A Sampling of Clips for March 16^th, 2009

* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office

Book Critics Awards
The New York Times, March 13 -- The Chilean author Roberto Bolaño posthumously won the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction for “2666,” a sprawling novel set in Santa Teresa, Mexico, that was published in translation in 2008. In criticism, Seth Lerer won for “Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History From Aesop to Harry Potter.” Lerer is UCSD's new dean of Arts and Humanities. More

Similar story in
San Francisco Chronicle

UCSD Ranked Number One
Surfing School in America
Surfline, March 2009 -- Sure, top 10 lists are a bit passe, but Surfline took the liberty of helping you in your search for higher education -- and larger waves -- by compiling the 10 best surf schools in America. Read on and make your decision wisely. After all, you only have four years (or more, depending) where you can create your own schedule. UCSD was ranked number one. More

A Visit to Panama's Living Lab
The Washington Post, March 15 -- At the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, on an island in the Panama Canal, the experiments were running wild. The Smithsonian "lab" is neither sterile nor controlled. It occupies a 3,707-acre island, part of the Barro Colorado Natural Monument. (Quotes James C. Nieh, an associate professor of biology at UCSD, who recently lived on the island while collecting data on the language of bees) More

Gore Campaigns for .eco Domains
Variety, March 13 -- Al Gore's latest campaign is simple: Remake the Internet. That's a bit of hyperbole, but the former VP has signed on to an initiative led by a group of Hollywood figures and Web entrepreneurs to create a new ".eco" domain name. Dot Eco’s board includes Jim Dufour of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

Advisor Named
for Upcoming Summit of the Americas
Miami Herald, March 13 -- President Barack Obama has named a former ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela as White House advisor for the upcoming Summit of the Americas. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow will oversee preparations for Obama's participation in next month's summit and, along with the Department of State, will help manage summit-related diplomacy in the region. Davidow has taken a leave of absence from his position as president of the Institute of the Americas at UCSD in order to serve as advisor. More

Volcanic Roar May
Reveal Jet Physics at Work
New Scientist, March 16 -- The first close-range, low-frequency recordings of volcanic eruptions have revealed a surprising similarity to the noise made by jet engines. The finding may provide clues to what happens prior to volcanic explosions. Robin Matoza of UCSD and colleagues measured infrasonic signals from volcanic eruptions around the globe, getting as near to them as 13 kilometres – relatively close for these sorts of measurements. More

Vive la Cycles
Live Science, March 13 -- Jose Pruneda-Paz, Steve A. Kay and their colleagues at UCSD report in the March 13 Science that they have found a missing link in plants’ circadian clocks. A regulatory protein called CHE connects a morning cycle to an evening cycle. More

A New Research Center
Treats Trauma as a Disease
KPBS, March 16 -- Last week UCSD launched a new research center that will study traumatic injury as a disease. This new center is called the Injury Epidemiology Prevention and Research Center. But are we really suffering an epidemic of traumatic injuries? Dr. Raul Coimbra is a trauma surgeon and one of the founders of the center. He says traumatic injuries kill more Americans between the ages of one and 44 than any other disease or illness. More

Hoarding is a Disease that's Hard to Fathom
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 15 – As many as 2 million people in the United States are known as “compulsive hoarders,” a group researchers are studying with increased interest. Physician Sanjaya Saxena, director of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Program at UCSD, has been discovering differences in compulsive hoarders using brain-mapping techniques. He said hoarding is extraordinarily common. More

Alaska Bakes Upstart UCSD
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 15 – Behind by as many as 10 points in the second half, No. 3 seed UCSD rallied late to get within two, but lost to No. 2 Alaska Anchorage 52-49 in the NCAA Division II West Regional Semifinals last night. More

Pattern of Assaults
Prompts Warning to Women
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 14 — Police are asking San Diego women to remain vigilant as investigators hunt for a man believed to be responsible for a string of violent home-invasion robberies and sexual assaults against Asian women. (Mentions UCSD) More

Similar story in
Los Angeles Times
CBS News 8, San Diego, Calif.

66 Projects in County
to be Funded by Earmarks
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 14 — Using the controversial earmark process, members of the San Diego County congressional delegation inserted 66 items totaling $284.3 million into the newly signed omnibus spending bill, mostly for projects in their districts. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Gary Jacobson) More

He's Got Brazil in Mind (Among Other Things)
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 15 — Although they won't be married here until June, Emily Kohl has already inspired a unique wedding and pre-wedding present rolled into one from her fiancée, San Diego jazz pianist and UCSD alumnus Danny Green. More

Autism Grant Could Have
Big Impact in Latino Neighborhoods
San Diego Business Journal, March 16 -- Until recently, a program run by UCSD’s Autism Center of Excellence could only go so far to help parents who suspected their child was at risk for the complex brain disorder. A relatively small grant given by the San Diego-based National Foundation for Autism Research is anticipated to make a big impact on autism diagnosis and treatment in San Diego, according to program executives. More

Sangart Raises
$50 Million for Blood Substitute
Xconomy, March 13 -- San Diego-based Sangart, a biopharmaceutical company developing artificial blood products based on human hemoglobin, says it has raised $50 million in funding that completes its Series F round. Sangart was founded in 1998 to commercialize research conducted at the Letterman Army Institute of Research and UCSD. More

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