Media Highlights
January 2006
This summary highlights media placements members of the UCSC community
have garnered during the month of January 2006.
National and international
The New York Times ran a story about research by Earth
scientists Erik Asphaug, Quentin Williams, and postdoc Craig Agnor on
the role of hit-and-run collisions. The story also ran in Astrobiology
magazine, Discovery News, Universe Today,
the Santa Cruz Sentinel. MSNBC, Scripps-Howard
News Service, the Redding Record-Searchlight, Knoxville News
Sentinel, Space.com, Innovations Report, Spaceflight Now, and
PhysOrg.com. . . . Research breakthroughs by anthropologists
Adrienne Zihlman and Debra Bolter were featured in an Asian Tribune
article about the evolutionary split between apes and humans. . . . David
Deamer, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, was featured in a story
in New Scientist magazine about research on the origins
of life. . . . Time magazine quoted sociology professor
Craig Reinarman in a story about drug use among baby boomers. . . . The
Seattle Times ran a column about U.S. immigration policy
that relied heavily on the insights of Manuel Pastor of Latin American
and Latino studies, who described the "catch-22" for would-be
migrants who face the prospect of years of bureaucratic delay if they
apply for legal entry or the threat of deportation if they enter the country
illegally. . . . Theater arts/dance professor Mark Franko was cited in
a New York Times article about Radio City Music Hall's Rockettes.
. . . David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering, was
quoted in an article in Forbes magazine about "dark"
DNA. . . . In an Associated Press story about Home & Garden
Television's annual Dream Home contest that got wide media play, Anthony
Pratkanis of psychology discussed the intoxicating effect of the contest
that plays on people's fantasies about their lives. The story appeared
in numerous newspapers, including the Miami Herald, Myrtle Beach
Sun-News, and Wilkes Barre Times Leader. . . . An
Associated Press reporter interviewed Jonathan Fox of Latin American
and Latino studies for a story about the health care needs of indigenous
Mexican immigrants to California. The story cited UCSC research regarding
the number of immigrants from Mexico's 60 Indian groups. . . . A New
York Times travel story about Santa Cruz included plugs for the
UCSC Arboretum ("glorious collection of gardens, which are a magnet
for hummingbirds") and the Seymour Marine Discovery Center ("this
superb small aquarium offers a peek at Monterey Bay's exotic animals").
. . . A study of star formation in galaxies led by astronomers Kai Noeske
and David Koo was reported by Space Ref and PhysOrg.com.
. . . Assistant professor of film and digital media L. S. Kim was quoted
in a Chicago Tribune article about how Hollywood films reinforce
stereotypes of Asian women. . . . Paul Ortiz of community studies was
interviewed by Latino Voices USA about the United Farm Workers.
The program aired on National Public Radio stations around the
country and is archived on the web at www.latinousa.org/program/index.html.
Ortiz was also interviewed by Ohio NPR station WOSU about the making
of the book Remembering Jim Crow as part of the station's Black
History Month programming; it is archived at www.wosu.org/am/openline.php#andrle.
. . . In an article in the Lawrence Kansas Journal World,
sociologist Craig Reinarman said the disparity in penalties for those
convicted of using crack cocaine and powder cocaine have more to do with
racism than pharmacology. . . . New Teacher Center director Ellen Moir
discussed the importance of mentoring and on-the-job training for new
teachers in articles that appeared in the Rochester Democrat
and Cincinnati Enquirer, among other newspapers. The Chicago
Sun-Times also featured the New Teacher Center in a column coauthored
by Richard Riley, former U.S. secretary of education, about the urgent
need to keep new teachers working in the profession. . . . Research on
biochemical pathways involved in metabolism and body weight control from
the lab of Glenn Millhauser, professor of chemistry and biochemistry,
was covered in Biotech Week, Life Science Weekly, Health & Medicine
Week, Obesity & Diabetes Week, and other weekly newsletters.
. . . In a story about the significance of race among the generation dubbed
"millennials," the Dallas Morning News quoted
Pamela Perry of community studies, who has studied the racial identities
of high school students. . . . India Business Standard noted
that UCSC's Satyajit Ray Film and Study Collection has successfully restored
15 of the late Indian director's films. . . . Psychology professor Avril
Thorne's research on autobiographical memory was featured in an article
in Psychology Today. . . . History of consciousness and
women's studies professor Angela Davis appeared on Democracy Now!
to discuss the California execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. . . .
The Santa Fe New Mexican ran a feature story on the painting
of Art Department lecturer Tim Craighead. . . . Professor of literature
Richard Terdiman was quoted in Education Technology News
about UC libraries making portions of their collection freely accessible
on an Internet archive. . . . Alan Chadwick Garden manager Orin Martin
was quoted in the Waldoboro (Maine) Village Soup
about changing weather patterns. . . . Professor Emeritus Bill Domhoff
of psychology was tapped for his expertise on dreams for a story that
appeared in the Charlotte Observer. . . . Economist Federico
Ravenna's participation in an Allied Social Science Associations seminar
was covered by Main Wire.
State and regional
A request by Chancellor Denice D. Denton and Campus Provost
David S. Kliger that federal elected officials investigate the
alleged secret monitoring on college campuses, including a protest
of military recruiters at UCSC last spring, was covered by numerous
media outlets, including the San Jose Mercury News
and the Santa Cruz Sentinel. (A San Jose congresswoman,
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, subsequently asked the inspector general of the
Department of Defense to investigate whether the Pentagon overstepped
legal bounds in gathering domestic intelligence and maintaining
a database on U.S. residents.) In addition, Chancellor Denton was
quoted in a San Jose Mercury News article about the
"State of the Valley Conference" on the future of Silicon
Valley. The story also ran in the Monterey County Herald,
Miami Herald, Kansas City Star, Duluth News Tribune,
and other newspapers. . . . Michael Hutchison, economics professor
and interim dean of social sciences, was a guest on Forum,
KQED Radio's public affairs program, discussing the Japanese
economy and the recent stock market fiasco there. . . . Bruce Bridgeman
of psychology made a big splash in the San Jose Mercury News,
which pulled out all the stops to cover his research on perception
at the Mystery Spot. The story included five photos and four illustrations
that explained the science behind the popular tourist destination.
. . . Mike Males of sociology was profiled in the Los Angeles
Times Magazine. The story focused on
Males's uphill battle to redirect attention from what he considers
the overstated problems of teens to the demographic time bomb of
Baby Boomers, who are more prone than ever to violence, sexually
transmitted disease, drug abuse, and weight problems. Males also
penned an opinion piece for the San Francisco Chronicle
about teen suicide, noting that teens in the San Francisco Bay Area
have one of the lowest suicide rates of any population in the United
States, down dramatically since 1970. . . . Susanne Jonas of Latin
American and Latino studies was interviewed by KPFA Radio's
Kris Welch about new developments throughout Latin America and U.S.
responses to them. . . . Los Angeles Daily News coverage
of plans to conduct a town meeting about a landfill in Spanish included
comments from Manuel Pastor of Latin American and Latino studies,
who endorsed the decision to reach out to Spanish-speaking residents.
. . . John Pearse, professor emeritus of biology, was featured in
a front-page story in the San Francisco Chronicle
on the effects of global warming on the California coast (the first
of a three-part series). . . . The Contra Costa Times
ran a story about the New Teacher Center's work with novice teachers.
. . . The San Francisco Chronicle noted that associate
professor of literature Louis Chude-Sokei is the lead scholar working
with the new San Francisco Museum of the African Diaspora to plan
a conference in March titled Paris Is Burning Again..
. . Research biologist Janet Leonard was quoted in a San Diego
Union-Tribune obituary for renowned neuroscientist Ted Bullock.
. . . UCSC's Arts & Lectures was lauded in a San Jose
Mercury News article describing the 10 best classical concerts
of 2005 for its presentation of the So Percussion ensemble. . .
. Assistant professor of art Lewis Watts was featured in the Sunday
Datebook section of the San Francisco Chronicle about
an exhibition at the S.F. Performing Arts Library & Museum,
co-curated by Watts and Elizabeth Pepin, based on their new book
Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era.
Local
The Santa Cruz Sentinel featured Chancellor Denton in
a year-end series the newspaper published on 2005 newsmakers. . . . Community
studies lecturer Mike Rotkin was profiled by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
. . . Music professor and department chair Leta Miller was quoted in a
Santa Cruz Sentinel article about Ariose Singers, the 16-member
chamber choir she founded in 2001. . . . The Santa Cruz
Good Times and the Santa Cruz Metro published
cover stories on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noting that UCSC's Arts &
Lectures program was presenting his lecture appearance at the Civic Auditorium.
The Metro also ran a story on the Arts & Lectures performance
by virtuoso mandolinists Chris Thile and Mike Marshall, along with the
Santa Cruz Good Times, Santa Cruz Sentinel,
and Register-Pajaronian. . . . John Brown Childs of sociology
appeared on KUSP Radio's Talk of the Bay program to discuss
his new book, Hurricane Katrina, which includes essays by a number of
UCSC faculty and affiliates. . . . The Monterey County Herald
ran a story about Todd Newberry, professor emeritus of biology, and his
new book, The Ardent Birder. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel
quoted associate professor of literature Christopher Connery in a story
on a conference hosted by UCSC's Center for Cultural Studies about Hurricane
Katrina and New Orleans. The article also noted a photo exhibit featured
at the conference by assistant professor of art Lewis Watts. . . . The
Santa Cruz Sentinel noted that a composition by assistant
professor of music Paul Nauert was a highlight of a CD-release concert
by New Music Works.
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