Campus News

Balloons Explode, Polymers Expand, Solutions Glow In The Dark–and It’s Real Science SANTA CRUZ, CA–Chemist and educator Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, whose entertaining lectures captivate children and adults alike, will deliver his popular "Science is Fun" presentation at UC Santa Cruz on Thursday, March 12. The lecture-demonstration, open to the public at no charge, will begin…

Environmental studies professor Deborah Letourneau is an invited speaker at the week-long Gordon research conference on "Plant Herbivore Interactions," sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The conference, which is taking place in Ventura this week, has attracted scientists from all over the world. Letourneau is giving a talk on the "Possible…

Roland Tharp and Trish Stoddart (center) have spearheaded the creation of a CD-Rom textbook for teachers in training. Scott Robinson (far left) and Roy Zemlicka produced the CD-Rom, Teaching Alive! Stephanie Dalton (not pictured) wrote the text and helped launch the project. At the main menu of the Teaching Alive! Cd-Rom, the user can select…

Arun Kashyap (center) is pictured with former Affymax colleagues Nick Wrighton (left) and Ray Chang. The trio were among those honored by AAAS with the Newcomb Cleveland Prize this year. SANTA CRUZ, CA–A graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has received the prestigious Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the…

Assemblymember Fred Keeley (left) and state senator Bruce McPherson said they came to the forum mostly to hear ideas and comments from the UCSC community. Chancellor Greenwood introduced the two legislators to the audience and helped field questions. More than 30 people attended the forum at the Red Room at College Eight. Assemblymember Fred Keeley…

National Geographic interviewed biophysicist David Deamer for a story on "The Rise of Life on Earth." A striking photo of molecules in the lab, taken by Deamer, accompanies a caption about his work on the conditions that may have formed the first cells. California’s coast is receiving a one-two punch from the season’s heavy rainstorms,…

High school students from central and northern California will converge on UCSC on Sunday, March 1, for the northern California regional Ocean Sciences Bowl. The event, which is free and open to the public, brings eight teams of students together to test their knowledge of the ocean as they field queries on the biology, chemistry,…

Because the availability of parking spaces on campus is limited, the University Police Department is increasing parking enforcement. A recent survey showed that the majority of people receiving parking citations on campus either have no permit, have a permit which is not valid in the lot where their vehicle is parked, or are parked at…

Two new oral histories focusing on the area’s agricultural history have been published by the University Library’s Regional History Project. The volumes are Jack L. DeBenedetti, Jr.: Brussels Sprouts and Artichoke Growing on the North Coast, and Charles Dick: Agricultural Regulation in Santa Cruz, 1930-1967. The DeBenedetti publication, featuring the commentary of the late Jack…

Shakespeare Santa Cruz was awarded nine Drama-Logue Critics Awards for its 1997 season. The coveted awards, presented each year for the past 21 years by the Hollywood-based weekly theater review and casting magazine Drama-Logue, recognize exceptional theater produced in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas during the previous year. This year’s awards ceremony…

Swim, bike, and run at the 8th Annual Skippy Triathlon, sponsored by UCSC intramural sports, on Saturday, March 7, at 8 a.m. at the East Field House pool. The event includes a 1,000-yard swim in the pool, a 6-mile mountain bike ride, and a 5.2-mile cross-country run. The cost is $15/person. For more information, call…

SANTA CRUZ, CA–In non-Western countries, the rise of the global economy has led to an explosion in manufacturing facilities with substandard working conditions, according to organizers planning a one-day conference at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The emergence of these so- called "sweatshops," which often rely on child labor, is altering family and community…