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FACE TO FACE

At the invitation of C-SPAN and Time Warner Cable, Chancellor Albert Carnesale recently talked to students at High Tech High School in Lake Balboa, Calif., about leadership and his commitment to public service. Carnesale was one of 10 California leaders in education, the entertainment industry, the media, judicial system and other fields who each visited one of five high schools in the region March 14-18 to describe their jobs and career paths. Carnesale talked about his own career aspirations when he was growing up and the path that led him to UCLA’s top post. He also talked about his responsibilities and answered students’ questions. The sessions, which aired on C-SPAN2, were part of a series that has been archived and shared with students and viewers across the country. To see video of the chancellor’s session with students, go to www.ucla.edu/chancellor/wordspics.html.

LABOR UPDATE

As of press time on April 8, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees union (AFSCME) had notified the UC of its intent to strike on April 14. To inform the UC community about key issues in the negotiation, UC has provided an update available at http://atyourservice.ucop.edu. UC began formal factfinding proceedings with representatives of the union on March 11 in an effort to reach an agreement on a new contract for UC service workers. UC has been in contract negotiations with AFSCME since last July and had hoped that state-assisted impasse proceedings may help resolve outstanding issues, which include differences in raises and health insurance costs.

LIGHTNING QUICK

Researchers at UCLA have for the first time been able to capture and digitize electrical signals at the rate of 1 trillion times per second, a development that eventually may help scientists mount defenses against attacks using high-powered microwave weapons and allow physicists to peer into the fundamental building blocks of nature. Professor Bahram Jalali and graduate researcher Yan Han at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a revolutionary one-tera-sample-per-second single-shot digitizer that will allow scientists to see, analyze and understand lightning-quick pulses.

AT THE TOP OF THE CHARTS

An historical corrido (ballad) from the Frontera Collection at UCLA recently became part of the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, which each year recognizes recordings that best reflect the American experience. “Gregorio Cortez,” by Trovadores Regionales, is the first corrido ever to be added to the registry. Corridos are narrative ballads on topics of the day that continue to be popular among Latinos.