CAMPUS UPDATE

Alumnus's gift supports new environmental research institute

Ringold

Gordon Ringold
Photo: r. r. jones

UCSC has established a new environmental research institute, building on the campus's tradition of interdisciplinary research in the environmental sciences. To help launch the new institute, alumnus Gordon Ringold and his wife, Tanya Zarucki, have provided a gift of $500,000--the largest gift the campus has received from an alumnus.

The STEPS Institute for Innovation in Environmental Research is designed to encourage an approach that integrates science, technology, engineering, policy, and society (the "STEPS" approach) in studying and solving environmental issues.

The overall goal of the institute is to foster research linking global and regional environmental processes, a major scientific challenge that has been identified as a top priority by several national environmental task forces over the past two years.

"Human health depends on ecosystem health, and ecosystem health depends on the processes linking the Earth's ecosystems," said John Thompson, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

The STEPS Institute will focus initially on water and biodiversity issues, Thompson, who will serve as director, said.

"The STEPS Institute is one that I feel really builds on the tremendous diversity and strength in the environmental sciences that UCSC has established," said Ringold, chairman and CEO of SurroMed, a company developing pharmaceutical and biomedical technologies. Ringold earned a B.A. in biology from UCSC and a Ph.D. in microbiology from UC San Francisco.

 

Hubble's new camera delivers breathtaking views of universe

cone nebula-updatetadpole galaxy-update

Among the photos released by NASA were one dubbed "Tadpole," right, a view of a colliding galaxy; and another called "Cone Nebula," left, a pillar of gas and dust.
Photo: NASA

The first views of the universe taken by the Hubble Space Telescope's new Advanced Camera for Surveys are stunning, even to UCSC astronomers who have been working on the camera for the past seven years.

"We had always advertised this camera as being able to do 10 times better than the old one, but it still amazed us to see the results," said professor of astronomy and astrophysics Garth Illingworth, deputy leader of the camera's science team.

NASA released four demonstration pictures in May. Among the suite of "suitable-for-framing" images is a stunning view of a colliding galaxy, dubbed the "Tadpole," located 420 million light-years away.

While the galaxy itself is visually striking, what's in the background made an even bigger impression on Illingworth and other astronomers: an enormous number of distant galaxies that speckle the darkness beyond the Tadpole.

 

Linguist takes aim at 'grammar myths'

g.pullum
Geoffrey Pullum
Photo: Ann M. Gibb

You can't afford to casually ignore this new book, especially if you've ever been cited for breaking traditional grammar rules--such as splitting infinitives.

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, coauthored by UCSC professor of linguistics Geoffrey Pullum, is the first definitive grammar reference book of standard international English in more than 20 years.

Pullum hopes that among other things, the book will help debunk what he dubs "grammar myths" that have long plagued the world's most widely used language.

"People have been living in fear of grammar rules that don't exist," said Pullum, who wrote The Cambridge Grammar with Rodney Huddleston of the University of Queensland.

Here are a few of the "rules" that Pullum and Huddleston debunk:

You must never split an infinitive.
It's wrong to end a sentence with a preposition.
"They" must never occur with a singular antecedent.
The word "since" must be used only in the time-reference sense.

 

Chancellor Greenwood addresses Washington policy colloquium

MRCportrait
Chancellor M.R.C.
Greenwood

In the aftermath of September 11, the science and technology community is being asked to contribute to new counter-terrorism efforts. And some of these programs may be subject to regulations that restrict access to information or to laboratory procedures.

In an address delivered in Washington, D.C., in April, Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood asked her audience to consider balancing the need to restrict information for security reasons and the value to society of the free flow of scientific ideas. Greenwood's presentation of the 2002 William D. Carey Lecture was sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Carey Lectureship is awarded each year to one of the nation's most distinguished leaders in science and policy.

 

Milk: Perfect food or deadly poison?

Hollywood stars don milk mustaches to ask the ubiquitous question, "Got milk?," while vegan activists decry cow's milk as unhealthy and tainted by antibiotic residues, hormones, and genetically modified organisms.

dupuismilk illustration.paper

DuPuis, above, says milk has long been a symbol of wholesomeness and pastoral purity, exemplified by this 19th-century advertisement for kitchen products
Photo: Jennifer McNulty

Like it or not, milk is a staple of the American diet and, more than any other food, milk has become a symbol of wholesome goodness and pastoral purity. With all the forces of Madison Avenue arrayed against them, how can milk's dissenters take on "nature's perfect food?"

"For years, milk has been championed as the perfect food, and now it is being demonized as a symbol of the degradation of modern society," said E. Melanie DuPuis, an assistant professor of sociology at UCSC and author of the new book Nature's Perfect Food: How Milk Became America's Drink. "The fact is that we need to get beyond the idea that milk is either perfect or it's poison."

In her research, DuPuis has found that social reformers--from Temperance workers to today's critics of genetically modified foods--have used milk as an organizing tool. "Because it represents purity and the goodness of nature, milk has been a lightning rod for social reformers for more than 150 years," she said.

As ironic as it seems to compare today's activists to the leaders of the Temperance movement, DuPuis concludes that both movements reflect the unique status of milk. "Using milk as the focal point of a campaign against genetic engineering hits people on a deeper level than would a campaign about soybeans," she said.

 

UCSC presents 'The Classical Music of India' concert

Khan, quartet

From left: Zakir Hussain, Vilayat Khan, Hidayat Khan, Shujaat Khan
Photo: Jack Vartoogian

One of india's most important musical artists, sitar master Ustad Vilayat Khan, starred in "The Classical Music of India," a concert sponsored by UCSC on June 2 at the Flint Center in Cupertino.

Given the title "radiant star of the sitar" by Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, the late president of India, Khan is widely regarded as the greatest living sitar player. He traces his musical heritage back seven generations and has revolutionized contemporary sitar performance by furthering sitar techniques pioneered by his grandfather. In addition to performing internationally and recording extensively, Khan has scored films for Satyajit Ray and Merchant and Ivory productions.

"The Classical Music of India" was one of Khan's increasingly rare public performances. For the UCSC concert he was joined by two of his sons, sitar players Shujaat Husain Khan and Hidayat Khan. This was the first time these three musicians had performed together in the U.S. since they appeared at Carnegie Hall in 1997. The concert also featured the tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain.

The concert was held in honor of Talat and Kamil Hasan, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and members of the San Francisco Bay Area Indo-American community, in recognition of their gift establishing an endowment in classical Indian music at UCSC.

The concert, sponsored by UCSC's Arts Division and Arts & Lectures program, was dedicated to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, in celebration of his 80th birthday. A distinguished adjunct professor of music at UCSC, Ali Akbar Khan teaches master classes and workshops and advises the South Asian music program. Proceeds from the concert were earmarked for the South Asian Arts Fund at UCSC, which supports the study and performance of the classical arts of South Asia.

 

Sumarna.200
Undang Sumarna, who has led UCSC's Gamelan Ensemble since its inception, performed at the concert.

Gamelan Ensemble celebrates 25 years

The UCSC West Javanese Gamelan Ensemble celebrated 25 years of performing with a gala concert in May at UCSC.

A gift of heirloom instruments from the Republic of Indonesia helped found the ensemble a quarter century ago.

The Gamelan Ensemble is composed of UCSC students, faculty, and alumni. They have performed in many venues, including the Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles.

 

 

NSF director scheduled for Center for Adaptive Optics dedication

Adaptive Optics-fincolwell-300

Rita Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation since 1998, and the new center.
Photo of building: Don Harris
Photo of Rita Colwell: National Science Foundation

Rita Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), was scheduled to visit the campus in late June for the dedication of the NSF-funded Center for Adaptive Optics. During her visit, Colwell was also to meet with faculty and students, tour the campus, and give a speech on "Research Trends and Opportunities at NSF."

The multi-institutional Center for Adaptive Optics, headquartered at UCSC, was established in 1999 as an NSF Science and Technology Center focused on the advancement and application of adaptive optics technology.

Adaptive optics (AO) is used in astronomy and vision science to correct the blurring of images caused when light travels through an unstable medium. For example, turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere limits how clearly astronomers can see stars and other objects with even the largest ground-based telescopes.

Similarly, internal imperfections and fluids in the eye not only affect vision but also limit the ability of doctors to get a clear view of the retina to diagnose and correct retinal defects and disease.

"In astronomy, adaptive optics can remove much of the blurring caused by the atmosphere, giving us the sharpest images of stars, planets, and galaxies ever obtained with ground-based telescopes. But there are still significant technical challenges to overcome before we can realize the full potential of this technology," said Jerry Nelson, director of the Center for Adaptive Optics, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, and a leading innovator of AO technology. "We are also seeing some major advances in vision science through the use of adaptive optics, and we expect to see new ophthalmic instrumentation developed in the near future," Nelson added.

At press time, the dedication was scheduled to take place on June 21 and celebrate recent progress in adaptive optics and the completion of a new headquarters building. The 4,000-square-foot building on Science Hill provides offices and meeting space for faculty, visiting scientists, students, and administrators.

midsummer_2001

Above: a scene from last summer's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Photo: Ann Parker

 

Shakespeare Santa Cruz

Shakespeare Santa Cruz will bring its audiences tales of wealth, power, and fame during its 21st season this summer. The 2002 festival selections are Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor and Coriolanus, and Anton Chekhov's The Sea Gull. The plays will be running in repertory July 10 through September 1. For more information, see shakespearesantacruz.org.

 

Lin_DougMax_Claire

Douglas Lin is director of the California Space Institute's Center for Origins Studies. Claire Max is an associate director of the Center for Adaptive Optics.

Two UCSC astronomers elected to
Academy of Arts and Sciences

Two professors of astronomy and astrophysics--Douglas Lin and Claire Max--have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The academy honors the nation's most distinguished artists, scientists, and business and political leaders. The selection of Lin and Max brings the number of academy fellows in UCSC's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics to nine and the UCSC total to 17.

Lin is an expert on the formation and evolution of planets and solar systems. Max has been instrumental in developing adaptive optics systems for the Lick and Keck Observatories.

 

White youth's difficulty with racial identity

white.culture.crop1
Pamela Perry
Photo: Jennifer McNulty

For white youth, coming to terms with being white in an increasingly diverse U.S. society can be a painful and contradictory experience marked by feelings of guilt and privilege, relief and persistent prejudice.

In her new book, Shades of White: White Kids and Racial Identities in High School, UCSC sociologist Pamela Perry reveals the complex feelings white youth today have about being white, and she identifies powerful forces in our nation's schools that reproduce racial inequality.

"As we become a more diverse society, we can't afford to raise our kids in racial isolation," said Perry, an assistant professor of community studies.

"We need to understand the formation of racial identity in multiracial settings and what's happening in schools that contributes to racism. In this day and age, schools need to nurture a generation of young people able to live and work together with dignity and respect."

Perry spent two and a half years immersed in the culture of two northern California high schools to explore the development of racial identity among white youth in schools with very different racial balances. The first school, which she calls "Valley Groves," is a suburban school where 83 percent of the students are non-Hispanic whites. The second, which she calls "Clavey," is urban and racially diverse, with 54 percent African American students, 23 percent Asians, 12 percent whites, and 8 percent Hispanics.

In presenting findings based on participant observation in the schools and in-depth interviews with 60 students, Perry paints a portrait of racial identity formation among whites that varies dramatically by proximity to students of color. She asserts that merely interacting with students of different races and ethnic backgrounds in a multicultural school is not enough to counter the forces of racism that persist in American society.

 

UC Regents endorse bond measures

The UC Board of Regents has endorsed the Facilities Bond Acts of 2002 and 2004, which would provide funding for K-12 and higher education facility needs over the next four years.

The 2002 Bond Act, which goes before voters in November, would authorize more than $13 billion for K-12 and $1.65 billion for higher education capital projects. The 2004 Bond Act would authorize $10 billion for K-12 and $2.3 billion for higher education.

AB-16, the measure which created the bond issues, also authorizes $651.3 billion in lease revenue bond funding for higher education that does not require voter approval.

UCSC projects that are included in the measure are the Engineering Building ($41.2 million), the Humanities and Social Sciences Facility ($1.5 million), and the Emergency Response Center ($517,000).

 

You can't judge a fish by its color

A genetic analysis of the damselfish species Dascyllus trimaculatus indicates that it may actually include three distinct species, all with the same color pattern.
Photo: Giacomo Bernardi

For centuries, scientists have used physical characteristics like size and color to separate one species from another. But new genetic studies show that these traits can be misleading, at least in certain kinds of fish.

Giacomo Bernardi, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and his colleagues investigated genetic differences in colorful coral reef fish called damselfish. Their findings, published in an issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, challenge long-held beliefs about damselfish species distinctions.

"What is a species is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology. Almost by chance we went straight to this issue," Bernardi said.

Bernardi's work focused on four closely related damselfish species, each with a different coloration pattern.

The researchers looked at DNA from damselfish mitochondria, tiny cellular structures that provide energy to the cells of higher organisms. Bernardi and his colleagues compared the DNA and used the similarities and differences to group closely related individuals.

Surprisingly, the groupings based on DNA sequences were not the same as the color-based species designations for two of the four species. "We have found that the definition of 'species' is more complicated and a lot more interesting than we thought," Bernardi said.

 

Computer scientist receives 'early career' grant from NSF

James Whitehead, an assistant professor of computer science at UCSC, has received a prestigious award from the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Program. Whitehead will use the grant of $300,000 over five years to support his research on configuration management systems, which help teams of software developers coordinate their work on complex projects.

Configuration management is analogous to document management, in which a word-processing program is used to save many drafts of a report or other document and to track changes made by different people.

A single software project may involve 50 to 100 people, so configuration management systems are usually more complex than document management systems.

Configuration management is essential to understanding the state of the software during its development and controlling the changes made to it by different people, Whitehead said.

 

UCSC alumnus awarded Mellon Fellowship

mellon.winner
David Jacobson
Photo: Ann M. Gibb

When David Jacobson starts his Ph.D. studies this fall, he'll be able to focus more on learning and less on worrying about tuition and expenses, thanks to his 2002 Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies.

The prestigious award, which supports exceptionally promising first-year doctoral students preparing for careers in humanities teaching and scholarship, will cover all tuition and required fees for the UCSC alumnus in his initial year of graduate study, as well as providing a one-time stipend of $17,500.

"I used to think it was a cliché when people said 'It's an honor just to be nominated,'" said Jacobson. "But now I know it's true. I was thrilled to find out I was a semifinalist, and ecstatic when I won." This year's 95 Mellon Fellows were selected from 753 applicants.

Jacobson is the 17th UCSC student to win a Mellon Fellowship, and the sixth winner from UCSC's classics program. A 2000 graduate with a double major in classics and history, Jacobson begins a doctoral program in classics at UC Berkeley this fall.

 

Space-based missile defense systems could jeopardize research

JPrimack
Joel Primack
Photo: UCSC Photo Services

The Bush administration's plan to develop space-based missile defense systems has generated heated debate, but most commentators have overlooked an important and potentially destructive consequence of placing weapons in orbit around the Earth: The militarization of space could create a permanent halo of orbiting debris that will interfere with important scientific and communication satellites."In science fiction movies like Star Wars there are constant explosions, but a few seconds later the screen is clean. It's not going to work that way near a planet," says UCSC professor of physics Joel Primack, who issued the warning during a speech at the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris.

About 3 million kilograms of debris (roughly 6 million pounds), from dead satellites to paint chips, already orbit the Earth. The U.S. Space Command tracks more than 9,000 objects larger than four inches in diameter, and operational satellites can take evasive action to avoid being hit by one of these objects.

The most serious current hazard is the non-trackable debris smaller than a marble that orbits at around 17,000 miles per hour, 10 times faster than a bullet from a high-powered rifle. A BB-sized fragment traveling that speed has the destructive power of a bowling ball moving over 60 miles per hour.

Space-based missiles will generate huge amounts of small debris particles, said Primack. Some will arise from weapon explosions, but even more will come from the resulting small projectiles hitting larger objects already in orbit.

 

Institute of Marine Sciences dedicates its Center for Ocean Health

COH.02-5267-A-11

from left: The center's architect, Jon Schleuning; alumnus Robert Stephens; Julie Packard, vice chair of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and alumna; and keynote speaker and Ida Benson Lynn Professor of Ocean Health Terrie Williams, at the dedication.
Photo: UCSC Photo Services


COH.02-5267-B-18

from left: UCSC Foundation trustee Paul Irwin, UCSC Institute of Marine Sciences director Gary Griggs, Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, and alumna Julie Packard.
Photo: UCSC Photo Services

The Center for Ocean Health, the Institute of Marine Sciences' new state-of-the-art research facility at UCSC's Long Marine Laboratory, was dedicated in February with a ceremony hosted by Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood. The dedication was attended by elected officials and leaders in ocean conservation, such as UCSC alumna Julie Packard (B.A. and M.A., biology), executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The keynote speaker at the dedication ceremony was Terrie Williams, the Ida Benson Lynn Professor of Ocean Health. Williams said the scientists who work in the building are motivated by their love for the ocean environment and the sense that it desperately needs protecting.

"The bottom line is, these scientists are trying to save the oceans, and they have dedicated their lives to it," she said.

In addition to Greenwood and Williams, speakers included Packard, in her capacity as vice chair of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences.

Construction of the center was largely funded by a $5 million grant from the Packard Foundation.

 

Findings support 'Out of Africa' hypothesis

An abrupt episode of global warming and major changes in plant and animal life marked the transition between the Paleocene and Eocene epochs about 55 million years ago.

RedBed-rocks

The bright red sedimentary layers in this photo mosaic from northern Wyoming are about 10 meters above the Paleocene/Eocene boundary.
Photo: P. L. Koch

Several groups of mammals, including early primates, made their first appearances in Asia, Europe, and North America around this time.

A new study published in the journal Science supports the idea that Asia was the center of origin for at least one important group of mammals, and probably for several others.

The study allows paleontologists for the first time to compare the fossil sequences of Asia, Europe, and North America for this dramatic period in Earth's history, said associate professor of Earth sciences Paul Koch, a coauthor of the paper.

"We can finally see what was happening in Asia at the same time that there were dramatic changes in the faunas of North America and Europe," Koch said.

The results are consistent with studies that have pointed to Asia as the center of origin for several important groups of mammals, including primates and two orders of hooved mammals. The study also shows that an extinct family of mammals, the hyaenodontids, definitely appeared first in Asia.

"These groups probably spread to North America across the Bering land bridge in response to the warming of the climate that occurred at the Paleocene/Eocene boundary," said Gabriel Bowen, a Ph.D. candidate in Earth sciences at UCSC and first author of the paper. The boundary is marked in the geologic record by an anomalous blip in carbon isotope ratios. Geochemists have linked this anomaly to a massive release of methane gas from the ocean. Since methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, this oceanic belch of methane may well have driven the transient global warming that occurred at this time, dramatically altering the global climate for about 100,000 years.

Koch and Bowen worked with researchers from the University of New Hampshire and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to collect and analyze samples from the Hengyang Basin in southern China.

 

In Memoriam

Mary_Holmes

Mary A. Holmes, a founding member of the faculty of UCSC and a beloved artist and art historian, died in January after a brief illness. She was 91.

Holmes, who grew up in various towns in the West, and in Chicago, began her career as a painter and became equally well known for her work as an art historian, hosting a series of community lectures.

"She was remarkable in many respects," said John Dizikes, a fellow founding faculty member. "She was an incomparable colleague; there was no one like her. I admired her intense professionalism as an art historian, which she rather disguised because she was full of so many eccentric opinions. Above all I admired her courage; she was indomitable." Holmes's affiliation with UCSC began in 1965 when she arrived from Los Angeles as a lecturer in art; she retired as a full professor in 1977.

Holmes was a painter of visionary and mythical forms, though she chose to teach art history rather than painting.

albert whitford

Albert E. Whitford, an acclaimed astronomer, former director of UC's Lick Observatory, and a professor emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC, died in March in Madison, Wisconsin, after a short illness. He was 96.

"He was a very important figure in American astronomy and at Lick Observatory," said Donald Osterbrock, professor emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC and a close friend of Whitford. "He did a tremendous amount of excellent observational research, chiefly on the structure of our Galaxy, and was a leader of American astronomy."

As director of the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton from 1958 to 1968, Whitford oversaw the completion of the Shane Telescope in 1959.

Contributions in Whitford's memory should be made payable to the UCSC Foundation, designated for the UCO/Lick Observatory's Crocker Fund, and sent to UCSC Gift Administration, Carriage House, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064.

lionel.cantu

Photo credit: Don Harris

Lionel Cantú Jr., an assistant professor of sociology, died unexpectedly in May at the age of 36 after a very brief illness.

Cantú specialized in the ways in which sexuality influences migration. His other interests included race and ethnicity, and Latinos in the U.S. He joined the UCSC faculty in 1999.

"He was probably responsible for more students hanging on and triumphing--getting their Ph.D.s--than any other faculty member, certainly for Chicano and Latino students," said sociologist Candace West. Contributions in Cantú's memory should be made payable to the UCSC Foundation, designated for a scholarship fund in his name, and sent to UCSC Gift Administration, Carriage House, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064.


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