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THIS MONTH IN UC MERCED HISTORYAs a new feature in Panorama, we will provide a look back in time at some of UC Merced’s events and history. If you have a suggestion for “This Month in UC Merced History,” please e-mail bortiz@ucmerced.edu. Opening Convocation and Celebration
On Sept. 5, 2005, UC Merced opened as the first new UC campus in 40 years and welcomed the inaugural class of 875 students. More than 4,500 people gathered at the campus for the historic event that featured the pioneering students in white T-shirts crossing over Scholars Lane Bridge for the first time, followed by a procession of 55 founding faculty, about 400 founding staff, parents, donors, trustees and UC officials. "Beginnings like today offer great promise," said founding chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey. "We have seen the humble, rural beginnings of nine other UC campuses turn into millions of alumni leading the world, thousands of innovative ideas, and artistic creations that thrill the soul. UC Merced resolves to reach that same high standard. I hope each of you takes great pride in the students and faculty assembled here for they will turn this campus into a perfect 10.” In his keynote address, Merced native Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a professor at Harvard Law School, spoke of the transforming effects the college experience will have on the lives of UC Merced's inaugural class. Ogletree is a Merced High School graduate who went on to earn bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. The opening of UC Merced comes 17 years after the UC Board of Regents first recommended adding a new campus to accommodate the state's rapidly growing population. Merced was chosen as the site in 1995, and groundbreaking began in 2002. The opening, originally scheduled for the fall of 2004, was pushed back a year as a result of the state's budgetary problems. |
MESSAGE FROM
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Welcome to the fall 2009 semester! This is the first in a series of brief, regular messages from me appearing in Panorama to keep you informed and engaged. I appreciate the suggestion from professor Mike Colvin to expand my communication, especially in this challenging economic time.
More than 100 university employees took part in the second 
UC Merced users now can synchronize their PDAs and SmartPhones with the Oracle calendar, thanks to applications that eliminate the need to use computers as intermediaries. IT provides support for iPhones and mobile devices that use the Windows Mobile platform (such as HTC, LG, Samsung, etc.). For information:
The California Exhibition Resources Alliance presents the traveling exhibition “Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present” in the Leo & Dottie Kolligian Library through Oct. 31.
RESEARCH GRANT and AWARD PROGRESSTotal amount of awards from July 1, 2009 to July 31, 2009: |
HUMAN RESOURCES
NOTE: The Office of Human Resources has moved to the first floor of the downtown Mondo Building, 1715 Canal St. The phone and fax numbers remain the same.
New Employee Orientation
Sept. 4, Kolligian Library, Room 232, 8:30 a.m. to noon
Choose Well Programs
A kick-off luncheon will be held noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in the California Room to launch the third Fit Cat Challenge. RSVP to hcf@ucmerced.edu.
“Financial Education,” a Work Life Brown Bag Lunch sponsored by Rabobank, will be from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in KL 397.
Choose Well offers other programs that assist in weight loss and overall healthy habits.
Visit the Choose Well Web site to check out programs and earn awards for program participation and goal attainment.
For information: Becky Jo Akers, (209) 228-2348.
About Panorama UC Merced
Panorama UC Merced is a faculty-staff publication for the University of California, Merced, that delivers news about the campus each month, during the academic year, with breaks for the holidays.
Written and edited by the UC Merced Office of Communications, the publication delivers news about campus issues and events, research highlights, UC-wide news, and people.
The deadline for submissions for each issue is noon on the 15th of each month prior to the month of publication. For more information or to submit ideas, email Brenda Ortiz or call 228-4203.
NEWS
UC Merced Begins Milestone Fifth Year
The UC Merced campus celebrates its fifth freshman class during Convocation. |
With classes in full swing this week, it’s clear that UC Merced is a vibrant college campus. Officials expect about 3,200 students to be on campus this year, up 15 percent from last year. The growing population proves that even in difficult economic times, increasing numbers of students realize the chance to earn a college degree at the newest University of California campus is an opportunity not to be missed.
For freshman Valeria Aguirre of Woodlake, both size and cost played into her decision to enroll at UC Merced this fall.
“I wanted to attend a private school, but they were totally unaffordable,” said the 18-year old applied mathematics major. “At UC Merced, I found everything I was looking for.”
According to recent statistics compiled by the Office of Admissions, more than 20,000 people visited the campus last academic year for tours and to participate in special events such as campus open houses and Parents’ Weekend.“As we celebrate our fifth birthday, we are proud of the growing contribution UC Merced is making to the region, state and world,” Chancellor Steve Kang said. “We are a thriving research university with a future-focused, student-centered learning environment ideally suited to today’s students.”
[more]
UC Merced to Lead Research Program on Solar Energy
UC Merced is part of the California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute, a new multicampus research program that will develop solar energy technologies. |
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Researchers at UC Merced and sister campuses Berkeley and Santa Barbara received a five-year $2.25 million grant that will fund a new multicampus solar energy research program.
California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute (CAST) is one of 37 multicampus research programs and initiatives that received funding from the UC Office of the President. CAST will serve as a platform for a variety of solar energy projects.
Some of the broad categories CAST researchers will cover include development of photovoltaic devices, which convert sunlight into electricity, and thermal energy for cooling of buildings, industry and other applications.
UC Merced professor Roland Winston will serve as CAST’s director. Winston invented the field of non-imaging optics and has received numerous awards for his research in this area and its applications to solar energy. He is a presidential endowed chair in the schools of Engineering and Natural Sciences.
“Solar energy is, by far, the most abundant of all renewable energy resources and development of technologies to harness and use that resource is an important topic for California and the world,” Winston said.
[Read more]
FORUM
Green-prints From the Desk of the Campus Architect
By Thomas Lollini, FAIA, Associate Vice Chancellor
for Physical Planning, Design and Construction
Welcome back to campus! And for those just joining our community, a special welcome to the world’s most sustainably planned and built research university.
So what’s new? Near the campus entrance, the Early Childhood Education Center opened recently, and its play yard will soon be expanded for the Michelle Obama Garden. We are expecting to achieve LEED™ gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for this modularly constructed facility, which may make it the first of its kind. We are also opening Parking Lots G & H south of the entrance adding 650 spaces to our parking inventory.
And what’s under way? Place-making is essential to creating a campus that serves as a venue for learning. Building a campus is as much about the space between the buildings, as it is about the buildings themselves.
In the Carol Tomlinson-Keasey Quad, we are putting the finishing touches on the Beginnings sculpture, and across from the Valley Commons, landscaping is in progress for the first phase of the Little Lake Park Amphitheater, which is the Class of 2009 gift to the campus. Both of these projects will provide iconic venues for the creation of campus traditions.
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STAFF PROFILE
Assistant Catering Manager is a Computer Geek at Heart
For Sergio Medina, the interaction with staff, faculty and students is what makes his job as assistant catering manger rewarding. He is recognized by others on campus for his cheerful demeanor, his welcoming smile and his attention to detail. But, what most people don’t know is that his real passion is computers.
“I love computers. When I make upgrades to my computer, I save the old parts and then put them together to make another one,” Medina said. “I built a computer in four hours for my 14-year-old daughter.”
Medina came to the United States from Guatemala at age 21. Although he held a degree in science and letters in his home country, he found it wasn’t valid in the states. He decided to start taking college courses in computer science at Canada College in Redwood City.
While working as a dishwasher to pay for school, he began helping out with food preparation and ultimately became head chef. Medina has enjoyed cooking since he was a young boy, and says his strength is putting together what ever ingredients are on hand to make something tasty.
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ACCOLADES
Anthropologist Publishes Book on Yosemite Indians
Kathleen Hull, assistant professor of anthropology, has a book due out in stores later this month. Pestilence and Persistence: Yosemite Indian Demography and Culture in Colonial California examines how the introduction of lethal infectious diseases affected Native American communities in colonial times.
Published by the University of California Press, the hardcover book suggests that disease alone was not enough to unravel the fabric of hunting and gathering societies. Instead, Yosemite Indians and other groups showed remarkable resilience in the face of disease, and it was other factors that often led to dire cultural consequences.
Fruitful Summer for Researchers
UC Merced’s researchers didn’t rest on their laurels this summer. A number of faculty members received grants to fund research projects. Among the award highlights from this past summer:
- School of Natural Sciences professor Ajay Gopinathan received a five-year $301,000 grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to examine biological transport in complex and dynamic environments.
- School of Engineering assistant professor Marcelo Kallmann and School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts associate professor Teenie Matlock received a $499,000 National Science Foundation grant for their project, “Small RUI: Parameterization and Collection of Demonstrative Gestures for Interactive Virtual Humans.”
Cognitive Scientist Teaches Summer Course at Berkeley’s Linguistic Institute
Teenie Matlock, associate professor of cognitive science and founding faculty member in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, spent her summer teaching at UC Berkeley. Matlock, who is also affiliate faculty at Berkeley’s Institute of Cognitive and Brain Studies, taught a course on experimental semantics at the 2009 Linguistic Institute. The course focused on techniques, methods and approaches in the emerging field of experimental cognitive linguistics.
Sponsored by the Linguistics Society of America and held at a different university each year, the institute offers specialized courses to graduate students and faculty from throughout the world. The society chooses its instructors based on the research impact they have made in the field of linguistics.
Matlock has published more than 50 works on language and cognition, and is the recipient of the 2008-09 UC Merced Academic Senate Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award. This academic year, she is teaching an introductory linguistics course and a seminar on metaphor and thought at UC Merced.
For information: http://lsa2009.berkeley.edu/.
PPD&C LEED Accomplishments
This past summer, six members of the Physical Planning, Design & Construction unit passed the LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) exam. The LEED AP credential, administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), is a measure of an individual’s understanding of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building rating system.
Associate Vice Chancellor Tom Lollini, Director of Construction Gary Knox, Director of Project Management Catherine Kniazewycz, Director of Operations Steven Murray, Account Analyst Rachel Hadley, and Associate Planner Suzane Kallmann all received their LEED AP credential in June. They join previously accredited LEED Coordinator Mark Maxwell, Senior Project Director Michael Chow and Project Director Min Jiang. At least two more members of the department plan to achieve accreditation in the coming year when GBCI rolls out its revised LEED AP program.
For information: Physical Planning, Design & Construction
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Research Experience Helps UC Merced Alums Land NIH Jobs
UC Merced graduates Haruka Swendsen and Matthew Kellom were selected for the National Institutes of Health's Postbaccalaureate Intramural Training Award. |
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Well before they graduated last spring with bachelor’s degrees from UC Merced, Haruka Swendsen and Matthew Kellom had a career plan.
The two knew they would apply to graduate school. But first, they wanted gain more research experience. Both worked successfully with UC Merced professors in their laboratories and gained valuable hands-on experience. Seeking additional research opportunities would prove even more beneficial.
The biological sciences graduates applied for the National Institutes of Health’s Postbaccalaureate Intramural Training Award (ITRA) program. Both were selected.
The ITRA provides opportunities for recent college graduates planning to attend graduate or medical school to spend up to two years engaged in biomedical research at the NIH. Trainees work directly with some of the world’s leading scientists in an environment devoted exclusively to biomedical research. According to the NIH, the IRTA program is highly competitive. Less than 10 percent of applicants were selected in the past year.