UCRAA December 2002 E-Letter

UCR Alumni Association
Electronic Newsletter
December 2002


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In this issue:
The Press Room
Leadership Opportunity: UCR Alumni Association Board of Directors
Scholarship Volunteers Needed
New Interactive Alumni Map
New Member Benefit At the ASUCR Exchange Store
Holiday Office and Campus Hours
Did You Know?

The Press Room
UC Riverside Entomologists Report Bee-Dancing Brings More Food to Honeybee Colonies
Honeybees communicate by dancing. The dances tell worker bees where to find nectar. A UC Riverside study reports that under natural foraging conditions the communication of distance and direction in the dance language can increase the food collection of honeybee colonies. The study also confirms that bees use this directional information in locating the food sources advertised in the dance. Based on work done in 2001 in the Agricultural Experiment Station at UC Riverside, P. Kirk Visscher, professor of entomology, and Gavin Sherman, former graduate student in the department of entomology, report their findings in a paper entitled "Honeybee colonies achieve fitness through dancing" in the journal Nature.

UC Riverside Students May Soon Be Able to Major in the "Digital Arts"

The 'digital posse' near the UC Riveside Arts building. From left to right: Timothy Labor, James Tobias, Renee Coulombe, Derek Burrill, and Amir Zaki. This is a print-quality image that can be downloaded and used, credited to UC Riverside.

Computer gaming, animated films, media music and digitized dance are touchstones of popular culture. They are also the newest wave in academic disciplines at research universities such as the University of California, Riverside. The campus has hired five faculty members - informally dubbed "the digital posse." Together, they will work with computer engineering faculty to develop new undergraduate and graduate programs in the digital arts. The first students may be enrolled by Fall, 2004.

New Center for Nanoscale Innovation Transfers Knowledge From Universities to Industry
Robert C. Haddon, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical & Environmental Engineering, is leading the Center for Nanoscience Innovation for Defense (CNID) effort at UCR. The CNID has been created to facilitate the rapid transition of research innovation in the nanosciences into applications for the defense sector. U.S. government allocations of $13.5 million are being shared equally by three University of California institutions: Santa Barbara (UCSB), Los Angeles (UCLA), and Riverside (UCR), and a second increment is anticipated that will ultimately bring total funding to more than $20 million over three years. CNID is sponsored by two federal agencies: the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and Defense MicroElectronics Activity (DMEA).

UC Riverside Director Wins National "Scholar Award"

Richard Chabran, who was appointed at UC Riverside to narrow “the digital divide” between those with computer access and those without, has earned a 2003 “Scholar Award” by The National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies. Chabran is the director of Communities for Virtual Research at UC Riverside, and founder of the Chicano Periodical Index, now the Chicano Database. He also contributed to the development of the Chicano Studies libraries at UC Berkeley and UCLA. Among his applied research projects is the Community Digital Initiative (CDI), a computer lab in Riverside available to young people who otherwise would have limited access to a computer.

UC Riverside's Professor Robert Graham elected Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America

Robert Graham, professor of soil mineralogy in the department of environmental sciences at UC Riverside, received the honor of being elected Fellow of the Soil Science Society at the national meeting of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) this month in Indianapolis, Indiana. Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on SSSA members. Fellows are active Society members who have been nominated because of their superior achievement in research; education; public service; personal achievement, recognition, and service; and a minimum of 10 years of Society membership.

Leadership Opportunity: UCR Alumni Association Board of Directors
The UCR Alumni Association (UCRAA) is now accepting nominations and applications for its Board of Directors. Through its various services and programs, such as legislative advocacy, student recruitment, scholarship selection, and regional events, the Board of Directors represents UCR alumni and assists the University in its quest for excellence. Directors enjoy a prestigious and responsible position within the University community and actively contribute to UCR's growth. Alumni interested in serving on the Board or submitting a nomination may contact the Alumni Association. All applications and nominations must be received by January 23.

Scholarship Volunteers Needed
The UCR Alumni Association continues to provide merit and financial need-based scholarships to UCR students through its comprehensive scholarship program. Over $831,000 has been distributed to high-achieving students since this program began in 1976. The Scholarship Program is one of the Association's proudest traditions. With the help of UCR alumni, twelve regional selection committees are organized throughout the state of California to interview potential scholarship recipients. The time commitment is minimal. The committees meet a few times in February to score essays and conduct interviews. If you are interested in serving on a regional scholarship committee, contact David Chang '00.

New Interactive Alumni Map

Ever wondered how many UCR alumni live near you? Although UCR has more than 50,000 alumni scattered around the globe, most live in the United States and UCR graduates can be found in every state. Click here to see the distribution of “Highlanders from Coast to Coast.” Click on any state to see a break down of alumni by county.

New Member Benefit at the ASUCR Exchange Store
While all alumni can enjoy shopping in the Associated Students of UCR Exchange store, effective immediately, UCRAA members are now entitled to 10% off everything in the store with the exception of discounted tickets and photo processing (sorry, the profit margins are too narrow to offer any discount on these items). The ASUCR Exchange store has some UCR gear available and they are expecting more new items at the beginning of the next quarter. They also have Greek items, greeting cards, balloons, gifts and much more. UCRAA members need to present their current membership card at the time of purchase to receive the discount. For location, hours and other information about the ASUCR Exchange store visit their Web site or call (909) 787-2689.

UCRAA and UCR Campus Holiday Office Hours
The UCR campus will be closed for the holidays from December 25, 2002 through January 1, 2003.

Did You Know?
On a bookshelf just outside his UC Riverside office, Dr. Peter Atkinson displays a blown-up photograph of a mosquito. Atkinson has created a unique mosquito. This one glows like a green fluorescent Christmas light. Atkinson created the unique insect by inserting a jellyfish gene that makes a mosquito glow green when exposed to ultraviolet light. His research is studying to see how scientists might some day manipulate genes to create disease-free mosquitoes.

Historical trivia: In 1966 a story in the Los Angeles Times mentions a report from the American Council on Education ranking UCR 14th in the country in percentage of graduating seniors winning major national fellowships. The ranking placed UCR ahead of all other UC campuses and also Yale, Harvard and Princeton.