A Sampling of Clips for August 29, 2011

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UC-San Diego Again Is No. 1 in ‘Washington Monthly’ College Rankings
Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 29­­––For the second year in a row, UC San Diego tops Washington Monthly’s college rankings, which use what the magazine calls a “unique methodology” to avoid the “crude and easily manipulated measures of wealth, exclusivity, and prestige” measured by U.S. News & World Report. Washington Monthly’s list, which has also been criticized for its methodology, is based on how well each institution fosters social mobility (such as what percentage of students receive Pell Grants), furthers research (gauged by faculty awards and Ph.D. production, among other measures), and serves the country (including participation in ROTC and the Peace Corps). UC-San Diego was No. 1 among national universities, one of seven public institutions in the top 10. More

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Academics Abroad (With the Family in Tow)
Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 28––Michael Kevane has a suggestion for academic parents traveling with restless kids: Get them a couple of goats—and maybe some chickens.
Since 1994, Mr. Kevane and his wife, Leslie C. Gray, have paid regular visits to Burkina Faso as part of their work as faculty members at Santa Clara University, where he is chair of the economics department and she directs the Environmental Studies Institute. In 2007 and 2008, the couple took along their children, Elliot and Sukie, who were 9 and 4 at the time of their first visit. A month into that stay in a walled garden home that the family rents in the capital city, Ouagadougou (pronounced wah-guh-DOO-goo), the kids clearly needed some distraction. (Quotes John B. Haviland, chair of the anthropology department at UC San Diego) More

Sex Helps Elderly Women Age Gracefully
MSNBC, Aug. 28––Veteran Hollywood actress Jane Fonda had recently attributed her youthful appearance to her healthy libido. Now, she is backed by scientists who have found that active sex life can help elderly women cope with ageing.
Researchers at UC San Diego found that elderly women who enjoyed an active sex life had a better quality of life, and were healthier and happier.
This holds true even as the actual level of sexual activity declines with age, found the researchers who looked women aged between 60 and 89, the Daily Telegraph reported.
This had an effect on their perceived quality of life, said study author Professor Wesley Thompson. More

9/11 in the Arts: An Anniversary Guide
New York Times, Aug. 25––A selected listing of events related to the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Events are ordered by opening or release date, and alphabetically for events on the same day.  (Mentions “Three Nights in Prague,” written by UC San Diego professor of theatre and dance, Allan Havis). More

Great Courses, Great Profits
City Journal, Aug. 28­­–– The canon of great literature, philosophy, and art is thriving—in the marketplace, if not on college campuses. For the last 20 years, a company called the Great Courses has been selling recorded lectures in the humanities and sciences to an adult audience eager to brush up its Shakespeare and its quantum mechanics. The company produces only what its market research shows that customers want. And that, it turns out, is a curriculum in the monuments of human thought, taught without the politically correct superiority and self-indulgent theory common in today’s colleges. (Features Interview with Seth Lerer, UC San Diego’s Dean arts and humanities). More

San Diego Public Art
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 29––UC San Diego’s Stuart Collection begs for an app which can lead visitors around the campus to the various artworks.
They now have such an app for the iPhone. Unfortunately the app fails to live up to its claim as a "complete self-guided tour". Instead it's simply a collection of video clips which tell about each artwork (and which take forever and a day to download onto your phone). More

Japan Candidates Disagree on Quake Rebuilding
Japan Times,  Aug. 29––Japan’s ruling party today chooses Naoto Kan’s successor as prime minister following weekend debates that revealed differences over how to cover the costs of rebuilding from the March 11 earthquake and a nuclear meltdown.
The Democratic Party of Japan will elect its third leader since taking power two years ago after Kan announced his resignation last week, undone by public discontent with his handling of the disaster. Ex-Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, who polls show is the public’s favorite, is vying with Trade Minister Banri Kaieda, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, and two others to become the country’s sixth premier in five years.  (Quotes Ellis Krauss, a professor of Japanese politics at UC San Diego). More

With a Grade-A schedule, red fish Blue Fish Rises above the Student Class
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 28–– Every year since 1996, UCSD professor, percussionist and conductor Steven Schick has required his graduate percussion students to perform in an ensemble, red fish blue fish. Given its educational function and affiliation, it’s easy to overlook or even take for granted.
But it would be challenging to find a “professional” percussion collective with a greater national presence or the verve and vitality of this constantly evolving group. More

EarthRisk Seeks Business Niche Spotting Severe Weather
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 28––When will it get really hot? And when will it get really cold?
The future of EarthRisk Technologies, a year-old start-up in San Diego, rides on those two questions.
 If the company can give utilities and traders an edge in buying energy at preferred prices ahead of extreme weather, EarthRisk could fare well. If not, John Plavan, Jr. and Stephen Bennett will find it hard to survive in the notoriously difficult business of trying to figure out what the atmosphere will bring us next.
Plavin, an entrepreneur, and Bennett, a meteorologist, are looking to the past to predict the future. They use global historical patterns in the weather to help clients anticipate what will happen up to 40 days in advance. Their advice also is based on extensive atmospheric research performed by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Bennett was a researcher at Scripps before partnering with Plavan on their new company. More

Select Group of UCSD Freshmen Gets Some Encouragement from Stedman Graham
La Jolla Light, Aug. 26­­––Bestselling author Stedman Graham has made a living out of teaching people how to accomplish their dreams and defy the obstacles placed in their path.
For the 140 students he addressed at the UCSD OASIS Summer Bridge graduation on Aug. 25, the message couldn’t be more appropriate. The free four-week program, in which incoming freshmen from low-performing California high schools live and take classes at UCSD, aims to give those students the tools they need to make the transition to a top university. More

Toy Pianos Take Center Stage at UCSD Festival
North County Times, Aug. 28–– Serious pianists will get seriously silly this week at UC San Diego's 11th annual Toy Piano Festival.
The free event, conceived of and hosted by UCSD music professor Scott Paulson, will feature eight pianists performing original works composed specifically for miniature pianos that are so small the pianists have to sit on the floor or tiny benches to play them. Some of the instruments can even be held in one hand. More

Math Expert Finds Order in Disorder, Including Stock Market
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 26––George Sugihara models chaos: fish, brainwaves, climate change, and especially the collapse of financial markets
Chaos takes many forms to Sugihara. He finds order in disorder, meaning in madness. Fascinated by complex systems, a self-described “kind of half-bank, half-ecologist guy,” he applies the underlying principles of advanced mathematics to the seemingly disparate worlds of biology and high finance. (Sugihara is a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Mission Beach is Back Open After Second Shark Sighting
San Diego 6, Aug. 26––A popular section of San Diego’s Coastline is back open Saturday after two separate shark sightings forced local area lifeguards to close it to beachgoers.
The area near tower 15 was closed off Friday after a surfer spotted an 18 inch dorsal fin. A veteran lifeguard says he saw a similar fin on Thursday.
Lifeguards reached out to scientists from Scripps Institution and UC Davis who believe it’s the same great with shark seen on both days. More

Kaiser Eyes Scripps Ranch Land for Hospital
North County Times, Aug. 26–– Kaiser Permanente San Diego has tentatively agreed to buy Alliant International University’s 60-acre campus in Scripps Ranch with plans to build a new hospital to accommodate its growing membership in the decades ahead.
The land buy could close by the end of the year, representatives from Alliant and Kaiser said Friday. (Mentions UCSD) More

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