UC Merced Police Officer Finds Two Wheels Often Better Than Four

For Officer George Gongora, who was recognized in May as UC Merced's Officer of the Year, getting around campus on two wheels has its distinct advantages.

According to Gongora, the bike lets him move around more easily on campus and access places that are more difficult for a patrol car to reach.

“On the bike, I’m accessible to everybody,” Gongora said. “We don’t have that barrier of the car or the window; people feel free to come up and ask questions. People still do that in the car, but it’s easier while I’m on the bike.”

UC Merced Sees 35 Percent Jump in Student Interest for Fall

Based on numbers released by the University of California Office of the President today, UC Merced will likely hit its target of 1,450 new undergraduates, bringing the campus' total projected enrollment to 3,985 in the fall.

More than 2,013 freshman and transfer students have accepted the university’s offer of admission and stated they intend to register for the Fall 2010 semester, a 35 percent increase over the 1,489 a year ago.

UC Merced Student Group to Bring Karl Rove to Campus Oct. 8

The College Republicans at UC Merced announced this morning they will bring political consultant and former presidential advisor Karl Rove to campus Friday, October 8. Rove will deliver a speech followed by a question and answer session. A book-signing will take place after the 6 p.m. event.

Tickets will be distributed to 325 students during the fall semester on a first-come, first-served basis, and 400 tickets are available to the general public at $35 each.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.KarlRoveatUCMerced.com or e-mail collegerepublicans@ucmerced.edu.

Creating Algae Biofuel Through Wastewater

Patrick Wiley has moved from a career treating wastewater to finding out what can be done with it — or in this case, grown in it — to help the environment.

Wiley, a 31-year-old environmental systems graduate student at UC Merced, is working on finding better, more efficient ways to grow and harvest algae in wastewater, algae that can then be used to create biofuel.

Algae grow naturally in wastewater, and the carbon dioxide captured by the algae during photosynthesis can be harvested for use in biofuels. While algae-based fuel might not emit less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than petroleum fuels, those emissions are offset because the carbon dioxide was initially taken from the atmosphere by way of the algae.

Of all the different types of naturally grown products being explored for use as renewable fuel sources, there are a few particular benefits to algae.

“Algae grow a lot faster than land crops,” Wiley said. “And you can harvest them almost continually, as opposed to corn or something like that. And there’s the issue of land use.”

School of Engineering Has New Dean

The UC Merced School of Engineering will have a new dean on Oct. 1, when E. Daniel Hirleman will take over for interim dean Mark Matsumoto.

Hirleman has served as the head of Purdue University's School of Mechanical Engineering since 1999. During that time, he's helped expand the school's faculty and student body, double its Ph.D. graduation rate and vastly increase its scholarship and fellowship distribution and put the school on a strong financial footing. He was also able to increase the quality of the school's undergraduate students while also expanding enrollment.

Matsumoto has served as interim dean since April, when he replaced Thomas Harmon, who served as acting dean for three months following the December resignation of Jeff Wright, founding dean of the School of Engineering.

Hirleman is the founding director of GlobalHub.org, an international cyber-community of students, faculty and practitioners interested in global engineering and global citizenship, and is chair of the Engineers for a Sustainable World advisory board. He founded the Global Engineering Program at Purdue in 2005, and he's been active in student advising and community service at all stops during his career.

He said he was inspired by UC Merced's signature commitment to sustainability — both in its faculty's research and in its own construction and operations — and to interdisciplinary research. He was also drawn by the university's unique challenge of building a research university worthy of the University of California name while creating a transformative, large-scale engineering education model uniquely targeted to the 21st century students and their needs.

"I'm thrilled to be joining a university system with such a remarkable history of academic achievement while also taking part in the inspiring growth of a new campus," Hirleman said. "My predecessors and the faculty at UC Merced have built a strong foundation for the School of Engineering, and I look forward to the exciting challenge of continuing in their footsteps."