Media Highlights

October 2006

This summary highlights media placements members of the UCSC community have garnered during the month of October 2006. (See document with media outlets highlighted in bold.)

National and international

Michael Mateas, assistant professor of computer science, was prominently featured in a lengthy article about video games in the Atlantic Monthly. . . . Craig Haney of psychology appeared on NPR's Talk of the Nation program to discuss the impact of supermax prisons on the people confined in them. His appearance followed an interview he did with PBS for a documentary called Home Grown about coping mechanisms used by prisoners, including religion and gangs, to survive in prison. Haney was also the subject of a lengthy article that appeared in Oklahoma's Norman Transcript and other regional papers. The piece traced Haney's career from his days as a graduate student working on the famous Stanford Prison Experiment to his current research on the effects of incarceration and the risk posed to society of imprisoning so many people in such harsh conditions. . . . . . . The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a feature review of Intimate Politics, a new book by Bettina Aptheker, professor of feminist studies and history, describing it as “a stunning new memoir.”. . . Biologist Sofie Salama's genetics research was mentioned in a Time magazine article about the differences between humans and chimpanzees. . . . Research on distant galaxies by astronomer Rychard Bouwens was covered in the Christian Science Monitor. . . . Sociologist Dane Archer was quoted in a widely published article about men and their favorite chairs. The Albany Times Union article appeared in many other papers, including the Chicago Tribune, Toronto Star, Times Colonist, and Gazette of Montreal. . . . An article about milk that quoted sociology's Melanie DuPuis continued to make the rounds, appearing recently in the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Houston Chronicle. . . . A wildlife column in the Charleston Gazette described research on the migrations of sooty shearwaters led by biologist Scott Shaffer. . . . Biology graduate student Shaye Wolf was featured in an article in Audubon magazine, along with biologists Donald Croll and Bernie Tershy. The story focused on their efforts to protect island-nesting seabirds from rats and other nonnative predators. . . . Biologist Harry Noller's research on the cellular protein factories called ribosomes was covered in Biotech Week, Life Science Weekly, Science Letter, Health and Medicine Week, and other newsletters. . . . Psychology professor emeritus Bill Domhoff appeared in USA Today's Cyberspeak Q&A column, responding to readers' questions about dreams. . . . Psychology's Anthony Pratkanis was quoted by the Washington Post in an article about investment fraud. . . . The Times-News of Twin Falls, Idaho, tapped politics professor Dan Wirls for comment in a story about tapering state funds for homeland security. . . . UC Santa Cruz Foundation trustee and renowned photographer Frans Lanting is featured on the Apple Pro web site. The profile focuses on Lanting's latest project, "Life: A Journey Through Time," and his conversion midway through the project to all-digital images. . . . Water expert Brent Haddad of environmental studies appeared on National Public Radio's Science Friday program as part of a discussion of national and international water issues. . . . An article in Technology Review on efforts to develop cheap, fast genome sequencing featured biochemist David Deamer. . . . American Theatre magazine noted Shakespeare Santa Cruz's 25th anniversary and described the two local exhibits honoring this milestone. . . . Biology graduate student Michael Weise discussed his work with sea lions in an episode of the PBS television series Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures. . . . David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering, was quoted in a story in New Scientist about comparisons of human and Neanderthal DNA. New Scientist also ran a feature story on cosmology with quotes from physicist Anthony Aguirre. . . . The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran a story about biologist Terrie Williams and her research on the physiology of carnivores. . . . Seismologist Thorne Lay was quoted in a story on Inside Bay Area about North Korea's test of a nuclear device. . . . The Dallas Morning News relied heavily on Jonathan Fox of Latin American and Latino studies for a story about Mexican immigrants pushing for dual citizenship and what Fox calls “civic binationality.”. . . Music professor David Cope appeared on CNN in a discussion about his creation of computer programs to write music.

State and regional

The San Francisco Chronicle and Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal were among the publications that covered the news that psychology professor Dominic Massaro received a coveted tech award from San Jose's Tech Museum of Innovation. . . . Psychology professor and Academic Senate chair Faye Crosby was quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle article about a faculty-proposed ban on research funded by the tobacco industry. Advocates said tobacco companies have distorted research to deceive the public about the dangers of tobacco and employed strategies that suppress academic freedom. . . . J, a northern California Jewish newspaper, ran an article about physicist Joel Primack and his wife Nancy Abrams, whose latest book is The View from the Center of the Universe. . . . The Los Angeles Times published an editorial by feminist studies professor Bettina Aptheker about her new memoir Intimate Politics. . . . The Marin Independent Journal ran a story about a speech given by history of consciousness professor Angela Davis at Marin Academy in San Rafael, where she denounced violence and reminded students to use critical thinking skills.

Local

The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran a front-page story about Then & Now: Santa Cruz Coast, a new book by geologist Gary Griggs and Deepika Shrestha Ross. The Aptos Times also ran a story about the book. . . . Jonathan Fox of Latin American and Latino studies was quoted in a Monterey Herald article about the Mexican government's ban on U.S.-grown lettuce, most of which is produced in California. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel published a feature story about linguistics professor Geoffrey Pullum. . . . Santa Cruz's Good Times published a full-page poem by writing/literature lecturer Roxanne Hamilton. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel noted that literature professor Nathaniel Mackey is a National Book Award finalist in poetry for his collectionSplay Anthem. . . . The Aptos Times ran a story about botanist Jean Langenheim, who has received two major awards recently. . . . Stories about the Packard Fellowship awarded to astronomer Constance Rockosi ran in Bay City News and the Santa Cruz Sentinel. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel, Astrobiology, and Space Daily ran stories about astronomer Gregory Laughlin's project to get members of the public involved in the search for new planets.

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