November 11, 1996 Contact: Robert Irion (408) 459-2495; irion@ua.ucsc.edu

UCSC UNDERGRADUATES EARN HONORS AT NATIONAL SCIENCE CONFERENCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) recognized the research efforts of three UC Santa Cruz undergraduate students at its recent national conference, held October 24-27 in Los Angeles.

Dynela Garcia, a senior in biochemistry, was one of three recipients of the $1,250 SACNAS-Eli Lilly Scholarship, awarded to students who plan to pursue advanced degrees. Garcia, who aims for a career in biomedical research, will apply to Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. programs in 1998. Her research with professor of chemistry Anthony Fink probed the structure and function of an enzyme that creates resistance to penicillin. Starting next quarter, she will work with professor of chemistry Phillip Crews on natural compounds from marine sponges that may lead to useful drugs.

Yvonne Rodriguez, a senior in earth sciences, received a $500 Vigil Poster Presentation Award, given to the four best undergraduate research posters at the meeting. Rodriguez prepared a poster titled "Trace Elements in Volcanic Rocks from the Izu Margin" with her adviser, lecturer Alfred Hochstaedter. The team measured trace elements in rocks from the western Pacific to trace the origins of volcanic activity there. ARCO funded a summer internship for Rodriguez through UCSC's ACE (ACademic Excellence) Honors Program.

Maria Catalina, a junior in community studies, prepared a poster of her research with associate professor of earth sciences Elise Knittle, titled "Experimental Characterization of the Molecular Structure and Healing Properties of a Clay Mineral." The research explored the properties of a waxy mineral used by Native Americans for thousands of years to treat gastrointestinal problems. Cornell University chemist and ethnobotanist Eloy Rodriguez invited Catalina to publish her findings. She also will present her work this month at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.

Both Rodriguez and Catalina are single mothers who live at UCSC's Family Student Housing.

SACNAS, established in 1973 and headquartered since 1988 at UCSC, encourages Chicano, Latino, and Native American students to pursue graduate education and obtain the advanced degrees necessary for careers in research and science education.

Editor's note: You may reach the students as follows: Maria Catalina: 458-0405 or katsitsa@cats.ucsc.edu; Dynela Garcia: 460- 0464 or loveya@cats.ucsc.edu; Yvonne Rodriguez: ywchavez@cats.ucsc.edu

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