UC San Diego Leaders Tapped
as Key Members of President-Elect
Barack Obama’s Administration Transition Teams
Two prominent scholars at UC San Diego have been named by President-elect Barack Obama to serve on his transition teams. Peter Cowhey, dean of the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, has been chosen as a Co-Leader of the President-Elect transition team preparing for the new administration’s Special Representative for Trade Policy. Nobel laureate, Mario Molina, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been named as Co-Leader of the transition team assigned to develop plans for the nation's science and technology policy. More

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Engineers Produce Simulated Earthquake During the Great California Shakeout
While residents across California prepared for the “big one” during the Great California Shakeout on Thursday, UC San Diego engineers simulated their own earthquake in order to devise better retrofit strategies for some of California’s oldest buildings. More

Arbor Day Foundation Recognizes
UCSD for Best Practices in Campus Forestry
“I’m going to plant a tree today,” proudly announced 5-year-old Seth Christensen, a member of the kindergarten class at UCSD’s Early Childhood Education Center, as he wiggled in his seat before the speeches began. And so he did. Seth and his classmates were on hand for a ceremony Wednesday during which the Arbor Day Foundation recognized UC San Diego for its best practices in campus community forestry through a tree-planting event. More

How Eating Red Meat Can Spur Cancer Progression
Researchers at the School of Medicine, led by Dr. Ajit Varki, have shown a new mechanism for how human consumption of red meat and milk products could contribute to the increased risk of cancerous tumors. Their findings suggest that inflammation resulting from a molecule introduced through consumption of these foods could promote tumor growth. More

Volunteer to Military Wounded
Recognized as Veteran of the Year
Every year, UC San Diego staff member John Will and about a dozen other volunteers visit soldiers who have been wounded, sometimes critically, and receive care at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center on the UCSD campus. More

Employee with 40 Years of Service Among More than 500 Staff Members Recognized at Award Ceremony
When Darlene Newell first came to UC San Diego 40 years ago, students used to stage protests at Revelle Plaza and well-known philosopher Herbert Marcuse was on the faculty. Four decades later, the campus has undergone dramatic changes, but Newell has stayed put. More

UC San Diego Physician Defies Gravity
with Four Kids Who Spend Their Lives in Wheelchairs
Dr. Erik Viirre, a School of Medicine physician who specializes in diseases of the inner ear, recently completed his fifth weightless flight with Zero Gravity Corporation. Aboard the same plane were four paraplegic children who left their wheelchairs on Earth as they floated free in a zero-gravity environment. More

Light Triggers a New Code for Brain Cells
Brain cells can adopt a new chemical code in response to cues from the outside world, scientists working with tadpoles at UC San Diego reported in the journal Nature last week. More

Palomar Pomerado Health, Medical School Partnership Improves North County Access to Clinical Trials
Palomar Pomerado Health and the School of Medicine have entered into an innovative partnership that enhances options for patients needing leading-edge therapy, expands clinical research at UC San Diego and strengthens the clinical research program at Palomar Pomerado Health. More

New Associate Vice Chancellor
of Development for Health Sciences Named
Greg Barrett, a skilled development professional with more than 10 years of senior experience in the field, became the campus’ new associate vice chancellor of Development for Health Sciences Nov. 3. Barrett will serve as a core member of management team of Vice Chancellor for External Relations Debra Neuman, with a dotted reporting line to Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine David Brenner. More

Arthur Wagner Theatre Named in Honor of Theatre and
Dance Department Founder and Longtime Supporter
If science and engineering are the head of our society, then the arts are the heart and soul,” notes Arthur Wagner, founder and emeritus faculty of the department of theatre and dance. “It’s crucial to support the arts in this country at this time." More

New Endowed Faculty Chair to Honor Economics
Professor Emeritus and Nobel Laureate Robert Engle
For Ken Kroner, managing director of Asset Allocation Research at Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco, one economics professor had an especially profound impact on his life: UC San Diego Professor Emeritus and 2003 Nobel Laureate Robert Engle. “Rob was my Ph.D. advisor and I credit a lot of my success to him,” said Kroner, Ph.D., ’88.  “My wife, Jennifer, and I thought making a gift to establish an endowed chair in his name would be a great way to honor him.” More