2005
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Astrophysicists detect very high-energy gamma rays from the Milky Way
Scientists using the Milagro Gamma-ray Observatory in New Mexico have captured evidence of radiation emitted from the plane of our home galaxy at extremely high energies. The researchers detected “TeV gamma rays”–electromagnetic radiation in the one trillion electronvolt energy range, about a trillion times more energetic than visible light–and determined that the gamma rays were…
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Three to receive top honors from UC Santa Cruz Alumni Association
A senior writing lecturer, an epidemiologist in the international fight against AIDS, and a staff member who helps nontraditional students thrive have been selected to receive the UCSC Alumni Association’s highest honors for the 2005-06 year. Don Rothman will receive the Distinguished Teaching Award; Cheryl Scott, the Alumni Achievement Award; and Corinne Miller, the Outstanding…
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Unmanned submersible sheds light on an undersea volcano
Rock samples collected last year show surprising variation in the chemistry of an undersea volcano on the Juan de Fuca Ridge near Seattle. The variation comes from the mantle, the source of the magma that erupted from the volcano to form the rocks, and may influence the microbial communities that now inhabit the volcano, said…
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Simulations shed light on Earth’s history of magnetic field reversals
A new analysis of computer simulations of Earth’s magnetic field suggests that its behavior was different early in Earth’s history, resulting in greater stability and fewer reversals of the magnetic field. The findings by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are helping to reconcile the geologic record of magnetic field reversals with the…
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Ancient sediments show influence of southern ocean circulation on climate
About 34 million years ago, the Earth’s climate transitioned from a “greenhouse climate” to the “icehouse climate” of today, forming a massive ice sheet on the Antarctic continent. A new study by Linda Anderson, an ocean sciences researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, suggests that oceanographic features in the Southern Ocean–the intensity of…
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Chancellor Denton extends ‘comment’ period for LRDP’s Draft EIR
Chancellor Denice D. Denton announced today (November 30) that UC Santa Cruz will extend to January 11 the time in which the public may comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report of the campus’s proposed Long Range Development Plan. Responding to a request made by the City of Santa Cruz, the extension emphasizes UCSC’s intent…
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Thar she glows! Seymour Center lights up Ms. Blue for the holidays
The 87-foot blue whale skeleton at UC Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory will again brighten the holiday season this year. Fondly known as Ms. Blue, the massive whale skeleton will glow each evening in December at the lab’s Seymour Center. It is believed to be the world’s largest assembled whale skeleton on public display. “The…
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UC Santa Cruz names associate vice chancellor for development
Jennifer Svihus, a former development officer at UC San Diego, has been named associate vice chancellor for development at UC Santa Cruz. Svihus will coordinate fundraising efforts campuswide and plans to lay the groundwork for the campus’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign. The comprehensive campaign will build on the success of the just-completed Cornerstone Campaign, which…
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Two UCSC engineering professors named IEEE Fellows
Two faculty members of the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have been elected Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). They are J. J. García-Luna-Aceves, Baskin Professor of Computer Engineering, and Darrell Long, Malavalli Professor of Storage Systems Research. The IEEE Board of Directors confers this…
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$4 million in federal funding secured for two major UCSC research programs
Funding for two major interdisciplinary research programs led by the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been included in a federal appropriations bill for fiscal year 2006. The bill includes about $2 million for each of the programs: the Center for Integrated Marine Technologies (CIMT), an ongoing effort to improve long-term monitoring of ocean ecosystems,…
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Genome sequencing aids investigation of an ancient and mysterious life-form
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are using the latest in genetic technology to investigate an ancient form of life–the poorly understood microorganisms known as Archaea. Many Archaea live in hostile environments, from salt lakes to acidic hot springs, but they can be very difficult to grow and study in the laboratory. So…