September 2011 News Archive

Alumnus Thad Nodine to read from debut novel ‘Touch and Go’

UCSC alumnus Thad Nodine will present a reading of his debut novel, Touch and Go—a multicultural American road trip, through the eyes of a young blind man—on Wednesday,

UARC scientists win best paper award

UARC scientists Matthew Daigle and Sriram Narasimhan won the Best Theoretical Paper award at the 2011 conference of the Prognostics and Health Management Society.

National Cyber Security Awareness Month: six things you can do

Water is a precious resource

Take a moment to think about how you use water and what ways you can use less of this precious resource - then take a few simple actions to reduce what you use.

Five UCSC students win Fulbright scholarships

Five UC Santa Cruz students in four disciplines are winners of Fulbright scholarships for a year of research and study abroad. They will travel to China, Germany, Italy,

Psychology professor wins early career award

Phillip Hammack, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Santa Cruz, has been awarded the Louise Kidder Early Career Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), a division of the American Psychological Association.

Campus Security Statistics and Fire Safety Report

The UCSC 2010 Campus Security and Fire Safety Report is now available for review.

Two Truths and a Lie

“Two truths and a lie is a creative writing exercise in which students write about three events in their life, two true, one a lie, and the class

Scientists release most accurate simulation of the universe to date

The Bolshoi supercomputer simulation, the most accurate and detailed large cosmological simulation run to date, gives physicists and astronomers a powerful new

'Party small' campaign gets under way

UC Santa Cruz is once again this fall implementing its "Party Small—Gnome" campaign, which aims to decrease risk from alcohol use and promote safe drinking practices on and

Health Center project honored by Business Journal

UC Santa Cruz received a top prize at the Silcon Valley/San Jose Business Journal's annual Structures Awards ceremony, held last week at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. The campus finished first in the category of "Green Project — Public" for its sustainable design and construction efforts on the Cowell Student Health Center project.

Baskin School of Engineering showcases research advances on Thursday, October 20

Advances in three exciting areas of technological innovation--computer games, genomics, and network science--will be presented by faculty in the Baskin School of Engineering at the school's annual Research

On-line W-2's At Your Service

UC employees can securely access and download W-2 forms online from the UC At Your Service On-line (AYSO) employee self-service web site.

Reported Cases of Gastroenteritis ("stomach flu") Virus and Precautions - Staff and Faculty

Your attention to good hygiene is critical in order to help maintain the health of our campus community.

Video shows tool use by a fish

The first video of tool use by a fish has been published in the journal Coral Reefs by biologist Giacomo

On-Campus Photography Contest

The Chancellor's Office is holding a photography contest to choose a photograph of the UC Santa Cruz campus, taken by a member of the UCSC community, to use as the front cover of its season's greeting card.

Astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz featured in research profile

A profile of astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz is featured on the University of California Research web page.

Arboretum's fall plant sale on Oct. 8 features beautiful, unusual plants

The UC Santa Cruz Arboretum will hold its annual Fall Plant Sale on Saturday, October 8, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Eucalyptus Grove on High

A day in the sun for Sammy the Slug

In a day of celebration, the Santa Cruz City Council voted to declare an official "UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug Day" while students feted their yellowy mascot on

UCSC in the News

TEST ONLY - Cruzalert Emergency Notification - TEST ONLY

This is a test of the UCSC CruzAlert emergency notification system

During an actual emergency, this system will be used to provide immediate notification to students, faculty and staff on the nature of the emergency, what action to take and where to go for more information.

Reported Cases of Gastroenteritis ("stomach flu") Virus and Precautions

Health Center Staff and campus Environmental Health and Safety officials are working with the County Health Department to identify any possible common cause for several cases of gastroenteritis ("stomach flu") reported on campus during this past week. The cause is not completely known at this time. The University has instituted standard protocols to minimize the risk to community members.

CruzAlert Test Tomorrow

There is a CruzAlert test scheduled for 9/27/11.

Experts discuss the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment on Oct. 21

Nobel laureate J. Michael Bishop, Genentech chairman Art Levinson, and UCSC's David Haussler discuss the dawn of personalized medicine in UCSC Foundation

Welcome to Fall Quarter

Chancellor Blumenthal shares campus news and invites students, faculty, and staff to celebrate the 25th anniversary of everyone's favorite college mascot.

New book sheds light on survival of Jewish culture

This October, UCSC professor of literature and history Nathaniel Deutsch will offer the first complete translation of a little known ethnographic questionnaire--and the story of an ambitious attempt

LALS post-doc's research proposal wins top award from UC-Mexico funder

Tania Cruz Salazar's research on immigration by indigenous youth recently won the UC MEXUS Monarch Award for the most outstanding proposal submitted for funding this year.

S.C. City Council to declare official "Day of the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug"

A resolution to honor the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug mascot is on the agenda of an upcoming Santa Cruz City Council meeting.

The Sammy you don't know

You might think you're an expert when it comes to banana slugs' impact on popular culture. You might even think that Sammy the Slug's cameo appearance—on John Travolta's UCSC T-shirt in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 movie sensation Pulp Fiction—was the only example of banana slugs infiltrating popular culture. But Pulp was only the starting point. Here are few well-populized highlights in the history of our favorite mollusk on and off campus.

Make sure the CruzAlert system has your contact information

Don't forget to update CruzAlert with your current information. A system test will be conducted on September 27.

Fall recreation, intramural sports guide now available online

“Radical Reels” high adventure film night comes to UCSC

Frans Lanting’s multimedia show to highlight UCSC evening at Flint Center

For more than two decades, acclaimed nature photographer Frans Lanting has documented wildlife from the Amazon to Antarctica, in an effort to promote understanding about the Earth and

Slideshow: move-in 2011

Computer scientist Luca de Alfaro recognized for influential paper

A paper on software engineering published ten years ago by UCSC computer scientist Luca de Alfaro has received the ACM SIGSOFT Impact Paper Award, which recognizes papers for

Our University: UC's economic impact, what drives health care costs, and other news

Read the latest issue of Our University.

UC Santa Cruz Welcome Week draws spirited crowd of students, families

Caravans of SUVs and station wagons brought eager student and their families, while teams of volunteers welcomed the

Transit Service Changes

Please note changes to transit service at UCSC and throughout the surrounding Santa Cruz community.

UCSC in the News

New planet discoveries by the Kepler mission received widespread news coverage, with many stories quoting UCSC astronomers Greg Laughlin, Daniel Fabrycky, or Jonathan Fortney, including coverage in the Washington Post, CNN.com, Space Daily, Science 2.0, Asian News International, International Business Times, PC magazine, and Digital Journal.

Fall Quarter update

Campus Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor Alison Galloway welcomes students to campus and shares news of initiatives under way this year as part of a campuswide focus on the needs of students.

"Science Notes 2011" now available online

Sneaky salmon-snatching sea lions, African island tree frogs, and octopus-shaped sand dollars--these stories and more appear in Science Notes 2011, the annual magazine published by UCSC's Science Communication

Astronomers confirm first planet orbiting two stars

A world with multiple suns is a common trope in science fiction, and scientific reality has now caught up, with a report from NASA's Kepler mission of a

Small distant galaxies host supermassive black holes

Using the Hubble Space Telescope to probe the distant universe, astronomers have found supermassive black holes growing in surprisingly small galaxies, suggesting that central black holes formed at

Biologist Harry Noller honored by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2012 Gregori Aminoff Prize in Crystallography to UCSC molecular biologist Harry Noller and two of his

Student Health Center Closure on September 15, 2011

The Student Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and SHOP will be closed all day on September 15 for patient/client care.

Updates to College Leadership for 2011-12

Two updates to announce regarding college leadership for the 2011-12 academic year.

Ten easy steps: Some good advice for new UC Santa Cruz students

New UCSC students should clip and save these 10 handy tips that will help them thrive and survive in college and enjoy their new surroundings.

Parking restrictions for annual campus Move-In

Move-in has impacts on campus parking and traffic and we ask for your patience and flexibility. It is important to note the following restrictions and alternative parking options.

The New McHenry: It’s Not Your Parents’ Library

I’m sitting in a “Group Study” room of the newly renovated McHenry Library at UC Santa Cruz and I’ve got to admit—I’m pretty

Welcome Week kicks off new academic year

The air is getting colder, people are hauling out their long-sleeved shirts, and the crowds are thinning out on the beaches of Santa Cruz. And here’s an even

Welcoming new students for fall 2011

UC Santa Cruz students are scheduled to begin moving into university housing on Wednesday, September 14, in anticipation of the 2011-12 school year. The first day of instruction in the fall quarter is Thursday, September 22. The fall-quarter "move-in" for students living on campus is scheduled to continue through Sunday, September 21.

UCSC in the News

The Los Angeles Times quoted psychology professor Craig Haney in an article about the persistence of indefinite solitary confinement in California prisons.

Remembering 9/11: UCSC trustee has turned 'tragedy into good'

UCSC hosts fall harvest festival on September 25

Celebrate the bounty of fall at the 17th annual Fall Harvest Festival, Sunday, September 25 at UC Santa Cruz’s 25-acre organic farm with live music, food, apple tasting,

Prominent Indian statesman Karan Singh to deliver Satyajit Ray Lecture

Distinguished Indian statesman and diplomat Dr. Karan Singh will deliver the 2011 Satyajit Ray Lecture at UC Santa Cruz on Saturday, September 24, at 5:30 p.m. in the

Archaeology probes West African cities and impact of European influence

UCSC anthropologist J. Cameron Monroe writes about archaeological exploration of sub-Saharan African cities that played a prominent role in the slave trade of the 17th through 19th centuries.

Constitution Day on September 17

Constitution Day is September 17, the anniversary of the signing of our country's founding document. UC Santa Cruz invites you to discover some of the interesting and informative

Lick Observatory will be closed to public from September 12 through October 5

Lick Observatory will be closed to the public from Monday, September 12, through Wednesday, October 5, for building maintenance.

In Memoriam: Mark Schaeffer

Someone I'd Like You to Meet…

If you open the Atlantic magazine’s Fiction 2011 special issue, you’ll find “Someone I’d Like You to Meet.” Written by UC Santa Cruz alumna Elizabeth McKenzie, it’s one

New material shows promise for trapping pollutants

UCSC chemists have developed a new type of material that can soak up pollutants from

UCSC in the News

The August 29 issue of the New Yorker magazine featured an extensive article about UCSC’s Dickens Project, titled “Dickens in Eden: Summer Vacation with ‘Great Expectations.”

Seymour Center recruits volunteers for school programs and exhibit guides

The Seymour Marine Discovery Center is recruiting volunteers to work with the center's school programs and serve as exhibit guides.

UC Santa Cruz expert explains origins of political crisis in Nigeria

The car bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria's capital Aug. 26 is an ominous sign of the increasing militancy of disaffected Muslim youth in Africa's most

Community alert

I want to call your attention to three robberies that occurred on the west side of Santa Cruz in the past week. Although the incidents happened in the city, our students, staff, and faculty may frequent these areas. We want you to be aware of these incidents so you can make smart decisions about how to keep safe.

Thank you from Chancellor Blumenthal

I want to send a brief note to thank you for the many messages of support I've received this week. My wife Kelly and I appreciate the notes and phone calls.