Salvadorans who proved that they were detained and brutally tortured by Salvadoran security forces relied in part on help from the International Human Rights Law Clinic at UC Berkeley's School of Law (Boalt Hall).
(25 July)

Antique physics instruments go on the auction block
Got a passion for potentiometers? Do antique balances make you lose your equilibrium? Vintage equipment from UC Berkeley's physics department goes up for sale this weekend, July 27-28, at the Harvey Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland.
(25 July)

Unlocking science online: Should research require a subscription?
The Internet is putting new pressures on scientific journals to make the research they publish available to anyone, anywhere, at no cost; a Q&A with UC Berkeley biochemist Nicholas Cozzarelli, editor-in-chief of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
(22 July)

Rutherford named interim head of Institute for Global Health
George W. Rutherford, MD, a UC Berkeley adjunct professor of epidemiology and a leading expert on the public health aspects of infectious diseases, has been appointed interim director of the Institute for Global Health.
(22 July)

California families face shortage of child care slots
Just one in seven California parents can find an opening for their young child at a preschool or child care center, and that access is shrinking in major counties, according to new findings to be released Friday, July 19, by a University of California, Berkeley research team.
(19 July)

AileyCamp helps youth leap over life's obstacles
Welcome to a typical day at AileyCamp, where firm coaching and words of encouragement are doled out in equal doses to 75 students from local middle schools. The six-week camp, founded by the late dance pioneer Alvin Ailey, targets at-risk youth.
(19 July)

Doctors Without Borders exhibit here July 17-18
An interactive exhibit shows how millions suffer from treatable tropical diseases and explains in what ways medicine policies need to change.
(15 July)

Berkeley-led team of teachers digs for Alaskan dinosaur fossils
Bay Area schoolteachers are heading north to Alaska this summer to join in a field research project, cosponsored by UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology, that gives K-12 teachers hands-on experience with one of the world's richest troves of dinosaur fossils.
(11 July)

UC Berkeley law students among presenters at international AIDS conference
Students from UC Berkeley's School of Law (Boalt Hall) are among participants from across the world meeting in Barcelona, Spain, this week, hoping to combat HIV/AIDS by sharing vital information and research.
(9 July)

Berkeley economist Benjamin Hermalin responds to President Bush's speech about corporate responsibility
Shortly after President Bush's July 9 address to Wall Street, Haas School of Business interim dean Benjamin Hermalin weighed in regarding the pros and cons of the reforms proposed for publicly held companies.
(9 July)

Second lease on sex life: Bizarre parasite can make sterile fruit flies fertile again
Parasites typically pester, and sometimes kill, their host, but scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have found one that helps its insect host overcome a genetic defect: it makes a sterile fruit fly fertile again.
(3 July)

Haas School helps National Archives create new database to trace Asian immigration
Searching for information on early Asian immigrants to the United States recently became much easier, thanks to a new Web site designed to facilitate the search of records on people who immigrated to San Francisco and Honolulu, Hawaii, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Early Arrivals Records Search database was created by the Institute of Business & Economics Research, the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Pacific Region of the National Archives and Records Administration.
(1 July)

UC Berkeley scientist urges drilling into frozen "lake" beneath Antarctica as test of sterile drilling techniques
Measurements of the ice temperature far below the South Pole suggest that a so-called "lake" discovered at the base of the ice is most likely permafrost - a frozen mixture of dirt and ice. Far from being a disappointment, says a University of California, Berkeley physicist, the permafrost subglacial lake may be ideal for developing and testing sterile drilling techniques needed before scientists attempt to punch through the ice into pristine liquid lakes elsewhere in Antarctica in search of exotic microbes.
(28 June)

James Kettner, early American history scholar, dies at 57
James H. Kettner, a colonial and early American history scholar and a University of California, Berkeley, faculty member for nearly 30 years, has died at age 57.
(28 June)

Harvey Stahl, longtime UC Berkeley professor of art history, dies
Harvey Stahl, a longtime professor of medieval art and former chair of art history at the University of California, Berkeley, has died at the age of 61. Stahl, who specialized in the history of medieval manuscript illumination, died at his home in the Berkeley hills.
(27 June)

From attic to auction: antique instruments to raise money for Physics Department
This Sunday (June 30), Harvey Clars auction house in Oakland will open the bidding on a handful of antique scientific instruments — and vintage Tinker Toys used for molecular models — excavated from storage by UC Berkeley's Physics Department. The auction is a test sale to gauge the interest in an additional 400 or so voltmeters, galvanometers, microscopes and more scheduled to go on the block next month.
(27 June)

UC Berkeley students take top honors in fuel-economy competition at 1,068 miles per gallon
Imagine driving from Los Angeles to Seattle — on a single gallon of gas. That's roughly equivalent to what a team of UC Berkeley engineering undergraduates achieved when their vehicle won the Society of Automotive Engineers Student Design Supermileage Competition held in Marshall, Michigan earlier this month.
(27 June)

Cal to appeal NCAA sanctions against football program for past rule violations
UC Berkeley announced that it will appeal today's National Collegiate Athletic Association ruling on past rule violations in the school's football program. Chancellor Robert Berdahl, commenting on the appeal, said that while Cal takes rule violations very seriously, the penalties imposed in this case by the NCAA were "unfairly punitive."
(26 June)

UC Berkeley optometrists expand services to low vision outreach clinic at California School for the Blind
Expanding beyond their on-campus low vision clinic, doctors at the School of Optometry have launched an outreach clinic at the California School for the Blind in Fremont. One year after the program began, UC Berkeley optometrists have conducted comprehensive eye exams for more than 80 students at the school
(24 June)

International health professor named to head $2 billion global health fund
Richard Feachem, UC Berkeley professor of international health, has been appointed undersecretary general and first executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an independent public-private partnership to combat these diseases.
(24 June)

Historian John Hope Franklin of Duke University to receive Clark Kerr award from Academic Senate
Harry Scheiber, former chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate, will travel tomorrow (June 22) to the North Carolina home of 86-year-old historian John Hope Franklin to bestow on him the Clark Kerr Award for Distinguished Leadership in Higher Education. The award, the highest honor given by the campus's faculty, was established in 1968 to honor UC President Emeritus Clark Kerr. Franklin, said Scheiber, has been this country's leading figure in the field of African American history, American race relations and Southern regional history.
(21 June)

UC Berkeley professors edit book exploring interplay of Islamic, European identities
UC Berkeley professors Nezar AlSayyad and Manuel Castells examine the impact of Europe's growing Muslim population on the continent in their new book, "Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam: Politics, Culture, and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization."
(21 June)

UC Berkeley library is top-ranked among public universities
UC Berkeley boasts the top-ranked library among public universities in North America, and is No. 3 overall, behind Harvard and Yale, according to the latest annual rankings from the Association of Research Libraries.
(20 June)

Honoring Chang-Lin Tien: A June 22 symposium at Berkeley
Chang-Lin Tien, beloved former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, will miss his retirement tribute on Saturday (June 22), but his accomplishments and boundless energy will be much in the thoughts of those attending.
(19 June)

Concrete canoe racers go national with "Calcatraz"
UC Berkeley’s recipe for a 130-pound concrete canoe, affectionately called "Calcatraz," sets sail Monday (June 24) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 14th annual National Concrete Canoe Competition.
(19 June)

"Poet of the People" June Jordan, a UC Berkeley professor of African American studies, dies at 65
June Jordan, one of the most published African American writers who was known for reviving black English as a medium of black literature, has died.
(17 June)

Manual of California desert plants reveals stark beauty of state's unique environments
"The Jepson Desert Manual" published this spring by the University of California Press and replete with color photos, illustrates the spare beauty that draws people year after year into the heat of Death Valley or the Mojave Desert for spectacular flower shows. Site includes a Flash slide show.
(13 June)

San Francisco Bay: a 5,000-year perspective on the human transformation of the bay
Human habitation of the shoreline of San Francisco Bay is as old as the bay itself - even older. However, says anthropologist Kent Lightfoot, people today are altering the bay's ecology more rapidly than did the native Americans of millennia past.
(13 June)

Astronomers find planetary system reminiscent of our own
After 15 years of observation and lots of patience, the world's premier planet-hunting team has finally found a planetary system that reminds them of our own solar system.
(13 June)

Sky watchers watch eclipse at Lawrence Hall of Science
Sky watchers witnessed the Sun changing from a glowing marble to a radiant crescent of light yesterday during a two-hour partial eclipse that was seen from Borneo to Mexico.
(11 June)

Cal's cycling team cruises to national title
Cal's cycling team scored a first for Berkeley: they won the overall team title and several individual titles at the National Collegiate Cycling Road Race in Vermont.
(6 June)

Berkeley's 2002 Summer Reading List focuses on banned books
Tom Sawyer, the king of reverse psychology, would love this year's unofficial Summer Reading List for incoming fall freshmen at the University of California, Berkeley..
(5 June)

Student Journal: Summer Dispatches from the Field
For a Berkeley student, "summer vacation" can encompass a world of possibilities. This summer, four students will file regular reports on their pursuits in Mexico, Greece, the Dominican Republic, and offshore California.
(7 June)

UC Berkeley/NASA satellite RHESSI captures new light from sun, reveals surprises in solar flares
An April 21 solar flare powerful enough to interfere with radio communications on Earth was captured by the recently launched RHESSI satellite, revealing never-before-seen detail of the high-energy emissions from these huge explosions on the sun.
(7 June)

Keck Telescope's adaptive optics let astronomers study volcanic activity on Io from armchair on Earth
New adaptive optics on Hawaii's Keck Telescope have produced the sharpest infrared images yet of the entire surface of Io, one of Jupiter's moons, allowing astronomers to study the moon and its volcanoes regularly from Earth.
(3 June)

Robotic fly gets its buzz
Inspired by the elegant aerodynamics of flying insects, researchers are attempting to build a flying robot weighing less than a paper clip. Story includes Flash and video.
(3 June)

Fragile, historic Fox Cottage, moved and renovated by UC Berkeley, wins architectural praise
A project to move and renovate small, storybook-like Fox Cottage at the University of California, Berkeley, recently earned the campus accolades from the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.
(3 June)

Keck Telescope's adaptive optics let astronomers study volcanic activity on Io from armchair on Earth
New adaptive optics on Hawaii's Keck Telescope have produced the sharpest infrared images yet of the entire surface of Io, one of Jupiter's moons, allowing astronomers to study the moon and its volcanoes regularly from Earth.
(3 June)

UC Berkeley "Breath of Life" conference strives to revive California Indian languages
In hopes of reviving ancestral California Indian languages that have only a few living speakers left, or in many cases, none at all, representatives from the Chukchansi, Barbareño Chumash, Northern Pomo, Maidu, Wukchumni, Yowlumni, Wappo and other groups are gathering this week at the University of California, Berkeley.
(3 June)

U.C. Professor Richard C. Van Sluyters to Receive Biomedical Research Leadership Award
Richard C. Van Sluyters, Professor of Optometry at U.C. Berkeley, has been named the 2002 recipient of the Biomedical Research Leadership Award from the California Society for Biomedical Research.
(31 May)

Bear in space: astronaut alum flies Cal flag
Aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis during a recent mission to the orbiting International Space Station, alum Rex Walheim took the time to unfurl the Cal pennant.
(31 May)

Updates on the state budget outlook
Trying to fill a budget gap representing more than one-fourth of the entire State budget, Gov. Davis has proposed cuts to many State programs, including programs at the University of California. UC President Richard Atkinson has issued on update on the budget outlook and Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl also has issued a budget update.
(30 May)

Mother-daughter interpreters demonstrate California Indian culture at Hearst Museum's "Family Day"
On Sunday, June 2, at "Family Day" at the University's Hearst Museum of Anthropology, two noted Indian artists will be featured. The pair will tell Indian stories and play traditional games while airing "gaming" recordings.. They also will demonstrate the art of basket weaving and display handmade, miniature dolls and toys.
(28 May)

Stalking Arizona dust devils helps scientists understand effects of dust storms on Mars
Researchers are studying Arizona dust devils in an effort to understand the effect dust storms could have on sensitive instruments aboard future Mars landers, and how they might affect robots exploring the surface.
(28 May)

Rip currents at Ocean Beach are severe hazard for unwary, UC Berkeley expert warns
San Francisco's Ocean Beach is notorious for its rip currents, and the fast-moving rips that have formed already this season represent a hazard to the unwary, warns Francis Smith, a University of California, Berkeley, graduate student in geography who has studied local rip currents for the past five years.
(23 May)

Record number of students opt to return to class for summer term
Low fees and attractive course offerings are drawing a record crowd to the University of California, Berkeley's summer sessions this year, where the number of UC students enrolling is expected to top 40 percent of regular term enrollment for the first time in the program's 103-year history.
(22 May)

Graduation 2002 Coverage
This school year, some 10,000 students have completed the long and winding road to graduation. Our graduation coverage includes a Flash slide show, videos, text of Convocation talks, and stories.
(21 May)

Update on the fall 2002 course "The Politics and Poetics of Palestinian Resistance"
The English Department has acknowledged a lapse in oversight of its reading and composition courses. In that faculty observation and mentoring of graduate student instructors are important to their training as teachers, the English Department will assume responsibility for regular observation of the class and mentoring of the instructor.
(21 May)

UC Berkeley taps Georgetown administrative leader as associate vice chancellor
Following a nationwide search, Scott Biddy, the chief development officer at Georgetown University, was named Berkeley's associate vice chancellor for university relations. Biddy, 38, will lead the University's fundraising operations.
(21 May)

UC Berkeley expands transportation options and services for faculty, staff
Faculty and staff members who carpool to work at the soon will find themselves in the same rarified realm as the campus's esteemed Nobel Prize winners, at least when it comes to parking at UC Berkeley.
(21 May)

Martin Luther King's legacy lives on: historic Berkeley photo from 1967 will hang in Berkeley student union
A historic photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking out against the Vietnam War on the steps of UC Berkeley's Sproul Hall 35 years ago, came home today to hang in the Berkeley student union named in his honor.
(17 May)

Magazine names three faculty members among nation's top 100 young innovators
Technology Review magazine has named chemist Jeffrey Long, chemical engineer David Schaffer and materials scientist Vivek Subramanian - all under 32 years of age - among its 100 top young innovators of the year. The 100 scientists are cited for their "contribution in transforming the nature of technology in industries such as biotechnology, computing, energy, medicine, manufacturing, nanotechnology, telecommunications
and transportation."
(15 May)

Freezing cancer cells leaves them more susceptible to attack by anti-cancer drug, new study finds
Cryosurgery and bleomycin are approved treatments currently used separately for cancer patients. Researchers say that combining the two therapies may eventually lead to a powerful new form of cancer treatment that targets malignant cells while leaving healthy tissue unharmed.
(14 May)

University statement regarding class titled "The Politics and Poetics of Palestine Resistance"
The University acknowledges a failure of oversight as it pertains to this class and is acting to remedy that. Said Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl, "Universities should not avoid presenting controversial material, and we do not. It is imperative that our classrooms be free of indoctrination - indoctrination is not education."
(10 May)

Stephen Shortell top choice for dean of School of Public Health
Stephen M. Shortell, a prominent researcher in health policy and organization behavior at UC Berkeley, has been named the top choice to lead the campus's School of Public Health, Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl announced today.
(9 May)

Physicist Marvin Cohen and chemist Gabor Somorjai awarded National Medal of Science
The White House has announced that a physicist and a chemist at UC Berkeley are among 15 recipients of the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in scientific research.
(9 May)

Olympian Jonny Moseley to speak at May 17 convocation
Three weeks of graduation ceremonies are underway here where Olympic gold medal skier Jonny Moseley will speak Friday, May 17, at Commencement Convocation. The event will honor the estimated 10,000 students who became eligible during the school year for undergraduate and graduate degrees at UC Berkeley.
(9 May)

Tom Campbell, former congressman, is top choice for Haas School of Business dean
Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl announced that he is recommending to the UC Board of Regents the appointment of Stanford Law School professor and former congressman Thomas J. Campbell as dean of the Haas School of Business.
(8 May)

Student group admonished, temporary suspension lifted
The Student Judicial Affairs office has admonished the Students for Justice in Palestine for the April 9 occupation of Wheeler Hall and the disruption of classes in that building. With the investigation by that office concluded, the student group's privileges as a registered student group have been reinstated.
(7 May)

Top senior at UC Berkeley plans future in her family's past
Sixty years ago, Shayna Parekh's maternal grandfather left India for a better life. Shayna, who has been named the University Medalist, will graduate on May 17, and soon heads to India fired by an intense passion for improving the lives of others.
(7 May)

Seven elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Philip P. Frickey, professor of law; Catherine Gallagher, professor of English; Randy Katz, professor of electrical engineering and computer science; Mimi A. R. Koehl, professor of integrative biology; Tim D. White, professor of integrative biology; Matthew Rabin, professor of economics; and economist Laura D'Andrea Tyson have been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
(3 May)

Berkeley honors five of its most distinguished teachers | (with video)
Five faculty members - Tyrone Hayes, Department of Integrative Biology; Usha Jain, Department of South & Southeast Asian Studies; Jeffrey Knapp, Department of English; Leslie Kurke, Departments of Classics and Comparative Literature; and Stephen Welter, Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management - have been presented with the 2002 Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest honor for instruction given by UC Berkeley.
(2 May)

Chancellor Berdahl issues open letter on the protection of free speech
Chancellor Robert Berdahl explains the reasons why the University has temporarily suspended the privileges of the student group, Students for Justice in Palestine. "It is important to understand that this is neither an issue of free speech, nor of the right to hold demonstrations on the campus," writes the Chancellor.
(1 May)

Three faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences
Carlos J. Bustamante, professor of molecular and cell biology and of physics, Charles B. Harris, professor of chemistry, and Geoffrey W. Marcy, professor of astronomy and director of the Center for Integrative Planetary Science at UC Berkeley, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
(30 April)

UC Berkeley anthropologist examines Mexico City's rapidly proliferating Alcoholics Anonymous
Anthropologist Stanley Brandes has done a detailed study of one AA group among the thousands flourishing in Mexico and Latin America. The stories of the men in that group are told in the just-published, Staying Sober in Mexico City.
(30 April)

Center for the Development of Peace and Well-being debuts here
The new Center for the Development of Peace and Well-being will delve into the scientific understanding of what promotes peace and well-being within the individual, between individuals, and in communities.
(29 April)

"Designing Modern Childhoods" conference to explore architecture, design, from kids' perspectives
If children could design their own play structures, schools, summer camps and even fast food, what would they come up with? May 2-3 at the University of California, Berkeley, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, historians, sociologists, environmental psychologists, folklorists, and geographers will meet to explore those questions.
(29 April)

Free speech rights continue for suspended student group
Students for Justice in Palestine, a registered student group, has been suspended, but the group and its student members retain their right of free speech.
(26 April)

David Wood, founder of campus's dance program, dies
David Wood, a dancer, choreographer, and professor emeritus who founded the campus's dance program, has died at the age of 77. Wood had been a soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company, had danced in Broadway musicals, and with the Metropolitan and New York City Opera companies.
(25 April)

State acts to fully fund CITRIS and QB3
California Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill that fully funds the four California Institutes for Science and Innovation. The bill authorizes $308 million dollars in lease-revenue bond financing for completion of the capital projects associated with the Institutes.
(25 April)

Switching Colorado's Medicaid patients to managed care saved money without harming patients, says study
Two years after Colorado's Medicaid program switched to a managed care system for its mental health patients, costs for providing care were significantly reduced without negatively affecting patient outcomes, according to a new study.
(23 April)

Development economist Bent Hansen dies
Bent Hansen, a University of California, Berkeley, professor emeritus of economics known for seminal work in macroeconomics, public finance, development and Middle Eastern economic history, died April 15 in Alexandria, Egypt, at the age of 81.
(23 April)

Take Our Children to Work Day on April 25
The campus will celebrate it's third annual Take Our Children to Work Day on Thursday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. A lunch hosted by Chancellor Berdahl will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Memorial Glade. In addition to free food and ice cream, Cal athletes will be on hand, and there will be games, prizes, cotton candy, popcorn and more. Many departments - including the UC Police, KALX, the art studio, and the School of Optometry - are sponsoring activities.
(22 April)

Blind student develops computer drawing, animation tool for the visually impaired
UC Berkeley student Hesham Kamel, a PhD student in the campus's Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, is developing computer tools to allow the visually impaired to create and see images on a computer screen.
(22 April)

For children, welfare reform not a blessing
The slight economic gains by millions of single mothers who have moved off welfare and into low-wage jobs have not improved the living conditions of families or the daily lives of their young children, according to a new study.
(18 April)

Students win $10,000 award for new semiconductor in VERTEX competition
Three Ph.D. engineering students captured top prize in Berkeley's first Innovators' Challenge competition. The trio developed a new type of semiconductor memory that could improve hand-held devices and miniature electronics.
(16 April)

Heavily used agricultural weed killer atrazine disrupts sexual development of frogs
The nation's top-selling weed killer, atrazine, disrupts the sexual development of frogs at concentrations 30 times lower than levels allowed by the EPA, raising concerns about heavy use of the herbicide on corn, soybeans and other crops in the Midwest and around the world.
(15 April)

Seafloor seismic observatory starting to take shape
Twenty-five miles off the Monterey coast, a remotely operated vehicle, the Ventana, this week placed the first permanent broadband earthquake monitor on the California seafloor.
(12 April)

On April 20, UC Berkeley's annual Cal Day will offer close-up look at campus
Cal Day 2002, the University's annual open house, will host an expected 30,000 visitors here for hundreds of activities including arts and cultural events, tours, lectures, and athletic competitions. The complete program of events is online.
(10 April)

Chancellor Berdahl urges calm, civil debate on Mideast
In an April 8 press conference, Chancellor Robert Berdahl acknowledged the intense feelings within the campus community over issues in the Mideast and urged continued reasoned discourse. Also see the April 9 update on campus events.
(9 April)

Natalie Coughlin: 24 American records, two world records, and counting
Cal sophomore swimmer Natalie Coughlin is a profile in athletic dominance and wholesome modesty. The article includes a slide show.
(8 April)

Robert Vaught, pioneer in field of model theory, dies
Robert Lawson Vaught, professor emeritus of math at Berkeley, died April 2 in Berkeley. Vaught was regarded as one of the great pioneers in the field of model theory.
(press release, 4 April)

Megavitamins may fight genetic diseases and tuneup metabolism
High doses of some vitamins could play a big role in the treatment of disease and perhaps slow the effects of aging.
(press release, 4 April)

Berkeley offers admission to 8,492 high school seniors
Check out a statistical profile of the high schools seniors who have been accepted for admission here.
(press release, 4 April)

Satellite studies secrets of how solar flares produced by Sun
Nearly two months after the launch of NASA's solar flare satellite, Berkeley scientists who designed and built the satellite report that it has already captured numerous explosive flares. Report includes a video of a solar flare.
(press release, 28 March)

Technology opens door to cheap, plastic solar cells
Chemists have found a way to make cheap plastic solar cells flexible enough to paint onto any surface. Initial efforts are promising and future work will focus on improving their efficiency.
(press release, 28 March)

Researchers links weekly church attendance to longer, healthier life
Researchers have found that people who attended religious services once a week had significantly lower risks of death compared with those who attended less frequently or never, even after adjusting for age, health behaviors and other risk factors.
(press release, 26 March)

Finalists chosen in 2002 National Social Venture Competition
Judges have announced eight finalists from 33 business schools across the country competing for $100,000 in prizes to launch their proposed new businesses, which cover a broad spectrum of education, technology, health and environmental industries.
(press release, 25 March)

Russian artists known for elephant art project here for semester
Raising funds to care for unemployed Thai elephants, teaching art to animals, selling pachyderm paintings, instructing students about totalitarianism and underground art -- two former dissident Russian artists bring their show to campus for the semester.
(press release, 25 March)

UC Berkeley's Campanile to close temporarily
Berkeley's landmark Sather Tower, also known as the Campanile, will be closed to visitors beginning Saturday, March 23. The Campanile is expected to reopen in the fall.
(press release, 22 March)

Sensitive detector identifies missing nitrogen oxide pollutant in atmosphere
Along the route from tailpipe through atmosphere, nitrogen oxides - collectively known as NOx compounds - react with hydrocarbons to form a variety of pollutants, including nitric acid, the cause of acid rain. Until now, some half of the nitrogen oxide has been unaccounted for. Now, chemists believe they have found the missing nitrogen oxides.
(press release, 22 March)

Professor Ralph Hexter named executive dean of campus's College of Letters & Science
Ralph Hexter, a UC Berkeley professor of comparative literature and classics and a scholar of classical and medieval Latin, has been named executive dean of the University of California, Berkeley's College of Letters & Science, the campus's largest academic unit
(press release, 22 March)

Fossil skull from Ethiopia clears up confusion over human ancestors from 1 million years ago
A million-year-old Homo erectus skull found in Ethiopia indicates that this human ancestor was a single species scattered widely throughout Asia, Europe and Africa, and not two separate species.
(press release, 20 March)

New approach to improving crop yields, ending hunger in Africa
Tens of thousands of farmers in Africa are increasing crop yields dramatically by using decaying vegetation and crushed rock to replenish nutrient-depleted soils. "Farmers that have implemented these new soil fertility replenishment methods have seen crop yields increase two to four times," said researcher Pedro Sanchez.
(press release, 14 March)

"Public Health Heroes" to be honored by UC Berkeley School of Public Health
From rural villagers who receive health care in Bangladesh to U.S. residents who now seek medical care in desegregated hospitals, millions of people have benefited from the contributions made by the 2002 Public Health Heroes being honored by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health on Friday (March 15) at an Oakland celebration.
(press release, 13 March)

Microsized microscopes: researchers develop microlens and scanner that can provide views inside living cells
Shrinking a million dollar microscope down to the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen, researchers are developing microscope technology able to see inside living cells, for instance viewing the DNA of tumor cells inside a patient as cancer drugs are delivered.
(press release, 13 March)

March 15 Charter Day keynote address by Costa Rican President Miguel Rodríguez
UC Berkeley will celebrate its 134th anniversary on March 15 with a keynote address by Costa Rican President Miguel A. Rodríguez, who in 1966 received his PhD in economics from UC Berkeley. Rodríguez will speak on trade and development in Latin America.
(press release, 12 March)

Power restored to all but three UC Berkeley buildings following campuswide power outage.
Following a campuswide power outage which occurred shortly after 5 p.m. March 7, power has been restored to all but three buildings. The cause of the power failure has been traced to an underground switching station.
(press release, 8 March)

Chemistry professor Henry Rapoport, known for synthesis of important drug compounds, dies at 83
Henry Rapoport, an outstanding scientist and popular chemistry teacher here, died Wednesday, March 6, following a short illness. Rapoport was widely recognized for his work in pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry, especially the synthesis of drug compounds.
(press release, 7 March)

Massive stars form quickly by accretion, not through merger of smaller stars, say UC Berkeley astrophysicists
A new model of massive star formation by Berkeley astrophysicists finally resolves the longstanding debate over how these giant stars form.
(press release, 6 March)

Major exhibit opens celebrating centennial of Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
The University's Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology's centennial exhibition, "A Century of Collecting," has begun. Drawing from 3.8 million objects collected over a century, the exhibit features several hundred world-class, visually impressive objects that have not been exhibited in many years. At the same time, the display explains how anthropology museums help preserve and interpret the world's diverse cultures. To preview what you will see, check out the slide show.

In its fourth year, student "Business Plan Competition" becoming launching pad for entrepreneurs
Sixty six teams from around the world have entered the fourth annual University of California, Berkeley, Business Plan Competition. Previous finalists have raised more than $118 million in venture funding.
(press release, 27 February)

Seismologist Thomas McEvilly, expert on California's San Andreas and Hayward faults, dies of cancer
Seismologist Thomas Vincent McEvilly, professor emeritus of earth and planetary science at the University of California, Berkeley, and a renowned expert on California earthquake faults, died Friday, Feb. 22, after an eight-month fight with cancer.
(press release, 26 February)

FTC hearings on intellectual property law, policy to be held at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division will hold joint hearings at the Haas School of Business Feb. 25-28 on how to deal with issues that arise at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property law and policy.
(press release, 19 February)

Dietary supplements make old rats youthful, may help rejuvenate aging humans, according to UC Berkeley study
Two dietary supplements straight off the health food store shelf put the spark back into aging rats, and might do the same for aging baby boomers, according to new study.
(press release, 19 February)

Matthew Lyon, assistant vice chancellor, public affairs, suffers fatal heart attack
Matthew Lyon, whose passions and talents spanned the worlds of academia, politics, sports, and the arts, has died of an apparent heart attack. Said Chancellor Robert Berdahl, "Matt transformed public affairs at Berkeley, intent on making it the best in its field ... We will miss his leadership in public affairs, his concern about the welfare of the campus and his great humanity."
(press release, 17 February)

Famed African archaeologist J. Desmond Clark of UC Berkeley has died at the age of 85
John Desmond Clark, the legendary dean of African archaeology and a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, died Thursday, Feb. 14, from pneumonia at a convalescent hospital in Oakland, Calif.
(press release, 15 February)

Berkeley/NASA solar research spacecraft heads for the sun after Feb. 5 launch
Shouts of jubilation erupted at Berkeley's Space Sciences Labratory on Feb. 5 as the HESSI spacecraft was launched. HESSI - a project designed, built and operated by the university and its partners - will look at high-energy X-ray and gamma ray emissions from solar flares.
(Berkeleyan, 5 February)

Nanotech development brings closer era of nanowire electronic devices
Researchers have announced a development that could shrink computer chips and make possible electronic devices on a single nanowire less than one-hundredth the width of a human hair.
(press release, 5 February)

Amtrak head Michael Dukakis here Feb. 8 to discuss high-speed rail
Michael Dukakis, the acting chair of Amtrak, will hold a seminar about a first-class high-speed rail network that he says is the answer to the United States' transportation crisis. He will field questions after his 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m. presentation in Sibley Auditorium at the Bechtel Engineering Center. The event is free and open to the public.
(press release, 4 February)

Berkeley/NASA satellite to launch February 5 on mission to study solar flares
On Feb. 5, NASA plans to launch a satellite dedicated to the study of solar flares. After launch, the satellite will be controlled by a team here with commands transmitted through a radio dish perched in the wooded hills above UC Berkeley.
(press release, 31 January)

Former President Bill Clinton's UC Berkeley talk on building a peaceful, global village
Former President Bill Clinton spoke to a full house at Zellerbach Auditorium on Jan. 29 and to those watching in on the Internet and on big screens at the remote broadcast at Haas Pavillion. Coverage includes stories, photos, and video.
(web feature, 29 January)

Bay Area housing market unlikely to bounce back before 2003
Severe job loss and a decline in household wealth have turned the Bay Area housing market into a buyer's market, a situation that is unlikely to change until 2003, according to researchers at the Haas School of Business.
(press release, 22 January)

Secy. of Transportation Norman Mineta named Berkeley alumnus of year
Long time congressman from San Jose and now U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta (class of '53) is the California Alumni Association Alumnus of the Year.

Campus hosts Sebastião Salgado photo exhibition, lecture, and events
The plight of displaced people around the world, as chronicled by acclaimed photographer Sebastião Salgado, is the focus of a new photographic exhibit at the Berkeley Art Museum, on display through March 24. During the run of the show, Salgado will deliver a lecture and participate in several campus events.
(18 January)

Sudden oak death appears to be widespread in East Bay
Sudden oak death has invaded the East Bay including the Berkeley campus. A survey of the campus has revealed potential new hosts for the pathogen, including the redwood.
(press release, 14 January)

Assistant dean and retired physicist Harry L. Morrison dies
Physicist and assistant dean Harry Lee Morrison of the University of California, Berkeley, died suddenly of a heart attack on Monday, Jan. 14, at his home in Berkeley. He was 69.
(press release, 17 January)

Disability couldn't stop Boalt Grad chosen to carry Olympic torch
Paralyzed from the chest down and in his hands, Brigham Fordham did not let adversity stop him. A graduate of Boalt Hall, Fordham will carry the Olympic torch when it arrives in Oakland on Jan. 18.
(press release, 15 January)

Sudden oak death appears to be widespread in East Bay
Sudden oak death has invaded the East Bay including the Berkeley campus. A survey of the campus has revealed potential new hosts for the pathogen, including the redwood.
(press release, 14 January)

UC Berkeley is a powerful force in Bay Area economy, says report examining campus's impact
The University is the Bay Area's fifth largest employer but that's just the beginning of how the educational and research enterprise here underlies the regional economy and makes the Bay Area a leading center for innovation.
(press release, 10 January)

Astronomers try to catch speeding runaway star
Astronomers are attempting to measure the speed of an unusual star, which might be traveling through space at 10 million miles per hour. If they succeed, the star's velocity would make it about the fastest moving object of its kind. If they don't, a theory must be rewritten.
(press release, 10 January)

Mapping of molecular clouds helps unravel enigma of star formation
The first-ever map of all sites of star formation in a spiral galaxy reveals the important role played in the earliest steps of star formation by magnetic fields in the gas between stars.
(press release, 09 January)

Awards: UC Berkeley recognized for protecting campus environment and for separate effort to save black-faced spoonbills
Two organizations have singled out UC Berkeley for its environmental contributions. The National Wildlife Federation has lauded the University for its lands and grounds care programs. And a group of students, staff, and faculty dedicated to helping save a bird in Taiwan from extinction has received the first-ever "Little Engine That Could" award.

Stellar fireflies: Astronomers discover distant cousins of the Pleiades
Astronomers searching for dusty disks around nearby stars instead have discovered an unfolding stellar phenomenon familiar to those who know the Pleiades: clouds of interstellar dust on a collision course with nearby stars.
(press release, 08 January)

Using new optics, astronomers discover planetary system in the making
Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii have discovered a protoplanetary disk orbiting one of the stars in a newborn quadruple star system. The observations used an important new astronomical technique known as adaptive optics, which partially corrects for the blurring effects of the Earth's atmosphere.
(press release, 07 January)

UC Berkeley astronomers set new limits on gravitational wave background
An unsuccessful search for anomalies in the flashing of a pulsar over the past 17 years puts a new limit on the amount of gravitational radiation in the universe and brings astronomers closer to detecting signals from gravitational waves.
(press release, 07 January)

Inherent speed limit governs how quickly life bounces back after mass extinctions, research shows
The 500-million-year history of life on Earth is a series of booms and busts. But while the busts, or extinctions, can be either sudden or gradual, the booms of diversification of new organisms rarely happen quickly, according to a new research here.
(press release, 03 January)

News stories by year:  2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

[an error occurred while processing this directive]