Media Highlights

November 2004

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

National and international

Manuel Pastor of Latin American and Latino studies hit the media jackpot in November when he appeared on NOW with Bill Moyers. Pastor and his coauthor, Angela Glover Blackwell, discussed community activism and postelection ways individuals can work for social change. . . . Astrophysicist Stan Woosley was quoted in a New York Times article about research on supernova explosions. An image from Woosley's computer simulations of supernovae accompanied the story. . . . Jonathan Fox of Latin American and Latino studies was interviewed in Mexico City's La Jornada newspaper about Mexican migrant civil society. . . . Gerald Barnett, director of the Office for Management of Intellectual Property, was quoted in an Arizona Republic story about a proposition on the Arizona ballot that would affect how the state's universities license technology to private companies. Barnett was also quoted in a Chronicle of Higher Education story about university patents based on faculty research. . . . College Bound magazine asked William Ladusaw to comment on UCSC's combined narrative and letter grade system for an article on alternative grading policies. The article was picked up by MSN network. . . . Economist Lori Kletzer was tapped by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for comment on a recent report that linked foreign trade with the loss of 16,000 Wisconsin factory jobs over a three-year period. Kletzer also spoke with the Dallas Morning News about her analysis of which jobs are most vulnerable to outsourcing. . . . Holger Schmidt, assistant professor of electrical engineering, was quoted in a story about his research on hollow-core waveguides on the Science Daily and Optics.org web sites. His work was also covered by Laser Focus World and Chemical Processing magazines. . . . Economist Mike Dooley's views about the nation's current account deficit and Asian investment in U.S. treasuries were showcased in the National Post's "Financial Post & FP Investing." . . . Research by Daniel Costa, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and research biologist Scott Shaffer was described in an article about albatrosses in Natural History magazine. . . . Copley News Service tapped Daniel Press of environmental studies for comment on the differences between George Bush and John Kerry on the environment. . . . Dining Services director Alma Sifuentes was quoted in a Food Management article about UCSC's efforts to buy coffee grown in ecologically and socially sustainable ways. . . . Smithsonian magazine quoted biologist Brian Latta of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group in an article about efforts to save the Channel Islands fox. . . . Food Chemical News ran a story about marine scientist Peter Miller's work with the California Department of Health Services to develop an improved system for monitoring biotoxins in the state's fish and shellfish. . . . Physicist Joel Primack was featured in a story on National Public Radio's All Things Considered about a report from the American Physical Society criticizing President Bush's plans for space exploration. Primack was also featured in an article about cosmology in New Scientist magazine. . . . Assistant professor of theater arts Patty Gallagher was quoted in the Washington Post about her expertise in mask work and theatrical clowning. . . . Economist Rob Fairlie made the Wall Street Journal, discussing the recent rise in entrepreneurship. . . . Environmental studies Ph.D. candidate Max Boykoff's analysis of media coverage of global climate change was a point of discussion in a Columbia Journalism Review article. Boykoff, who was interviewed for the story, also appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and the World Paper. . . . Engineering dean Steve Kang was quoted in an article in Electronic Engineering Times about a panel he chaired at the International Conference on Computer-Aided Design in San Jose. . . . Psychology's Anthony Pratkanis was interviewed by the Arizona Republic about the "opening day" frenzy that draws crowds like the one that gathered in Tempe for the opening of an Ikea store. . . . ScienceNow ran a story about research by Earth sciences graduate student Kena Fox-Dobbs on the diets of California condors during the late Pleistocene, which she presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Denver. . . . John Wilkes, director of the Science Communication Program, was quoted in an article about careers in science journalism on the Nature Jobs web site.

State and regional

Biologist Jim Estes and graduate student Tim Tinker were featured in an article about sea otter populations in the Los Angeles Times. . . . Terrie Williams, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, wrote an opinion piece for the San Jose Mercury News about the ecological ramifications of killing coyotes that find their way into suburban neighborhoods. . . . The record $1 million raised for student scholarships and fellowships at UCSC's Scholarships Benefit Dinner was covered in the San Jose Mercury News, the Santa Cruz Sentinel, and on KQED Radio. . . . The San Jose Mercury News and the Santa Cruz Sentinel ran stories about the dedication of the new Engineering 2 Building and the Baskin Engineering Auditorium. Among those quoted in the stories were engineering dean Steve Kang and professors David Haussler, Pat Mantey, and Darrell Long. . . . American studies professor Judy Yung was extensively quoted in a Sacramento Bee article about Chinese immigration through the Bay Area's Angel Island. . . . Julie Guthman of community studies was featured on KQED Radio's California Report, discussing her recent book about organic farming in the Golden State. . . . Biologist Terrie Williams was interviewed on KION TV about a dolphin that was released back into the wild after being rehabilitated by Williams and her team of marine mammal trainers at Long Marine Lab in cooperation with the Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito.

Local

The Santa Cruz Sentinel and the Mid-County Post ran stories about Wentai Liu, professor of electrical engineering, and his work on a project to develop an artificial retina. . . . Marine biologist Burney Le Boeuf was quoted in a Santa Cruz Sentinel article about great white sharks. . . . Arts & Lectures director Michelle Witt and theater arts professor Jim Bierman were quoted in a feature story in the Santa Cruz Sentinel about a tribute to the late actor/monologist Spalding Gray. . . . Gary Griggs, professor of Earth sciences, was quoted in a Santa Cruz Sentinel story about the defeat of a proposal to build a seawall in Capitola. He was also quoted in a Watsonville Register-Pajaronian story on the 15th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran a story about astrophysicist Stan Woosley winning the Hans Bethe Prize. Woosley was also quoted in a story about supernovas on Science Now. . . . The Pinnacle newspaper (San Benito County) ran an extensive feature story on the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. . . . Anthony Pratkanis of psychology was interviewed by KSBW TV about the controversy over the airing of the film Saving Private Ryan on Veteran's Day. . . . Donald Coyne, adjunct professor of physics, wrote a commentary on the movie What the #$*! Do We Know? for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, criticizing the movie for taking too much artistic license in its interpretation of quantum physics. . . . The Register-Pajaronian interviewed Kirsten Gruesz, associate professor of literature, for a story on a presentation she gave on Hispanic literature at the Watsonville Public Library. . . . Ocean sciences graduate student Daria Siciliano was quoted in a Monterey Herald story about researchers using a remote sensing technique called hyperspectral imaging to study Monterey Bay.

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