UCLA Today: archive 000111

BUREAU BRIEFS
School of Engineering – Professor Vijay Dhir, interim dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science since February 2002, has accepted the permanent post of dean, pending regental approval… Chancellor's Town Hall – In response to the state budget crisis, UCLA is doing everything possible to cut costs without layoffs, said Chancellor Albert Carnesale in a Feb. 21 Town Hall sponsored by Staff Assembly… UC Day in Sacramento – UCLA alumni, staff and students took part in UC Day in Sacramento on March 3 and 4, joining a 500-person delegation from UC’s 10 campuses who made this annual visit to the state capital to rally support for the UC system from elected officials.

SWEEPING REFORMS UNDER WAY
The University of California is aggressively implementing a series of changes and reviews to strengthen financial controls and improve governance at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

AFGHAN LEADER: U.S. NEEDS TO SUSTAIN SUPPORT
The Afghan ambassador to the U.S. warned that the violence, corruption and terror that have plagued the region could return “if the Western world had a lapse of attention and turned elsewhere.”

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SLAMMING THE DOOR ON SPAM
If you have access to an e-mail account, you’ve likely been spammed many times. Cumulatively, Americans receive more than 261 billion spams — those pesky, unsolicited, often commercial e-mails — annually, according to Jupiter Research.

Campus Briefs
Keeping Bruin Go!ing — Transportation Services is proposing to keep the BruinGo! bus pass pilot program rolling for a fourth year, but is asking riders to share some of the cost... UCRP Members Benefit — On April 1, CAP II will be awarded to active UCRP members who received UC-covered compensation during the previous 12 months… Dead Man Identified — The Los Angeles County Coroner has determined that a homeless man who was found dead in a bushy area between the east side of campus and Hilgard Avenue Jan. 25 died of natural causes… Attorney Extraordinaire — The 2003 honoree at the 14th annual Thurgood Marshall Lecture and Dinner will be attorney, civil rights advocate and UCLA alumnus Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. He obtained the highest jury award in a police misconduct case in the history of Los Angeles.

DID YOU KNOW?
More than 200 students stayed on their feet for 26 hours straight earlier this month at a UCLA dance marathon that raised nearly $47,000 for the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

TRUTH OF CONSEQUENCES
In order to maintain the public’s trust in the integrity of the comprehensive review process used in admissions, the University of California for the first time required some freshman applicants for fall 2003 to verify non-academic information on their applications.

FORMER SENATOR SHARES HIS VIEW ON POLITICAL ECONOMY
Hart discussed the need to create a new kind of security — beyond protecting the country’s freedom from aggression — to “restore the values of the republic, the civic virtues.”

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW — Asian American Diversity: Asian Americans are increasingly becoming a diverse community of mixed race and ethnicity. Interracial marriages have increased by more than 800% since the 1960s; Substance Abuse: The National Institute on Drug Abuse has awarded the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at the UCLA NeuroPsychiatric Institute $3.4 million over five years to study the effect of California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (Proposition 36) in five counties; Grading the Schools: Los Angeles-area students and parents are being invited to grade their schools through a new project from the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies.

ARCHAEOLOGIST SHARES LOVE OF MOCHE CULTURE
After graduating in 1968, Donnan joined the faculty in the Department of Anthropology at UCLA and began developing a program in Andean archaeology. His primary research has focused on the Moche, a civilization that flourished on the desert-like coast of northern Peru between 100 A.D. and 800 A.D.

SHE USES DEMOGRAPHY AS HEALTH TOOL
Demographer Anne Pebley studies the impact of the surrounding environment on children's health.

15 SECONDS
Judith Currier, Associate Professor of Medicine; Associate Chief, Division of Infectious Dieases; Associate Director, Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education

NAMES AND FACES
Congrats: Nina Byers, Michael Newman, Paulo Camargo, Jeannie Oakes, and Edmondo Robinson
Kudos: Igor Spigelman, Jordan Miller, Thom Mayne, Barton Myers, Walter J. Karplus, and Boris Y. Kogan
In Memoriam: Harold H. Kelley

WORLD OF DISCOVERY
Unequal Education: Despite being bilingual and mostly U.S. citizens, only a small percentage of California’s Latinos have attained a college education or are currently enrolled in college, according to an analysis of recently released census data by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; Rx for Epilepsy: One of the least-used options for treating disabling seizures caused by epilepsy is the most effective, according to a review of findings published in the Feb. 25 issue of Neurology; Menstrual Symptom Relief: The physical and emotional symptoms associated with a woman’s menstrual cycle were significantly reduced in women taking a combination of drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol contained in the oral contraceptive Yasmin, as reported in a study published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine.

WEB WATCH
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is one of the nation’s leading centers of its kind and the premier source of key health policy information for California. Its Web site contains the latest health policy research and studies, and allows users to search for specific health topics and information relevant to their county.

NATURE - SOURCE OF NEW CANCER DRUGS?
There’s an untapped gold mine of herbs, plants and natural compounds, such as shark liver oil, that may one day yield less harmful, approved drugs that oncologists can use to fight cancer.

THEY'RE BUILDING SESAME SEED-SIZE BATTERY
In a world where the future in technology is moving in the direction of small-scale science, the emerging realm of micro-scale devices could completely change the medical, automotive and aerospace industries — except for one tiny, but sizable obstacle.

THE SHORT-TERM ANSWER: MORE TAXES
Tax shortfalls are forcing California and many other states to make a difficult choice between higher taxes or less spending. So which is better: less spending or more taxes?

READY FOR HDTV REVOLUTION
Although it seems a well-kept secret, the United States is in the seventh year of a 10-year transition to a new form of television broadcasting. High Definition TV (HDTV) sent over digitally equipped stations now makes it possible to deliver a much sharper and clearer picture.

WHAT'S ON MY MIND: NURSE LEFT LASTING LEGACY FOR STUDENTS
An amazing life can touch many, even after it has ended. Important accomplishments, kindness bestowed and fortitude of spirit can breach the grave and continue to affect and influence the living. One woman who lived such a life was Joyce Simonowitz.

OUR WORLD by CAROLE CABLE

CLOSEUP:
SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW UCLA HISTORY?
Since its founding in 1919 at a temporary site and its move 10 years later to a permanent home in Westwood, UCLA has grown immensely during its 84 years. If you think you know something about Bruin history, here’s your chance to match memories with a man with a “Jeopardy”-like grasp of such facts and figures.