January 13, 1997

Headliners

The annual roundup of the "Top 100 science stories of the year" by Discover featured two UCSC researchers who garnered beaucoup media attention in 1996. Astrophysicist Doug Lin reviewed his latest models for how planets form in other solar systems, while biologist Bill Rice recounted his now-famous experiment documenting "sexually antagonistic coevolution" between male and female fruit flies.

"Is Nothing Sacred?," queried a recent article in Lingua Franca. The story examined differing views on academic approaches to religious studies. Some of the country's most prominent religious studies scholars were quoted, including history of consciousness professor Gary Lease. Also featured was retired religion professor Noel King.

Astronomer Frank Drake, president of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, was widely quoted in December regarding the death of his close friend and colleague, Cornell University astronomer Carl Sagan.

In the Los Angeles Times, Manuel Pastor of Latin American and Latino studies argued in favor of the "living wage" ordinance before the Los Angeles City Council. Pastor, a member of the Times Board of Advisers, also penned an "Insight" piece about economic-growth strategies, asserting that economic-development efforts in the Los Angeles area must target the poor as well as the region as a whole. "The poor cannot long be forgotten . . . because their participation is key to a full-fledged and balanced recovery," wrote Pastor.

A tale of two cities: She may teach French, but Angela Elsea got the attention of the media for portraying an English character--a Victorian dancer to be specific. Elsea and others were featured in a front-page picture in the Oakland Tribune performing during a living history re-creation of Victorian England.

That California sea lion making a splash in the news before Christmas was our own Beaver, now in training to film whales underwater. O'Neill fashioned a wet suit especially for the sleek animal, allowing him to carry a video camera far beneath the surface. Head trainer Jenifer Hurley, a UCSC Ph.D. recipient now at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, helped Beaver model his duds for the press at Long Marine Lab.

Kathy "Kat" Albrecht of the UCSC Police was quoted in the Hayward Review about her work training bloodhounds for search-and-rescue work. Albrecht called the dogs "stinky, slobbery, (and) not very impressive," but went on to describe their work in urban criminal cases as well as remote forested areas.

Economist John Isbister appeared on the Ronn Owens Show on KGO Radio last week (Jan. 7) to discuss his recent book The Immigration Debate.

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