UC Merced's Spendlove Award Prize to Honor Former State Supreme Court Justice

Former California Supreme Court Justice and civil rights lawyer Cruz Reynoso has been named the 2011 recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance.

The University of California, Merced, will award the prize to Reynoso during an evening ceremony Thursday, April 21. The following day at 3:30 p.m. in Classroom and Office Building, Room 105, Reynoso will give an oral history that's open to the public. No RSVP is required.

The Spendlove Prize was established through a generous gift to the university from Sherrie Spendlove in honor of her parents, lifelong Merced residents Alice and Clifford Spendlove. The prize every year honors an individual who exemplifies the delivery of social justice, diplomacy and tolerance in his or her work.

"Justice Reynoso has been a lifelong trailblazer, helping those of humble beginnings have access to the legal system," Sherrie Spendlove said. "One of the things that makes our sixth recipient so compelling is that he withstood his own adversities and disadvantages and became a champion of social justice for all people."

Diverse Physics Faculty Above National Average, Earn Prestigious Awards

UC Merced’s physics group is defying the odds.

Women make up 14 percent of physics faculty at U.S. degree-granting institutions, according to a 2010 survey by the American Institute of Physics. At UC Merced, three of the eight professors are women, or more than a third. Also, one of the two lecturers is a woman.

Rachel Ivie, who tracks hiring trends in physics departments for the institute, said UC Merced is doing better than a lot other campuses in terms of hiring a diverse physics faculty. She noted 10 percent of university physics departments in the United States don’t have any women.

“UC Merced has a good start with three women,” Ivie said. “Congratulations to your campus for doing that.”

The campus' physics group was formed six years ago when the campus opened and will continue to expand, as resources are available. Undergraduate students can earn a bachelor's degree in physics, and graduate can students study under the Physics and Chemistry emphasis.

Many women entering college don’t consider studying physics, which leads to fewer women with doctoral degrees who could go on to conduct research at universities, Ivie explained. The reasons aren’t entirely clear, though it may be that physics is considered a male science field.

Physics, historically as a discipline, has had a problem with gender equity in faculty ranks. Soft-matter researcher Linda Hirst said the startup nature of UC Merced’s group has set it apart, helping it attract a diverse pool of applicants and hire the strongest candidates, whether they are men or women.

“With physics hires, we are going for excellence,” Hirst said. “Our standards for recruitment are as high as any other campus.”

The caliber of the research is underscored by the fact that half of the members in the physics group — Kevin Mitchell, Linda Hirst, Lin Tian and Sayantani Ghosh — have been awarded National Science Foundation’s prestigious and highly-competitive CAREER award. The honor is given to junior professors “who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.” Tenured faculty are not eligible for the award.

UC Merced Undergraduates Assist High School Students with Key Exam

UC Merced students are showing their passion for serving the community by tutoring a group of Merced High School students who are in danger of failing a key exit exam.

The group was organized by world history major Dulcemaria Anaya, of Merced, and environmental engineering major Jesse Anaya, of Modesto, with the help of UC Merced Spanish lecturer Yolanda Pineda-Vargas.

The two students (no relation) were among the six students from UC Merced who participated in Harvard’s Latino Leadership Initiative in Cambridge, Mass., last year. Part of the program requires the students to make a difference in their community.

The students spent two hours each week through February and the first week of March tutoring about 20 students who are in danger of failing the English section of the California High School Exit Exam (CASHEE). For the seniors in the group, this is their last shot to pass.

"For many students, reading, analyzing and writing – the core subjects the CAHSEE aims to test – are skills vital to succeed in the university setting," Jesse Anaya said. "These skills, using the CAHSEE as our tool, are the ones we are hoping to help them develop. And we could not be more grateful for the opportunity."

Campus to Host Green Hall of Fame Event

UC Merced will be the host for the inaugural International Green Industry Hall of Fame (IGIHOF) Induction Ceremony and Conference, to be held March 25.

The all-day event will be highlighted by the announcement of the first six inductees to the new Hall of Fame, which is designed to recognize individuals and organizations for outstanding achievements in the green industry and provide an educational forum for the international public.

The event will include tours of the campus and an address by UC Merced campus architect Thomas Lollini, FAIA, associate vice chancellor for physical planning, design and construction. Registration is under way.

“Our founding chancellor, the late Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, established a mission at UC Merced to set the standards for sustainable use of energy and other scarce resources and to be a model of development in the great San Joaquin Valley,” said Mark Maxwell, the campus’ assistant project manager and LEED coordinator. “We are meeting and in some areas exceeding her mission. This event is great opportunity to learn from others and work together to ultimately help preserve our environment.”

Sam Geil, chairman of the IGIHOF board of directors, said the group chose UC Merced for its commitment to sustainability both in research and in architecture and operations — the campus is the only one in the country to have all of its buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

The keynote speaker for the event is Rod Diridon Sr., recognized as the “father” of modern transit service in California’s Silicon Valley, who will address “Transportation and High-Speed Rail in California: An Insider’s Perspective.”

Student Avoids Japan Earthquake Thanks to Break

Fred Knutson was the only UC Merced student studying in Japan this semester, spending time in the coastal city of Sendai while learning Japanese and immersing himself in the culture. Knutson, who has several family members of at least partial Japanese descent, has made many trips there for fun, as well.

Last Thursday, March 3, Knutson returned from Japan to the United States for an extended break, as did most UC students who were studying there. His time at home was supposed to last just 18 days, but it couldn’t have been timed much better.

Knutson missed the 8.9 earthquake that struck Japan today — the largest recorded quake in the country’s history — and all of its aftershocks and the ensuing tsunami. The buildings he lived in survived, but the earthquake and tsunami left hundreds dead or injured.

“I heard about the earthquakes last week, the small ones, but never imagined it could turn into this,” Knutson said. “I thought I was missing out on seeing my friends. Now I am wondering where they are.”

At home in Orange County, Knutson spent much of his time Friday trying to locate friends still in Japan. It was a difficult task, he said, because phone lines have been cut and cell reception affected.

“I know that people are trying to find their loved ones, just as I am trying to find my friends, but I just need to keep on hoping that they are all right and are able to stay with each other until they get found, if they aren't in a shelter already,” he said. “I heard from one person already, and a few more through Facebook and friends, and that helped me through the day. It’s bad not knowing, but the worst is not being able to do anything to help.”

Knutson joined Chancellor Steve Kang in encouraging fellow students, faculty and staff at UC Merced to donate to relief efforts through one of the following organizations:

American Red Cross, http://www.redcross.org/, 800-RED-CROSS

CARE, http://www.care.org/, 800-521-CARE

Catholic Relief Services, http://crs.org, 800-736-3467

Operation USA, http://www.opusa.org, 800-678-7255

Salvation Army, http://salvationarmyusa.org, 800-SAL-ARMY

U.S. Fund for UNICEF, http://www.unicefusa.org, 800-FOR-KIDS

World Vision, http://www.worldvision.org, 866-280-6587

UC Merced Engineering Alumnus on the Right Path

For alumnus Matt Nelson, '09, a summer internship with PG&E internship before his senior year led to a full-time job as a program engineer in the Technical Product Support group.

“I’m glad to know that my education at UC Merced allowed me to get a good job, even during a down economy,” he said.

He advises current and future UC Merced students to take a cue from his experience to help maximize their chances of finding similar success.

“Get to know your professors well,” Nelson admonished. “Networking is key, and faculty can be a great resource, especially when it comes to getting internships. And try to get an internship, because it really gives you an advantage when it comes time to find a job.”

UC Merced Seminar to Focus on National Parks, Reserved Lands Leadership

In April, more than two dozen park leaders from across the globe will gather at the National Parks Institute Executive Leadership Seminar to address issues like climate change, habitat loss, encroachment, budget constraints and rapidly changing leadership.

The seminar, a collaborative venture of UC Merced, the National Park Service, the Institute at the Golden Gate, the Great Valley Center and the National Parks Conservation Association’s Center for Park Management and, provides management development curriculum for park and public land managers, promotes scientific research in parks, fosters stewardship, and promotes and develops environmentally sustainable resource management practices.

Pulitzer Prize-winning ecologist and author E. O. Wilson will provide a though-provoking discussion to participants.

Media contact: Brenda Ortiz

A Step Up for Snowpack Measurements

More than half of the water used in California for farming and drinking and other everyday uses comes by way of runoff from the Sierra Nevada, and gauging the amount of snow there and predicting how much runoff there will be is an annual rite that has a major trickledown effect of its own.

Currently, water managers physically measure the snow depth at a series of index sites, and they compare the results to those from past years to predict water availability and thus determine how much water will be allocated to farmers and communities. The data are limited and the predictions can have a high uncertainty, which leads to costly inefficiencies in the process.

That could all be changing soon, as Professor Roger Bales of the University of California, Merced — with help from UC Berkeley and the UC’s Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) — has designed a system that will use clusters of wireless sensors to provide more accurate measurements of snowpack depth, water storage in soil, stream flow and other important factors, and make that data available to the public in real time.

The result could be a boon to a statewide farming industry that already totals $35 billion annually, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.