May 29, 2000 New Faculty Weixin Cheng Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Weixin Cheng is a soil ecologist whose research addresses issues of global environmental change. Cheng specializes in below-ground carbon cycles and microbial activity. Last fall, he began an NSF-funded pilot project to test a new technique of measuring the movement of carbon in a forest ecosystem. If successful, the technique could ultimately aid efforts to ameliorate global warming. Cheng earned his Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology and his undergraduate degree from Northeast Agricultural College in Harbin, China. He comes to UCSC from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where he was an assistant professor of biology. Phillip McCalman Assistant Professor of Economics Phillip McCalman specializes in international trade issues with a focus on intellectual property rights. In his most recent work, McCalman has been examining the equity and efficiency aspects of trade agreements brokered by the World Trade Organization. McCalman comes to UCSC from Australian National University, where he was a research fellow. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Melbourne.