Researcher Studies Effect of Colleges on Communities

Does a university improve its surrounding community or create friction? That’s what UC Merced graduate student Joel Beutel wants to know. Working closely with sociology professor Simon Weffer, anthropology professor Robin DeLugan and economics professor Alex Whalley, the doctoral researcher is investigating the historical relationships between colleges and local communities.

“I am trying to see if there is a link between more community involvement and fewer lawsuits,” he says. “Is there a payoff for community relations?”

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Research Takes UC Team to Antarctica

UC Merced’s Wolfgang Rogge has been to the bottom of the Earth and back in the name of science.

Rogge, an associate professor in the School of Engineering and air pollution specialist, recently returned from Antarctica where he and UC Merced doctoral student Sylvain Masclin spent more than two months studying the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the WAIS Project’s main objectives include:
• Developing a detailed record of greenhouse gases for the last 100,000 years
• Determining whether global climate changes that have occurred during that time period were prompted by changes in the northern or southern hemisphere
• Investigating the past and future stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

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UC Merced Students Step Up to Create a Kinetic Walkway

UC Merced seniors Heather Poiry and Anne Mahacek hope to give new meaning to the phrase "walk this way."

The students, both mechanical engineering majors, are overseeing a project to create a kinetic walkway. When stepped on, the walkway will convert the energy from a person's footsteps into electricity. When finished, the device could be used during the university's commencement ceremony to power blue and gold LED lights at the front of the stage.

Their idea was one of 15 proposals submitted for a Senior Challenge.

"We really wanted it to be a true representation of what UC Merced stands for," said Mahacek.

The project also give participating students the chance to test the knowledge and skills they have acquired during their college careers.

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UC Merced Professor Discusses Stem Cell Research at Forum

Bioengineering professor Kara E. McCloskey will discuss how embryonic stem cells are identified, extracted and used medically during a forum in Modesto on Jan. 23.

The forum, “Stem Cell Research in the Valley,” starts at 7:30 p.m. in Forum 110 at Modesto Junior College’s East Campus, 435 College Ave. McCloskey is a founding professor of the School of Engineering at UC Merced. One of her research areas involves stem cell use in heart repair.

In 2008, McCloskey received a $2.2 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to fund her research.

MEDIA CONTACT: Donna Birch Trahan

Full Calendar of Events at UC Merced

Spring has already sprung at UC Merced. The semester this week, and already, campus is abuzz with a bustling schedule.

The Mind, Technology and Society Lecture Series will once again bring the brightest minds in cognitive science, computer science and electrical engineering from around the globe to UC Merced. Arts UC Merced Presents… promises a variety of events for those who crave a little culture. And for film buffs, the Human Rights Film Series promises a night of thought-provoking entertainment. Most events are free and all are open to the public.

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UC Merced Microbiologist Focuses on Ecosystems

Regardless of what self-help gurus may tout, sweating the small stuff is exactly what Carolin Frank is paid to do.

An assistant professor in the School of Natural Sciences at UC Merced, she studies ecology and plant-associated microbiology. She and her fellow researchers are using gene and genome sequencing to test ecological hypotheses. The goal? To examine the role microbes – microscopic organisms such as bacteria and fungi that are invisible to the human eye – play in certain ecosystems.

“Microbes are important organisms,” said Frank, who earned her doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden. “They represent a big part of life but are understudied. Microbes are everywhere, and they have significant roles that we don’t even know about.”

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ASUCM Leader Glad UC Merced Turned His Head

UC Merced senior Yaasha Sabba didn’t plan to come to UC Merced, but the biological sciences major has made his mark since he first walked on campus as a freshman in 2005.

“Even in high school, I could tell UC Merced offered me more than any other university could at that time,” he recalled. “I could create my own student groups, be among the first to work with faculty, even create policy for future generations to come.”

And in four short years, Sabba has done all that.

He’s worked in the laboratory of bioengineer Michelle Khine, who is known internationally for her use of Shrinky Dinks in creating microfluidic chips. He helped to create the American Medical Student Association, a nationally recognized student group that promotes AIDS awareness. He was a driving force behind the Prodigy, UC Merced’s student newspaper. And he’s the current president of the Associated Students of UC Merced, which governs the study body and allocates how student fees are spent.

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