Media Highlights

September 2004

This summary highlights prominent media placements UCSC faculty and staff have garnered during the month of September 2004.

National and international

Environmental studies doctoral candidate Max Boykoff made media waves with his analysis of the coverage of global warming in four top U.S. newspapers. His study generated calls from the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio's Living on Earth program, Nature, Mother Jones, United Press International, the Connecticut Post, Air America Radio, KSCO Radio, Environment Writer, Weatherwise magazine, and the American Meteorological Society. Grist magazine posted an item on its web site, and Boykoff appeared on KUSP Radio with environmental studies prof Michael Loik. . . . Economist and social sciences dean Michael Hutchison gave a talk about East Asian capital flows that was covered by the Edmonton (Canada) Journal, and he appeared on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio. . . . Politics prof Dan Wirls was quoted by Reuters in a story about minorities who are running for U.S. Senate, and he was also interviewed about the U.S. Senate by the Denver Post. . . .Science News magazine turned to astrophysicist Stan Woosley for commentary on stunning new images of a supernova remnant obtained by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, and he was quoted in New Scientist magazine in a story about gamma-ray bursts.. . . Psychology's Bill Domhoff was featured prominently in a recent Newsweek cover story about dream research, and Domhoff also discussed the meaning of dreams with the Palm Beach Post. . . . Vice chancellor for research Robert Miller was quoted in a story about university technology transfer programs in the Seattle Times. . . . An article in Wired News about the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics program for tracking the migrations of marine life included quotes from postdoctoral researcher Scott Shaffer. . . . The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a story about "Second-Career Scientists" featuring Jim Kent, a researcher in the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, who left a successful career as a computer programmer to earn his Ph.D. in biology at UCSC. . . . Philosophy professor John Doris was quoted in Canada's National Post in an article about research on the nature of goodness to be funded by the lawyer for Oskar Schindler, using proceeds set aside from premieres of the film Schindler's List. . . . Sea Technology magazine ran an article about the first expedition of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program led by Andrew Fisher, professor of Earth sciences; Science News for Kids web site also ran a story about the program. . . . . Politics prof Mike Urban capped a busy news cycle with an appearance on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition, discussing the popularity of blues music in Russia, which is the topic of his recent book. Urban was also interviewed about the Chechen War by BBC Radio and KPFK Radio in Los Angeles. . . . Economist Lori Kletzer was quoted in a Washington Post article about the widening income gap and job insecurity caused by the movement of U.S. jobs overseas. She also continues to field media calls about the outsourcing of jobs, the latest from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. . . . American studies professor Tricia Rose was quoted in a Salon.com article about sexuality and HIV/AIDS in the black community. . . . Giacomo Bernardi, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, was featured in a segment about protecting coral reefs on the National Public Radio program Day to Day. . . . Assistant professor of film and digital media L. S. Kim was quoted several times in a Chicago Sun-Times article about the dearth of jobs for Asian American actors in the United States. . . . Gary Glatzmaier, professor of Earth sciences, was featured in a National Geographic News story about the Earth's magnetic field. . . . Literature professor Paul Skenazy recently contributed three book reviews to the Washington Post. . . . Sociologist Marcia Millman's new book about sisters is generating media calls. She appeared on the Jane Pauley Show and has done radio interviews for Icicle Networks in San Francisco, WFMP in Minneapolis, WKCT in Kentucky, WICH in Connecticut, KCLU in Santa Barbara, KVON in Napa, and WEBR in Virginia. . . . An article about antimatter on Space.com quoted physics professor Michael Dine. . . . Research on cholera bacteria by Fitnat Yildiz, assistant professor of environmental toxicology, was featured in Genomics and Genetics Weekly, Biotech Week, and several other health-related weekly newsletters. . . . Student Affairs chief Francisco Hernandez was featured in a Chronicle of Higher Education story about a new nonprofit group that will build a repository of online course content. . . . The New Teacher Center's work with New York City schools was covered by the New York Post and Newsday. . . . David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering, and postdoctoral researcher Gill Bejerano were featured in a story in Genome Technology magazine about the "ultraconserved sequences" they discovered in the human, mouse, and rat genomes.Genome Technology also mentioned research on a nanopore device by David Deamer, professor and chair of biomolecular engineering, in a story about new DNA sequencing technologies. . . . An article in New Scientist magazine about the planetary collision that created the moon included quotes from Erik Asphaug, associate professor of Earth sciences. He was also tapped to answer a question about craters on the moon for the "Strange But True" syndicated news column by Bill and Rich Sones, which runs in dozens of newspapers, including the Deseret Morning News.

State and regional

Mark Carr, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, was quoted in a San Jose Mercury News article about a state decision to restart efforts to create a network of marine protected areas along the California coast. . . . The Los Angeles Times quoted economist Rob Fairlie in a story about jobs data that focused on the self-employed. . . . The Contra Costa Times and the San Jose Mercury News ran comments by sociologist Mike Males about the latest proposal by state Senator John Vasconcellos to lower the state voting age to 16. Males also discussed youth curfews with The Indiana Lawyer in a story about an Indiana curfew law that was recently ruled unconstitutional by a federal court. . . . The discovery of the first Neptune-sized planets outside our solar system by a group including UCSC astronomer Steven Vogt was widely reported in the media, including stories in the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, Contra Costa Times, Santa Cruz Sentinel, and online at Nature.com. Astronomer Douglas Lin, an expert on planet formation, was quoted in the Mercury News article. . . . San Francisco Chronicle book critic David Kipen lauded literature professor John Jordan, and professor of English and comparative literature Murray Baumgarten in an account of a week he spent at UCSC's Dickens Project, describing it as a "leading international center for Dickens studies that also produces and directs much fine scholarship. . . that may just be literary California's best kept secret." . . . Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences, was quoted in stories in the San Jose Mercury News and Santa Cruz Sentinel about new funding for the Center for Integrated Marine Technologies. . . . Women's studies lecturer Peggy Downes Baskin was quoted in a San Jose Mercury News article about life and career choices made by women in their late 20s and 30s. Baskin was also quoted in a Santa Cruz Sentinel article about career women balancing their work and home lives. . . . The San Jose Mercury News quoted Manuel Pastor of Latin American and Latino studies in a story about fans with multiple allegiances during the Olympic games. . . . American studies professor George Lipsitz was quoted extensively in a Los Angeles Times feature about the recent short-lived explosion of Latino artists on the popular music charts. Canada's Hamilton Spectator and Virginia's Daily Press also picked up the story. . . . Economist Carl Walsh was quoted in a Sacramento Bee business profile about the impact of productivity growth on jobs. . . . Anthropologist Alison Galloway's testimony in the trial of Scott Peterson was widely reported by the media, including the Associated Press, the Contra Costa Times, and the San Jose Mercury News.

Local

Social sciences dean and economist Michael Hutchison appeared on a recent KSBW-TV report about job losses in Santa Cruz County, discussing the impact of rising gas prices and the state budget squeeze. . . . The Watsonville Register-Pajaronian ran a story about a well-attended bird walk in the Watsonville Slough led by Todd Newberry, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology. . . . Sociologist Melanie DuPuis fielded a call from KSCO Radio about her new volume of essays about air pollution. . . . Alan Litke, adjunct professor of physics, was quoted in a Santa Cruz Sentinel story about a grant he received for research in neurobiology. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran a story about an endowment established by psychology professor emerita Melanie Mayer to benefit history research in Special Collections at the Library. Ohio's Journal-News also ran a front-page feature story on the endowment. . . . Arboretum director Dan Harder was quoted in a Santa Cruz Sentinel article about a concert at the Arboretum's newly refurbished amphitheater. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel quoted Institute of Marine Sciences researcher Peter Miller in a story about a project he is leading to test new technology for monitoring toxic algae along the California coast. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel noted the influence of theater arts professor James Bierman and Mary-Kay Gamel, professor of classics and comparative literature, on filmmaker and UCSC alum Jacob Estes in an article about Estes's debut feature film, Mean Creek. . . . Environmental studies profs Carol Shennan and Steve Gliessman shared the spotlight in coverage of a new federal grant for agroecology research that appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel and the Monterey Herald. The Associated Press picked up the news about the grant and the Salinas Californian ran a brief item about the project. . . . Ronnie Lipschutz of politics was quoted in a Santa Cruz Sentinel article about the curtailment of civil liberties today and the experience of Japanese Americans during World War II. . . . History of consciousness chair Gary Lease was quoted in a Santa Cruz Sentinel article about his recent appointment as interim dean of the humanities. . . . Sociology's Marcia Millman was interviewed by the Salinas Californian for a story about her new book about sisters. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel quoted associate professor of philosophy Robert Goff in a story about longtime New Yorker magazine staff writer and UCSC alumnus Lawrence Weschler.

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