A Sampling of Clips
for September 11^th, 2008

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

In Search of Rational Voters
Newsweek, Sept 10 -- "The people have spoken—the bastards!" It can be an effective line, especially when candidates employ it jokingly to lighten the somber mood of their supporters after a deflating loss at the polls. But it's also a dangerous thing to say: If there's one thing any aspirant for any office is reluctant to do, it's insult the electorate. He may need them again in two years. (Quotes UCSD political science professor Samuel Popkin) More

Oded Schramm, 46, Mathematician, Is Dead
New York Times, Sept. 10 --  Oded Schramm, who melded ideas from two branches of mathematics into an equation that applies to a multitude of physics problems from the percolation of water through rocks to the tangling of polymers, died Sept. 1 in a fall at Guye Peak near Snoqualmie Pass in Washington State. He was 46. (Mentions UCSD) More

Merriman Opts For Surgery, Will Be Lost For Season
KFMB, Sept. 10 -- By now you've probably heard the news - Charger Shawne Merriman will undergo season ending surgery. But what exactly is wrong with his knee? We went to an expert for the answer. "Shawne has a tear of the PCL which is a ligament in the back of the knee, and a tear of the LCL which is a ligament on the outside part of the knee," UCSD Chief of Sports Medicine Dr. Rob Afra said. More

UCSD Gets Grant To Do Post-Traumatic Stress Research
MSNBC, Sept. 10 -- UCSD has received a $60 million grant to study two disorders that affect millions of people: post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. More

Questions Answered
San Diego Union–Tribune, Sept. 11 -- Question: Not long ago I read that a humongous asteroid was headed Earth's way within, I believe, the next five years. The article, quoting a renowned scientist, warned that time was running out to either blast it to pieces or deflect it because coming up with a method and building it would take years. I've seen no follow up on this information. Are our statesmen burying their heads in the sand and hoping for the best? – J. Stewart, North County Answer: The risk of Earth getting lobbed by a comet or asteroid (referred to as Near Earth Objects) large enough to cause regional or global devastation is real, not a Hollywood invention. It has happened many times in Earth's history, most recently in 1908, when an NEO exploded over Siberia, leveling a huge swath of forest. (Written by Sherry Seethaler, a UCSD science writer and educator) More

For Six Buckaroos
San Diego Reader, Sept 10 – “Where am I from?” says Dzung. “Hanoi.” Wow. We’re sitting ’round the fire pit, chowing down. He’s eating grilled chicken and fries. I’m into pork tacos with chicken nuggets, a cheese enchilada, and a little bowl of Baja chicken soup. “ID Tech kids: lunch trays to the garbage! Time to go!” All around, the place buzzes with kids here for summer specialty camps. Sharp-faced techie-looking teacher guy ushers a crowd of 10- to 12-year-olds through the chow hall. “ID?” he repeats, when I ask him what it means. “Internal drive, man.” Oh yeah, right. Whatever. But an internal drive camp? Dzung knows all about drives, and plenty more. He’s studying computer science, doing his M.A. thesis on different Web-hosting techniques. He’s just popped down from his lab for a spot of lunch in this Warren College dining hall, here at UCSD. More

Plague of the Urban Tumbleweeds
San Diego Reader, Sept. 10 -- Captain Charles Moore, UCSD alum, steps overboard. He disappears into the inky Pacific. It’s 2007, nighttime, 500 miles west of San Diego. He swims, about three, four feet beneath the surface, through the spooky blue. A large jellyfish swipes him in the face. Except it isn’t a jellyfish. It’s a plastic shopping bag. “It could have come from San Diego, it could have come from Tokyo,” says Moore. “They’re both on the edge of the North Pacific Gyre.” The Gyre? A slow-swirling oceanic system that has amassed a huge floating plastic garbage patch, twice the size of North America. More

Planning Group Rejects Hillel Plan
La Jolla Light, Sept. 10 --  La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) members last week voted unanimously against a slightly retooled version of the Hillel project, the Jewish student center planned for a small lot across from UCSD. On a 14-0 vote, the group, which advises the city council, agreed with the majority of speakers who said the 12,100-square-foot center was not consistent with the character of the single-family neighborhood abutting the small triangular lot. Despite the rejection, Joshua Richman, representing Hillel, said they would take the project to the city's planning commission in October. More

San Diego’s Organic Farmers Help Feed Pacific Beach
SD News, Sept. 11 -- The popular movement toward eating locally grown organic, farm-fresh foods has been touted by healthy eaters and environmentalists alike for years. Now because of rising fuel prices, it could be cheaper to buy local, adding further incentive to buy, sell and eat local produce. Farms such as the Tierra Miguel Farm in Pauma Valley can provide healthier, cheaper organic produce during peak seasons, according to farm director Beth Ann Levendoski. (Mentions UCSD’s student-run medical and dental clinic) More

Review: Moving Drama 'Night Sky' Explores Brain Injury
North County Times, Sept. 10 -- "Can you think without words?" That's one of many questions ringing through Susan Yankowitz's "Night Sky," a play that reveals, explores and in its best moments, meditates upon the condition known as aphasia. Playwright Yankowitz has scripted several of the more adventurous productions seen in San Diego over the years ---- a revival of The Open Theatre's landmark "Terminal" at UCSD in 1996 and a beautifully unified and harrowing "A Knife in the Heart" at Sledgehammer in 2002. More

High-spirited 'Memphis' Rocks, but its Book Still Needs Work
North County Times, Sept. 10 -- La Jolla Playhouse has a well-deserved reputation as a birthplace of the American musical. Virtually every musical ever presented on its stage has been a world premiere or new revival. Now comes "Memphis: The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll," an irrepressibly energetic five-year-old musical now in its third-ever production. But looks can be deceiving. Despite its production experience, "Memphis" has all the markings of a newbie ---- novelty and surprises, an occasionally choppy book, too many songs and an abrupt ending. (Mentions UCSD’s Mandell Weiss Theatre) More

SDSU Research Prestige Growing
Voice of San Diego, Sept. 10 -- Research happening at San Diego State University is often overshadowed by the work taking place at UCSD -- a life science power-house. That's not surprising, considering that SDSU was chartered as a teaching institution, not as a research center. But SDSU is stepping up its research efforts and getting more money as a result. In 2007-2008, SDSU researchers received nearly $131 million, a 9.4 percent increase over the previous year’s total. Also, the college saw a $7 million increase in research awards from the National Institutes of Health, according to an SDSU release. More

Cancer Survivor, Researchers Discuss
Best Way to Communicate about Cancer
KPBS, Sept. 10 -- Maureen Cavanaugh (Guest Host): A diagnosis of cancer is not the death sentence it used to be. But it is still a frightening experience for most patients. And despite major advances in cancer care, it remains the second leading cause of death in the U.S. (Features interview with Wayne Beach, professor of communication at San Diego State University and a researcher at the Moores Cancer Center at UCSD) More

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