$1.3M Grant Funds UC Merced Center to Study Health Disparities

A grant funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will enable UC Merced to create a center to research health disparities in ethnic underserved populations and train students interested in health-related careers, officials announced today, Sept. 28.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $1.3 million over two years to the university to spur the creation of the Center of Excellence for the Study of Health Disparities in Rural and Ethnic Underserved Populations.

"UC Merced is the ideal location for research and education on health disparities," said Chancellor Steve Kang. "Our region offers a natural laboratory for education, training and research in this area."

The goal of the center of excellence is to increase the number of UC Merced students who are knowledgeable about disparities in health care and health outcomes, improve the number of students from under-represented and disadvantaged groups performing research in this area, and expand the capacity of the university to conduct health sciences research that addresses disparities in the region.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Tonya Luiz

UC Merced Observes Stem Cell Awareness Day

The University of California, Merced, will join the rest of the world in observing Stem Cell Awareness Day today, Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Research institutions, patient groups and educators from across the globe have planned activities to mark the day. The goal of Stem Cell Awareness Day is to foster greater understanding about stem cell research and its potential to treat disease and injury.

At UC Merced, the newest campus of the prestigious University of California system, members of the Stem Cell Consortium will observe the day by highlighting some of the interdisciplinary research being done here and give updates on the program and construction of the planned Stem Cell Instrumentation Foundry. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. in Room 105 of the Classroom and Office Building at UC Merced, 5200 N. Lake Road. The event is open to the
public. Admission is free.

UC Merced’s Stem Cell Consortium is a research group of faculty, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who are investigating the underpinnings of stem cell fate decisions , tissue development and organization.

“This work is the foundation for groundbreaking treatments and cures for debilitating conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and spinal cord injuries,” said professor Maria Pallavicini, dean of the School of Natural Sciences.

During Wednesday’s event, professors Marcos García-Ojeda, Néstor Oviedo and Pallavicini will provide a short primer on stem cells -- what they are and how they work. They will also describe how organisms such as worms can lend insight into stem cell biology and discuss and new approaches of understanding how stem cells make decisions.

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Contact:
Donna Birch Trahan
Office of Communications

UC Merced Awards $28M in Gift Aid for 2009-10

Financial concerns prevent many of our state's top-performing students from attending college, but UC Merced is doing its best to ease that burden. To that end, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships announced today (Sept. 22) that 2,230 undergraduate students have received a total of $28,216,197 in grants and scholarships. These awards represent money that does not need to be repaid.

"In response to the current economic situation, UC Merced continues to make attending college affordable to eligible students," said Kevin Browne, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management. "Concern over expenses is the worst possible reason not to attend a UC. If a student meets UC admission requirements, he or she deserves to be here, and we can help. We have been able to offer competitive gift-aid packages to almost 75 percent of our enrolled students."

Gift aid comes from both public and private entities. It can be used to pay a variety of school-related expenses, depending on the requirements set forth by the agency offering the scholarship or grant.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Tonya Luiz

Economist W. Brian Arthur to Discuss ‘Nature of Technology’

UC Merced will host an evening with internationally renowned economist W. Brian Arthur on Sept. 24. Arthur, external professor at the Santa Fe Institute and visiting researcher at the Palo Alto Research Center's Intelligent Systems Lab, will discuss his new book, "The Nature of Technology: What it is and how it Evolves."Arthur will speak at 5:30 p.m. in Classroom & Office Building Room 116. A reception will follow the lecture.

"Brian Arthur is a top economist and a fantastic speaker. We are thrilled that he agreed to come to UC Merced to discuss his new theory of technology," said UC Merced Professor Teenie Matlock, who founded the university's Mind, Technology and Society talk series.

Arthur has been credited with influencing and describing the modern theory of increasing returns. An in-demand speaker on economics and complexity theory in technology and financial markets, Arthur's interests in recent years have turned toward the power of technology to influence economy.

For information: tmatlock@ucmerced.edu

Chancellor's Associates Help Students Fulfill Their Dreams

Since 2002, regional leaders, faculty, staff, alumni and friends have supported those aspirations by being part of the university’s annual giving society – the Chancellor's Associates.

Annual donors like Chancellor’s Associates are the heart of UC Merced. Their contributions provide an important source of unrestricted funds that enable the campus to enhance the educational experience for students by providing scholarships, developing academic programs and exposing them to cutting-edge technology.

“Loyal annual donors provide the kind of philanthropy that enables UC Merced to reach its goals and strive for even greater achievements,” said Chancellor Steve Kang. “These special alumni and friends understand that tuition and state funding cover only a fraction of UC Merced’s expenses.”

Making a gift to the Chancellor’s Associates or Chancellor’s Pioneers is easy and secure online at makeagift.ucmerced.edu. For information, contact Terisa Rose at (209) 228-4109.

Upcoming Events
If you live in the Fresno area and are interested in joining the Fresno Regional Chancellor's Associates, the first regional event will be hosted by Baker, Manock and Jensen at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 30.

All Chancellor's Associates members are invited to attend the annual holiday reception Dec. 3 at UC Merced. The evening will feature a special presentation by founder of Roots of Peace Heidi Kuhn. Roots of Peace is a California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to turning fields of land mines into productive agricultural use.

For more information, or to RSVP for either event, contact specialevents@ucmerced.edu or (209) 228-RSVP.

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Evolutionary and Conservation Biology Draws Grad Student to UC Merced

What do you do with a doctorate in Quantitative Systems Biology?

If everything goes his way, graduate student Joseph Heras will fulfill his post-doctoral research at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles or New York City or the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. Then join the faculty at an institution with a strong emphasis on teaching.

A native of Southern California, Heras is a first-generation student who was lured to UC Merced by his desire to study evolutionary and conservation biology under School of Natural Sciences assistant professor Andres Aguilar.

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UC Merced Developing Seasonal Approach to Achieve Zero Net Energy Use

At the University of California, Merced, professors in the School of Engineering along with the campus’ facilities management division are creating a portfolio of renewable energy options that will help UC Merced continue toward its goal of being one of the greenest campuses in the United States.

UC Merced has received a three-year $1 million Renewable Energy Secure Communities (RESCO) program grant through the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program.

The "Piloting an Integrated Renewable Energy Portfolio for the UC Merced Community" project explores the integration of three energy strategies: energy efficiency, solar photovoltaics and plasma gasification, a method that cleanly produces power from sewage and solid waste.

"The RESCO grant will help the campus integrate three of the most promising renewable energy technologies that will help us meet our "Triple Zero" commitment," said John Elliott, UC Merced’s assistant director of energy and sustainability and project manager for the UC Merced RESCO project.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Patti Waid Istas

Second Science & Engineering Building Approved at UC Merced

The architectural design of the second Science & Engineering (S&E 2) building at UC Merced was approved by the UC Regents’ Committee on Grounds and Buildings this week.

The 101,900-square-foot facility overlooking the next phase of campus development will provide research and instructional labs, and core facilities. Some of the architectural features include: several significant outdoor spaces, which include a plaza between the two S&E buildings’ instructional labs; a shaded promontory perched above the canal that can serve as an event venue; and a porch adjacent to the engineering labs for outdoor learning opportunities such as robotics competitions. In addition to offices and computational and wet labs on the upper levels, breakout rooms with adjacent balconies will provide collaboration space with sweeping vistas of the undeveloped landscape, and future campus expansion.

As with all other permanent buildings on the UC Merced campus, this next building will be designed and constructed to achieve a LEED “Gold” rating through the U.S. Green Building Council, and may be able to achieve a “Platinum” rating. Six campus buildings have already been certified as LEED Gold and one has a LEED Silver standing. No other university in the United States has earned LEED Silver or better for every building on campus.

Since its inception, UC Merced has been a leader in sustainable planning and environmental design, and as it develops it continues on that path. As the campus grows, new development will be designed, planned and sited to demonstrate innovation and minimize impacts on the environment. The campus Long-Range Development Plan also establishes a Triple Zero Commitment by the campus to use zero non-renewable energy, generate zero solid waste and achieve a zero net-carbon footprint by 2020. By the end of 2009, the campus will be generating 20 percent of its total power demand through on-site renewable energy.

Construction of the Science & Engineering II Building is scheduled to begin as early as fall 2011, state funding permitting, with the facility opening in the 2014-15 academic year.

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New Dean Appointed at UC Merced

Chancellor Steve Kang of the University of California, Merced, has announced the appointment of a new dean for the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA).

Pending approval of his compensation package by the UC Board of Regents, who are meeting this week, anthropological archaeologist Mark S. Aldenderfer of the University of Arizona will take over as dean on Jan. 1, 2010. Aldenderfer's appointment marks the end of an exhaustive administrative search since Founding Dean Kenji Hakuta left in 2006.

"We are very excited to welcome Dr. Aldenderfer to the UC Merced family," Kang said. "It is my belief that he has both the skills and vision required to lead the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts to reach its full potential as our university grows in the coming years."

Aldenderfer is best known for his study of the transition from hunting and gathering to pastoralism in highland Peru. Most recently, he has conducted archaeological research in Tibet and is the editor of "Current Anthropology," one of the field's most prestigious academic journals. He has been a professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona since 2005.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Tonya Luiz

Doctoral Candidate Researches Students' Ability to Gauge Retention

When it comes to assessing how well a student has learned what he or she has studied, Corinne Townsend isn't so sure the student is the most accurate judge. The Ph.D candidate, who works in the lab of cognitive scientist Evan Heit, is putting her theory to the test.

Her research delves into how a student’s judgment of how well they've learned the material – known as “metacognitive judgments” – and how capable they think they are at performing well – known as “self-efficacy beliefs” – affect motivation and correlate with test scores.

“My own experience as a student made me wonder why some students are good at studying while others aren’t,” she said. “If you don’t think you can do well in a particular subject, you probably won’t devote a lot of time on it.”

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Series Celebrates Valley Culture

The Central Valley has a mighty secret: There is a wealth of culture among the residents of this region that only a select few truly appreciate.

But founding faculty member Jan Goggans and Deputy University Librarian Donald Barclay aim to change that. The two have partnered to organize and host “Celebrating the Central Valley,” a series of special events that highlight the rich history of the region, particularly during the dust bowl era.

For information on events planned as part of the series, visit the UC Merced homepage.

Sun Shines on New Solar Field at UC Merced

UC Merced is a step closer to producing solar energy that will provide electricity to the growing campus.

Construction is well underway on an 8.5 acre, one megawatt solar photovoltaic array – also known as a solar field. Work on the project started about a month ago and this week, work crews began delivering and installing the first of 4,800 solar panels will collect sunlight and convert it into energy.

The field is located southeast of the Science and Engineering Building in an open field on campus-owned land. When the system is up and running, it will produce about two-thirds of the campus’ electricity on a summer afternoon and 20 percent of its annual electricity needs, according to UC Merced’s John Elliott, assistant director of energy and sustainability. Construction is expected to be completed this fall.

Creation of the solar field is part of UC Merced’s plan to generate renewable power, one of the goals listed in the campus’ Climate Action Plan, a blueprint outlining the university's plan to achieve climate sustainability. The plan outlines goals to save as much energy as possible, generate as much renewable power that is used and offset greenhouse gas emissions, all by 2020.

The solar field was designed and installed by SunPower, which will own, operate and maintain the system. UC Merced has a 20-year agreement with SunPower to purchase the power generated by the solar field.

“The system will produce power more cheaply than we can buy from PG & E,” said Elliott.

UC Merced’s location in the San Joaquin Valley makes it an ideal area to study and implement solar energy projects and research. The solar field project received funding from the California Solar Initiative, which is administered through PG & E.

UC Merced is the most recent UC campus to install a solar field that provides a source of renewable energy. Other UC campuses with solar fields are Irvine, San Diego and San Francisco.

Library Exhibit Celebrates Central Valley Culture

The UC Merced Library and School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts are "Celebrating the Central Valley" with a series of must-see special events designed to shine a spotlight on the Valley's unique cultural heritage.

The events are:

• Sept. 16 -- “A Celebration of the Life and Work of Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel featuring Central Valley writer Gerald Haslam,” 7 to 8 p.m., UC Merced Library, Room 355. Reception to follow. Info: 209-228-2997 or jgoggans@ucmerced.edu.

• Sept. 17 -- “An Artist and the Land: Stephen Johnson and the Great Central Valley,” 7:30 to 9 p.m., UC Merced Library, Room 355. Reception to follow. Info: 209-201-9724 or dbarclay@ucmerced.edu.

• Now through Oct. 25 -- “From Hobos to Street People: Artists Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to Present,” UC Merced Library, Second Floor. Info: 209-658-7146.

• Now through Dec. 19 -- “Okie Poet Laureate: Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel,” UC Merced Library, Third Floor. Info: 209-658-7146.

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