Chancellor to Step Down in June, Return to Faculty Position

UC Merced announced today that Chancellor Sung-Mo "Steve" Kang has announced his decision to step down as chancellor on June 30, 2011 to return to teaching and research as a member of the University of California faculty. The UC Office of the President will begin a nationwide search for his successor this fall.

Kang, 65, has served as UC Merced chancellor since March 2007. He will continue in his current position throughout the search process. UC Merced opened in September 2005.

"It has been a singular honor and the highlight of my administrative career to serve as chancellor of the newest University of California campus during its critical development years," Kang said. "Despite extremely challenging economic conditions, we have managed to establish a very strong foundation, attract top-level faculty and staff, and provide an innovative learning environment for our rapidly growing student body.

"The campus is on a positive trajectory for continued growth and has worked closely with the UC Office of the President to define and secure a clear path forward over the next few years. I am confident the search committee will identify a strong successor to lead UC Merced into the next phase of development."

"Chancellor Kang assumed office during a very difficult time and has put UC Merced on course to become the next great research university in the UC system," UC President Mark G. Yudof said. "I look forward to working with him over the next 10 months to sustain the momentum he's created and prepare for a smooth handoff next summer."

An internationally recognized electrical engineer who holds more than a dozen patents in integrated-circuit design, Kang said he is eager to return to research and teaching after he leaves the chancellor's post. Prior to joining UC Merced, he served as a university faculty member or administrator for 25 years, including more than six years as professor of electrical engineering and dean of the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

UC Merced Research Operations Continue to Grow

According to numbers released by UC Merced’s Business and Financial Services, research expenditures — the amount of money spent on UC Merced research, including graduate student researcher salaries and benefits along with supplies and equipment for research projects — surpassed $14.1 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year, the highest total in the campus’ history and nearly a 10 percent increase over the $12.9 million in expenditures in 2008-09.

Expenditures are the most relevant measurement of a research university’s production, said Vice Chancellor for Research Sam Traina, as they represent money being spent on current projects and being fed back into the economy.

“A major aspect of UC Merced’s mission is research, and these numbers are concrete proof of the vast amount of groundbreaking research being done by our faculty and students,” Traina said. “That our operation was able to grow despite these economic challenges is a testament to the staying power of the University of California system and the bright future of the Merced campus.”

The amount of research awards received also held steady in 2009-10, ensuring that expenditures will remain strong in the coming years. UC Merced faculty pulled in nearly $22 million in awards, a decrease of less than 4 percent from 2008-09’s $22.8 million. And the 2010-11 fiscal year got off to a rousing start, with more than $4.5 million in research awards received by UC Merced researchers in July alone.

The money spent on research at UC Merced benefits society on many levels. It feeds money into the local economy by way of graduate student salaries; it funds outreach programs designed to improve health and education in the San Joaquin Valley; and it leads to new innovations that address many of our greatest societal challenges on the local, state and global level.

Biochemist Publishes Paper on Hepatitis C Research

UC Merced biochemistry Professor Jinah Choi is studying the hepatitis C virus and its behavior in hopes of developing a solution to this challenging health problem.

Understanding how the hepatitis C virus leads to liver cancer is crucial in seeking cures for the disease, which affects millions of people across the world.

"It's really exciting that all the pieces are coming together," Choi said. "Whatever we find in the lab has consequences. It has the potential to really impact people."

Choi has published a paper about her research in the July issue of Hepatology, the leading journal in the field of liver disease.

Hepatitis C is blood borne and most often transmitted through contaminated needles, though it can also be passed through unprotected sex. The virus, first discovered in 1987, doesn't directly cause liver cancer. Instead, it causes a chronic infection, which over time causes cirrhosis of the liver and damages a person's DNA. Overtime, that damaged DNA may lead to mutations and cancerous cells in the liver. A person can carry hepatitis C for years without knowing it.

New School Year Begins at UC Merced

Classes began today for some 4,000 UC Merced students. With enrollment up nearly 18 percent compared with fall of 2009, which was itself a record year, the newest UC campus is clearly hitting its stride.

“UC Merced has come a long way since we welcomed our inaugural class of 875 students in 2005,” said Steve Kang, UC Merced chancellor.

“This year’s applicant pool was by far the largest, most talented and most competitive in our history. Students increasingly recognize they can earn a quality UC education in a much more personal, innovative environment than they can find elsewhere, and they see that as a huge advantage in preparing for a successful career or their next academic challenge.”

This year’s student body includes approximately 1,385 new undergraduate students and nearly 50 new graduate students. And eight new faculty members also have been added this year, bringing the faculty total to 130 ladder-rank professors and 100 lecturers.

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Professor Awarded Grant to Further Obesity Research

Biology Professor Rudy Ortiz has been given the National Institutes of Health's Independent Scientist Career Development Award, which will allow him to focus on his innovative research into obesity.

The $414,720 grant, spread throughout four years, will allow Ortiz to spend more time conducting research into obesity by reducing some of his teaching and administrative duties.

"To get more time to focus on my research is huge," Ortiz said. "It gives me a great advantage because of the release-time it affords me to concentrate on my research."

Ortiz is studying how elephant seals are able to fast for several months by relying on their fat reserves and how they can experience apnea without harming their health.

Humans wouldn't live much longer than a month if they were deprived food. An instance of sleep apnea has the potential to harm their body within minutes and can be fatal. Yet, Ortiz explained, there is something that cues this behavior in seals. While fasting, elephant seals won't even bother to eat food put in front of them.

"What if we could figure out that switch?" Ortiz asked. "Obese people could eliminate their carbohydrate intake and rely on their fat mass until they're lean and can return to a balanced diet."

Ortiz's award, which covers most of his salary, dovetails with another National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant he was awarded in 2009. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of NIH, gave Ortiz a five-year $1.78 million research award.