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The Regents of the University of California
 

campus briefs

POSTDOC STARS

UCLA celebrated the achievements of 19 postdoctoral fellows at a reception on March 17. Honorees at the sixth annual Postdoctoral Fellows Reception included fellows who built a nano-sized molecular elevator, discovered the brown dwarf star closest to Earth, and identified the building blocks of black holes.

Five nominees received $3,000 cash prizes. They are: Jovica Badjic, nominated by J. Fraser Stoddart, department of chemistry and biochemistry; Iosif Bena, nominated by Per Kraus, department of physics and astronomy; Christophe Caloz, nominated by Tatsuo Itoh, department of electrical engineering; Alex Evilevitch, nominated by William Gelbart, department of chemistry and biochemistry; and Madeleine Fitzgerald, nominated by Robert Englund, department of near eastern languages and cultures.

Fellows are nominated by faculty in their department, usually their research mentors. This year’s nominees come from more than a dozen departments ranging from astronomy and astrophysics to neurobiology and pediatrics. The departments of chemistry and biochemistry nominated five students, the largest number; electrical engineering nominated three, and organismic biology, ecology, and evolution nominated two. In selecting the winners, a committee of faculty and academic administrators evaluated factors such as creativity, productivity, and impact on the field of research.

The reception and awards were established in 1998 to recognize the important contributions that more than 1,000 postdoctoral fellows make to the interrelated missions of research, teaching, and public service at UCLA. Besides assisting faculty researchers across the campus, they serve as teachers, mentors, and role models for undergraduate and graduate students. Sponsors and co-hosts are UCLA College, UCLA Medical Center/Geffen School of Medicine, Graduate Division, vice chancellor for research, and Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The following is a list of nominees with their nominating faculty member and department:
Urvashi Bhardwaj, nominated by Edward McCabe, department of pediatrics; Thomas Buelter, nominated by James Liao, department of chemical engineering; Ryan Calsbeek, nominated by Thomas B. Smith, department of organismic biology, ecology, and evolution; Patrice Hamel, nominated by Sabeeha Merchant, department of chemistry and biochemistry; Gita Raman Kolluru, nominated by Greg Grether, department of organismic biology, ecology, and evolution; Yang Li, nominated by David T. Wong, School of Dentistry; David Reguera López, nominated by Howard Reiss, department of chemistry and biochemistry; Yan Ouyang, nominated by York Marahrens, department of human genetics; Arnulfo Quesada, nominated by Paul Micevych, department of neurobiology; Samir Salim, nominated by R. Michael Rich, department of physics and astronomy; Song Tong, nominated by Kang L. Wang, department of electrical engineering; Zhuowen Tu, nominated by Song-Chun Zhu and Alan Yuille, department of statistics; Fan Yang, nominated by Yahya Rahmat-Samii, department of electrical engineering; Zhi-Xiang Yu, nominated by K. N. Houk, department of chemistry and biochemistry.

WHEN ANIMALS FIRST ROAMED

A symposium April 16 will bring together internationally renowned scientists to UCLA to address the origin of animals, including how and when animals first appeared in the Cambrian explosion of life. Free to the public, the 15th annual symposium sponsored by the IGPP Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life (CSEOL) will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Schoenberg Auditorium. The “sudden” appearance of animals in the fossil record — known as the Cambrian explosion that gave rise to the evolutionary line leading to humans — has long been a mystery. “For more than a century, this problem remained unsolved and seemed unsolvable, but in recent years, the picture finally has changed,” said UCLA paleobiologist J. William Schopf, founder and director of CSEOL. For details, see www.college.ucla.edu/schopf.htm.

AT THE BALLOT BOX

On March 2, California voters narrowly passed Proposition 55 with a 50.6% to 49.4% vote. The $12.3-billion bond measure will fund facilities improvements in California’s public schools and higher education facilities. The bond will provide UCLA with $70 million to repair and upgrade several buildings that have long been on a list of seismic-deficient facilities. UC will receive $690 million.

NEW UC PROVOST

On April 1, M.R.C. Greenwood, chancellor of UC Santa Cruz since 1996, will become provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, the second highest post in the UC system. Appointed by the regents Feb. 23, Greenwood, 60, replaces C. Judson King, who is retiring and returning to UC Berkeley. As provost, Greenwood, a national leader in science and higher education policy, will become the highest-ranking woman holding a systemwide post at UC and the first woman to be appointed to this position.