Media Highlights
November 2008
This summary highlights media placements members of the UCSC community have garnered during the month of November 2008.
National and international
A New York Times article about efforts to understand the human genome included comments from biomolecular engineer David Haussler.
Social psychologist and race-relations expert Tom Pettigrew was quoted in a New York Times story about racial tolerance, which research reveals can spread as quickly as prejudice and suspicion. The article also appeared in the International Herald Tribune.
Biologists Myra Finkelstein and Bill Henry were interviewed on PBS's Newshour with Jim Lehrer for a story about the effects of plastic trash in the oceans. Watch the video
Psychologist Craig Haney's research on the effects of solitary confinement was cited in a Village Voice article about the confinement in Manhattan of of Sayed Fahad Hashmi, a Muslim American student and the first person extradited to the United States from Britain to face charges of terrorism.
Feminist studies professor Bettina Aptheker was featured in the fall issue of Ms. magazine in an article about the lack of feminist lectures available online. Aptheker’s recorded “Introduction to Feminisms” class has been issued recently in a 17-CD set.
The work of economist Rob Fairlie was featured in an online U.S. News & World Report story about the role of immigrants in the nation's entrepreneurial growth, as well as a Wall Street Journal report on the same topic. Fairlie was also quoted in a San Diego Union-Tribune article about immigrant business owners in California, where nearly one-third of business owners are foreign-born, and he participated in a local panel discussion about racial barriers to small-business success that was covered by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Environmental toxicologist Russ Flegal was quoted in a Christian Science Monitor article about mercury pollution.
The November 14 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education quoted associate music professor Amy Beal and associate American studies professor Eric Porter in articles about race, experimental music, and academia.
Research on marine microbes led by ocean scientist Jonathan Zehr received widespread online coverage, including MSNBC.com, Discovery News, Biology News Net, Genetic Engineering News, Popular Mechanics, MarketWatch, Science Daily, Science Now, Environmental Research News, ScienceCentric, Red Orbit, PhysOrg.com, Innovations Report, Hindustan Times, Horizon Solutions, and MongaBay.
Politics professor Michael Brown was quoted by the Washington Times in an article about election fatigue among voters who were eager to cast their ballots and learn the outcome of the presidential race.
USA Today prominently quoted anthropologist Susan Harding in a story about the legendary Billy Graham that ran on the eve of his 90th birthday. Harding called Graham the "architect of modern evangelicalism."
An article in New Scientist magazine about the search for dark matter included quotes from postdoctoral fellow Juerg Diemand. . . . Climate scientist James Zachos was also quoted in a New Scientist story about global warming and ice ages.
The Times-Picayune ran the Newhouse News Service article about racy Halloween costumes for girls, which featured psychologist Eileen Zurbriggen.
Environmental toxicologist Donald Smith was quoted in an Allure magazine item about a beauty product that claims to remove toxins from the body.
The Asbury Park Press and The Times of Shreveport, Louisiana, are the latest papers to run a USA Today article about Billy Graham that featured the comments of anthropologist Susan Harding.
Discovery News and MSNBC.com ran a story about a study of asteroid impacts on Mars led by James Roberts, a postdoctoral researcher in Earth and planetary sciences. . . . Another story on Discovery News and MSNBC.com quoted geophysicist Steven Ward regarding evidence that a giant tsunami may have hit the New York area some 2,300 years ago.
State and regional
Biologist Pete Raimondi was quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle article about the effects on marine life of the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay.
The East Bay Express reported the retirement of history of consciousness professor Angela Davis.
Local
This month in the Santa Cruz Sentinel:
An article about the UCSC Chemical Screening Center included quotes from chemistry faculty members Scott Lokey, Roger Linington, and Phil Crews.
. . . The paper covered a post-election talk with politics professor Dan Wirls, who urged President-elect Obama to take steps to "dismantle George Bush's imperial presidency." And Wirls was quoted in a story about local campaign workers who helped get Barack Obama elected. Wirls noted that effective grassroots organizing was part of Obama's winning strategy. . . . A story ran about biologist Daniel Costa and his appointment to an endowed chair in ocean health.
. . . Sociologist and psychologist Bill Domhoff was quoted in an article about the civility of the local city council race. And the Sentinel ran an article about Domhoff's new book The Leftmost City: Power and Progressive Politics in Santa Cruz. . . . A story ran about astronomer Claire Max being honored by Princeton University. . . . The comments of faculty honoree Patricia Zavella of Latin American and Latino studies were singled out in coverage of UCSC's Founders Day.
Historian David Anthony was part of a post-election show on KUSP Radio.