INDEX
2006
March 21, 2006
(Vol. 26, No. 11)
NEWS
BRIEFS ONLINE
SUPPORTERS IN THE CAPITAL: About 25 UCLA alumni and staff volunteers joined the throng of UC alumni and friends who convened in Sacramento March 7 for EDUCATION ABROAD:A special committee of the UC regents will examine the university's policies regarding the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), particularly in countries where the U.S. State Department has advised citizens against travel.
‘DOUBLE HELIX' IN SPACE: Astronomers report an unprecedented elongated double helix nebula near the center of our Milky Way galaxy, using observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. SCIENTISTS INVENT MATERIAL THAT INCREASES STORAGE CAPACITY FOR HYDROGEN FUEL: Chemists at UCLA and the University of Michigan report an advance toward the goal of cars that run on hydrogen rather than gasoline. DENTAL TEST FOR CANCER: Researchers from the School of Dentistry have developed the first standardized saliva ribonucleic acids (RNA) test for oral cancer. UC TO APPEAL COURT RULING: The UC is planning to appeal a San Francisco Superior Court ruling that requires it to reimburse nearly $34 million of a controversial fee increase to students who were enrolled in selected professional schools in 2002 or earlier. In Kashmiri v. THE GROPER IS BACK: Another incident of sexual battery occurred at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 26 when a woman walking southbound in the 400 block of Kelton was “bear-hugged” from behind by a suspect who grabbed her breasts. UC TO COLLECT UP-FRONT ROYALTY PAYMENT OF $100 MILLION: The UC has reached a settlement with Monsanto Co., including a payment of an up-front royalty of $100 million, to resolve claims in a February 2004 lawsuit that the company infringed on UC's patent for the recombinant DNA used to make somatotropin, a dairy cow growth hormone. TB AND PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT: A team of scientists has identified a cellular mechanism that may help explain the puzzle of why people of African descent are more susceptible to tuberculosis infection and why, once infected, they develop more severe states of the disease than whites. GOOGLE IT: UCTV has made more than 1,000 hours of programming available to be downloaded and viewed for free on the Google Video service. SEMEL INSTITUTE TO SET UP GLOBAL NETWORK OF RESOURCE CENTERS:The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has selected the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at WHERE ARE WE?You're standing in the Royce Hall first-floor south loggia, looking straight up at the ceiling. with the names of great practitioners of that profession.
BOARD ACTS ON COMPENSATION
Faced with harsh criticism of the way executive compensation has been handled, the UC Board of Regents moved forward with a top priority — to strengthen its oversight of senior compensation and support public disclosure.
CAMPUSES, UC PLAN FOR RISE IN RETIREMENTS OF SENIOR LEADERS
UC President Robert C. Dynes has called it “the University's most important campaign in recent years.”
CONTRIBUTIONS TO RESUME
The UC Board of Regents has approved the resumption of contributions to the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP), authorizing a multi-year contribution strategy set to begin July 2007, subject to the completion of the budget proce
OUSTED SENATE CHAIR DEFENDS ACTIONS
The UCLA professor who was removed as chair of the systemwide Academic Senate March 13 defended his efforts to represent the views of faculty and denied allegations that he did not do his job well.
SCIENTISTS TEAM UP TO PUT NEW 'SPIN' ON ELECTRONS
UCLA will be the headquarters for one of the world's largest joint research programs to focus on spintronics, a new technology that could enable the United States to take the lead in the highly competitive semiconductor industry
UC HELPS FACULTY BALANCE WORK, FAMILY
After having her first child 4 1/2 years ago, Andrea Ghez, a professor of physics and astronomy, got one quarter off from teaching. It wasn't enough.
UCLA SAVES MILLIONS IN COSTS
Automation and efficiency have helped UCLA boost productivity even during a prolonged period of diminished resources.
PEOPLE
TWO DECADES IN SEARCH OF ANSWERS
When a fire shut down the laboratory where biochemist Sabeeha Merchant was conducting molecular biology research as a Harvard postdoctoral scholar in the 1980s, she decided to spend her free time in a library, reading scientific research papers. One of the studies she read puzzled and surprised her.
FORMER INTERNEE OFFERS GIFT TO BRING TWO NATIONS CLOSER TOGETHER
The year 1941 was an important one for Paul Terasaki for several reasons. He turned 12, finally old enough to join the Boy Scout troop in his Boyle Heights neighborhood. His family bought a brand-new Dodge. And his father, who left a small Japanese farming village as a teenager to come to America , opened a “hugely successful” cake shop in Little Tokyo, Terasaki recalled.
APPLAUSE
Richard E. Horowitz, clinical professor of pathology at the Geffen School of Medicine, was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Institute for Quality in Laboratory Medicine. Horowitz, who is senior consulting pathologist at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center , has also received the Joint ASCP-CAP Award for Distinguished Service to American Pathology…. NAMES & FACES
James Liao, Donald Shoup, Dan Page
IN MEMORIAM
Page Ackerman, former UCLA university librarian, died of congestive heart failure on Feb. 28 at Royal Oaks Manor in Duarte , Calif. She was 93. She served as university librarian during 1973–77 and was the first woman in the United States to head such a large and complex library system.
OUT & ABOUT
COMMUNITY HEROES
Philanthropist Ann C. Rosenfield never went to UCLA or even stepped foot on campus. But were she alive today, she certainly would have been proud of what her good works have wrought in Westwood. DON'T BECOME A SOFT TARGET FOR CREEPERS
They are known by campus police as “office creepers,” people who can pass for backpack-toting students or employees leisurely strolling through the many public areas in UCLA buildings.
VOICES
GAMES: THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION
The media guru Marshall McLuhan once said: “Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either.” His provocative statement presents a profound challenge to educators in today's post-Gutenberg, 21st-century creative economy.
DISABLED OR JUST DIFFERENT?
“Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way,” the renowned psychologist William James wrote decades ago. Today, we refer to such behavior as thinking “out of the box” — a much-desired trait in our culture, so amply reflected in a slew of recent bestsellers on creativity and intuition.
HOW I MADE IT TO FAR-OFF TIMBUKTU --ALMOST!
Located on the legendary camel caravan route of the Sahara, Timbuktu is historically famous for being distant and inaccessible. A weekend safari I recently undertook proved that, even in the era of air travel, Timbuktu is much more unreachable than my boyhood readings about the place had led me to believe.
CARTOON BY V.S. HIXSON
CAMPUS
TECH TOOLS BRING NEW DIMENSION TO LEARNING
Computers make superb teaching aids. But who knew that these technological powerhouses can also help sharpen what is widely regarded as a uniquely human faculty — reason?
UCLA PROGRAM OFFERS CARE, COMFORT WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS
With nothing else that doctors can do for Ellie Navi's father, who was diagnosed with lymphoma three years ago, the focus now is on controlling his pain and keeping him comfortable.
SHORT TAKES
EARNINGS ONLINE: Beginning in May, UC employees whose salaries are directly deposited into their bank accounts will receive online earnings statements instead of paper receipts. An “A” FROM SENIORS: UCLA seniors report strong satisfaction with their academic experience and campus life. THREE CHEERS: For the second time in three years, the Daily Bruin has been named the national Newspaper of the Year by the Associated Collegiate Press.
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