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Media Highlights

August 2009

This summary highlights media placements members of the UCSC community have garnered during the month of August 2009.

National and international

UC Santa Cruz is one of 25 campuses profiled in the cover story of Newsweek magazine's fall 2009 special issue on colleges. The cover story features UCSC as a campus for "Overachievers Who Need to Stop and Look Around." [Read more]

cover of Sierra magazine

UC Santa Cruz placed seventh in Sierra magazine's third annual "honor roll" of the top 10 greenest colleges in the nation. [Read more]

The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Bloomberg News, The Economist magazine, and many other news outlets covered a talk by economist Carl Walsh, which he presented at the annual conference of the Federal Reserve in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. When the Fed decides to start lifting interest rates, Walsh advised that interest rates will need to be "increased aggressively" as a hedge against inflation. The story ran in the Irish Times, Asbury Park Press, Boston Globe, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and many more papers.

In the September issue of Sunset, Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, and alumna Julie Packard, director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, were named 2009 California Coastal Heroes. In the same issue of Sunset magazine, Darryl Wong, a recent graduate of the UCSC Apprenticeship in Organic Agriculture, was profiled. Wong is co-owner of Freewheelin' Farm with fellow apprenticeship graduates Kirstin Yogg and Freewheelin' founder Amy Courtney.

Ram Akella, professor of technology and information management, was quoted in a New York Times article about continuing education programs for people with science and engineering backgrounds.

The Science Communication Program got a favorable plug in a New York Times online Q&A with science columnist Henry Fountain in response to a reader's question about learning how to become a science writer.

Astrophysicists Stan Woosley and Daniel Kasen were featured in a Science News article about using supernovae to study dark energy and the expansion of the universe.

Sociologist Paul Lubeck, who specializes in Nigeria, was tapped again by the New York Times as part of the paper's coverage of the recent insurgency there.

Jonathan Fox of Latin American and Latino studies was quoted in a front-page story in El Universal, one of Mexico's leading dailies, about winners and losers from Mexican agricultural policy.

Psychology's Craig Haney, an expert on the psychological effects of incarceration, was featured in a UPI.com story about mentally ill prison inmates.

Research on supernovae by astrophysicists Daniel Kasen and Stan Woosley was covered by Science News, Science Daily, Insciences, PhysOrg.com, Red Orbit, Universe Today, ScienceBlog, Innovations Report, Softpedia, Asian News International, Malaysia Sun, Daily India, and other media.

Sociologist Hiroshi Fukurai was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's current-affairs program "As It Happens" about the introduction in Japan of a lay participatory jury system. The program is broadcast in the United States over National Public Radio.

History professor Dana Frank was interviewed by the Toronto Star, New York’s WUSB Radio, and La Opinion, the Spanish language daily in Los Angeles, about the recent coup in Honduras and the U.S. response.

Discovery News ran a story about research led by biology graduate student Ann-Marie Osterback on the impact of seagulls on endangered salmon populations.

Research on dark matter by astrophysicist Piero Madau and others was covered in PhysOrg.com.

A New Scientist article about the potential impact of West Nile virus on Galapagos Island finches included quotes from biologist Marm Kilpatrick. Astronomer Greg Laughlin was quoted in a New Scientist article about an unusual planet found orbiting its star backward.

Jonathan Fox of Latin American and Latino studies was quoted in the Mexican daily La Jornada, discussing how Mexican agricultural policy reinforces inequality between rich and poor farmers.

Anthropologist Nate Dominy was interviewed by host Lynne Rossetto Kasper of the American Public Media program "The Splendid Table." Dominy has found that the amounts of an enzyme in saliva varies around the world, depending on the amount of starch in the regional diet.

The Huffington Post ran two stories about art professor Elizabeth Stephens’ performance art wedding project staged at the 53rd Venice Biennale.

In a story about entrepreneurialism on campuses, Forbes magazine mentioned UCSC's first-ever business-plan competition and the $12,000 prize that was awarded to the winner.

Biology graduate student Bill Henry was quoted in a Science News article about Styrofoam and other plastics in the oceans and their potential effects on wildlife.

State and regional

Larry Pageler, director of Transportation and Parking Services, provided information about UCSC's bike shuttle program for the Los Angeles Times environmental blog Greenspace. The blog posting was about the Sierra Club's report on eco-friendly universities in the September/October issue of its magazine, Sierra (see above).

The Sacramento Bee interviewed music lecturer William Coulter for a story about how he spends his summers teaching music and performing concerts at small summer camps and workshops across the country.

The 2009 Shakespeare Santa Cruz season received rave reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle, California Chronicle, Santa Cruz Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Santa Cruz Weekly, Good Times, and santacruz.com.

History professor Dana Frank was a guest on the KPFA Radio show "Against the Grain," discussing the political situation in Honduras, as well as her recent book, Local Girl Makes History.

Biologists Mark Carr and Peter Raimondi were quoted in stories in the San Jose Mercury News and North County Times (San Diego) about a proposal for new marine protected areas along the California coast.

Biologist Dan Costa was quoted in two San Jose Mercury News stories, one about the impact of El Niño conditions on marine life, and another about a harbor porpoise that died after wandering up a creek in Santa Clara.

The Los Angeles Times ran a story about the Cabrillo Music Festival featuring orchestral music inspired by the Grateful Dead, noting that the archives of composer Lou Harrison and the Grateful Dead are both housed at UCSC, and that music professor Fred Lieberman has collaborated on several books with Dead percussionist Mickey Hart.

The San Francisco Chronicle gave associate theater arts professor Patty Gallagher a rave review as the last-minute replacement for actress Marsha Mason in California Shakespeare Theater's production of Samuel Beckett's Happy Days. Gallagher was also quoted in reviews in the Contra Costa Times and San Jose Mercury News of playwright Tracy Letts' dark tragicomedy August: Osage County.

Sally Morgan, UCSC senior environmental planner and archaeologist, was quoted in a San Jose Mercury News story about new historical discoveries in the Cowell Lime Works Historic District. . . . The Mercury News also published a feature about women’s studies alumna Laika Grant Mann, a 1977 graduate who has launched a new internet-based nonprofit that links donors around the world with people in need.

Local

The Santa Cruz Sentinel and San Jose Mercury News ran a story about astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz and the award he established for the top Mexican physics student.

Jonathan Trent, adjunct professor of biomolecular engineering, was featured in a Good Times cover story about his ideas for producing biofuel from algae.

Campus veterinarian Dave Casper was quoted in Santa Cruz Sentinel and Mid-County Post stories about beach closures due to a great white shark seen feeding on a porpoise carcass.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel published a glowing review of alumna Deborah Madison's new book What We Eat When We Eat Alone.

The Monterey County Herald quoted art alumna and cartoonist Bridgett Spicer in an article about the annual West End Celebration, a Monterey County showcase for artists.

The Santa Cruz Weekly ran a story about a retrospective at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History featuring the work of the late Eduardo Carrillo--an art professor and founding fellow of Oakes and Porter Colleges--noting that a scholarship in his name now aids art students in need at UCSC.

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