Former UCSD Coach Steps In
as Interim Head Coach of U.S. Men’s
Volleyball Team in Beijing in Wake of Tragedy
Former UC San Diego Men’s Volleyball Coach Ron Larsen knows all about overcoming obstacles and dealing with tough situations. At UCSD from 2000-05, Larsen had what is generally considered the program’s most difficult coaching job, annually sending a non-scholarship NCAA Division II (initially III) squad up against the premier Division I teams in the country as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. More

Dispatches from the Field
One taught English to 120 sixth-graders in Thailand. Another visited a rural school in Malaysia and encouraged students to pursue higher education. Yet another is working for an international corporation in India. UCSD students are studying, conducting research and working all around the globe this summer. Their latest Dispatches from the Field chronicle their adventures abroad. Here are their stories. More

Four UCSD Scientists Awarded
New Faculty Grants by California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to Pursue Stem Cell Research
Adding $11.5 million to the more than $20 million in funding that researchers at UC San Diego have received to date from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, five UCSD researchers and physicians have been awarded New Faculty grants. More

UC San Diego Alums Average Third Highest
Salaries Among Public University Graduates
UC San Diego graduates rank third nationally in their salary earnings among U.S. public universities, according to Forbes.com. The rank was based on a new study by PayScale.com that looked at earnings of alumni at colleges around the country. The survey covered graduates with 10-20 years experience in the workplace. More

UCSD Senior Tries for Kayak Medal in Beijing
UCSD Alumna Finishes Short of the Podium in Triathlon
UCSD alumna Julie Swail Ertel finished in the 19th spot in the Olympic triathlon competition Aug. 17 in Beijing. This week, UCSD senior Carrie Johnson will get her shot at a medal in the flat-water kayak competition. Read more about Johnson’s experiences at the Olympics in her blog. More

UCSD Grad Student Wins Big on Jeopardy! Game Show
Aaron Schroeder has always had a knack for remembering facts. So, the UC San Diego graduate student in economics didn’t cram before heading out to Los Angeles to become a contestant on Jeopardy! In the end, Schroeder’s memory delivered, making him a five-time champion on the game show and allowing him to win close to $130,000 in prize money. More

Oceans on the Precipice: Scripps Scientist
Warns of Mass Extinctions and ‘Rise of Slime’
Human activities are cumulatively driving the health of the world’s oceans down a rapid spiral, and only prompt and wholesale changes will slow or perhaps ultimately reverse the catastrophic problems they are facing. Such is the prognosis of Jeremy Jackson, a professor of oceanography at UCSD'S Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in a bold new assessment of the oceans and their ecological health. More

How Flesh-Eating Bacteria
Attack the Body’s Immune System
“Flesh-eating” or “Strep” bacteria are able to survive and spread in the body by degrading a key immune defense molecule, according to researchers at the School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The finding could aid in development of new treatments for serious infections in human patients. More

UC San Diego Offers Cutting Edge
Green Courses on Environment and Sustainability
UC San Diego, a university striving to become one of the nation’s greenest, this fall will emphasize greenness in classes and seminars from global warming and consumerism to alternative energy, all taught by some of the university’s most distinguished faculty. More

Lowering Cholesterol Early in Life Could Save Lives
With heart disease maintaining top billing as the leading cause of death in the United States, a team of UC San Diego School of Medicine physician-researchers is proposing that aggressive intervention to lower cholesterol levels as early as childhood is the best approach available today to reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease. More

UC San Diego-Based iBotics Team Competes
in Underwater Unmanned Vehicle Competition
They've coped with leaks, navigation problems and a few minor explosions, but the San Diego iBotics team — based at UC San Diego and funded by the Jacobs School of Engineering — had the most beautiful underwater craft in this year's competition of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. Their sleek, carbon-fiber entry, dubbed the “Stingray,” features a lightweight shell that resembles a small stingray and provides very little drag. More