A Sampling of Clips for November 18^th, 2008

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

Two from UCSD Joining Obama Team
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 18 -- Two UCSD scholars have been tapped to join President-elect Barack Obama's transition team. Peter Cowhey, dean of the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, will help lead a group advising the incoming administration on trade policy. Mario Molina, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will help spearhead a group looking at the nation's science and technology policies. Molina won the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his research examining the threat posed by chlorofluorocarbon gases, or CFCs, to the Earth's ozone layer. More

Similar stories in
KOGO, San Diego, Calif.
10News
San Diego Daily Transcript
La Jolla Light

Is Climate Change to Blame for String of Southland Fires?
Los Angeles Times, Nov. 18 -- Is climate change to blame for the string of destructive fires that have hit Southern California in recent years? Research has shown an increase in large wildfires in some western forest regions in recent decades, particularly in the northern Rocky Mountains and, to some extent, California's Sierra Nevada. (Quotes Dan Cayan, a climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Similar stories in
Newsday
Chicago Tribune
San Francisco Chronicle

Duplicating Keys from a Photograph
C/Net, Nov. 18 -- Nowadays you don't need a locksmith or even lock-picking tools to get past a locked door without a key--you can do it using software, a photograph of the key, and a key-cutting machine. Researchers from UCSD have developed software called "Sneakey" that enables anyone to make duplicates of keys without needing a sample key. More

A Heated Debate Rages under the Warmth of the Sun
Vancouver Sun, Nov. 18 -- Award-winning dermatologist Bernard Ackerman likes how he looks with a tan. He likes how he feels in his soul "when warmed by rays of the sun," and he believes the possibility of a few wrinkles, and even a squamous-cell carcinoma -- a skin cancer "which in the vast majority of instances poses no threat to the life of a patient" -- must be balanced against the "immeasurable" advantages provided by exposure to ultra violet radiation. (Quotes Dr. Gregory Daniels, an expert in melanoma at the Moore Cancer Center at UCSD, who believes there probably is a link between sun exposure and melanoma) More

Report Outlines How to Adapt to Climate Change
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 18 -- Scientists and policy experts, including from researchers at UCSD, yesterday unveiled San Diego County's first blueprint for adapting to rising sea levels, altered rainfall and other “catastrophic” changes linked to global warming. “A Regional Wake-up Call” offers detailed projections about how the climate will change by 2050 and offers suggestions for how to lessen those effects. More

Similar story on
KPBS

S.D. Home Prices Fall but Sales are Brisk
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 18 – While housing prices continue dropping as low-cost foreclosures dominate the market, bargain hunters snapped up more properties last month than at any time in nearly a year. Lower prices have also resulted in the best affordability rates in nine years. (Quotes UCSD economist James Hamilton) More

Theories Abound Over Size of Prop. 8 Protest
San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 18 -- There are a number of theories on why, of all the nation's 300 or so protests Saturday against California's newly approved same-sex marriage ban, the San Diego event was believed the biggest. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Thad Kousser) More

County Pension Fund Loses $1 Billion, May Need Cash from Taxpayers
North County Times, Nov. 17 -- San Diego County's pension fund lost $1.1 billion over three months, raising the likelihood of increased contributions from the county government at a time when tax revenue is slowing. (Quotes UCSD economist James Hamilton) More

Supervisors May End Grants Program
North County Times, Nov. 17 -- In a sign of the troubled economic times, county supervisors are contemplating eliminating or reducing the controversial community projects program. Under the program, each supervisor receives $2 million annually from the general fund to hand out as they see fit. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More

Higher Education Curriculums Put Students
in Real World, Think-on-Their-Feet Settings
San Diego Business Journal, Nov. 17 - During a summer internship, a team of UCSD engineering students journeyed to a remote village outside of Mumbai, India, and solved a problem they wouldn’t have encountered in a typical college lab. More

* Subscribe with In the News and receive our clips automatically