A Sampling of Clips for
April 17, 2006
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
Robots Embedded at School
in Quest to Bond with Humans
Agence France-Presse, April 16 -- Playtime over, a toddler says nighty-night and spreads a blanket on the floor on top of his silver-colored friend. It is an everyday scene at one US nursery school, where robots are immersed among children to find out what it takes for machines and humans to develop long-term relationships. The experiment jointly run by Sony is revealing that children, with their open minds, can welcome and even develop emotions toward the robots, leading to new commercial possibilities as machines become smarter and friendlier. (Quotes Machine Perception Laboratory director Javier Movellan of UCSD, and describes research with robots RUBI and QRIO at the Early Childhood Education Center.) More
Iraq Issue Is an Also-Ran
in Race to Replace Cunningham
Los Angeles Times, April 17 -- You might think the 50th Congressional District, with a military base at one end and a university at the other, would be ripe for a debate about the war in Iraq as voters choose a successor to the imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham. But you'd be wrong. Neither of the top contenders in the June runoff has shown much interest in discussing Iraq beyond carefully scripted answers. (Mentions UCSD and quotes Steve Erie, professor of political science at UCSD.) More
Border Arrests Surge in S.D. Region
San Diego Union-Tribune, April 15 -- Arrests of illegal border crossers have increased more sharply in the San Diego region than anywhere else in the Southwest during the past six months, as stepped up enforcement in Arizona has pushed human smuggling traffic west. (Quotes Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD.) More
Visions, Innovations
Should Help UIC Lead Way
Chicago Sun-Times, April 17 -- Health care, the media, performance arts and entertainment and law are the professions for which Chicago is the Midwest hub. Industries supported by these professions are the ones likely to benefit from exploiting educational institutions. The educational institution which could, and should, show the way to greater economic development is its largest university, the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Notes that UCSD has 900 companies in its technology-transfer program and seven Nobel Prize recipients.) More
Report: UC Officials Flout Pay Policies
Oakland Tribune, April 15 -- University of California officials have consistently circumvented pay policies yet do not face any consequences when they are caught, according to a UC task force that called on the university to tighten the rules and make sure senior managers are taken to task if they break them. "To be effective — and accepted by the public whose trust and support are essential — accountability must include consequences, and the consequences must be consequential," the task force wrote in a report presented Thursday at a special meeting of UC's governing Board of Regents. (Mentions UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.) More
Local Jazz Icon
Lays It All Out in Autobiography
North County Times, April 16 -- Jeannie Cheatham waited until her 78th year to tackle this book-writing racket, so don't expect her to be intimidated by her late start. After all, this is a woman who didn't release her first album under her own name until she was 57, who didn't grace her first national magazine cover until her 63rd year. (Her husband, Jimmie Cheatham, once led the UCSD jazz program.) More
San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care
Names Vice President of Development
Genetic Engineering News, April 17 -- San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care has appointed Kathleen Pacurar as Vice President of Development. Pacurar will oversee all fundraising efforts in support of San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care's patient care, education, research, and advocacy programs. Prior to her appointment at San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care, Pacurar was Executive Director for UCSD Health Sciences Development. Her work at UCSD supported programs such as the Shiley Eye Center expansion, the Moores Cancer Center development, and the creation of the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center. More
