November 19, 1999

Richard Ponzio Receives "Early Career Achievement Award"
Richard Ponzio, 4-H Center/Youth Development director, was presented the Early Career Achievement Award by the national association of Cooperative Extensive Service specialists in the area of human development and family issues. The award recognizes work that promotes science literacy among youth. It was presented at the organization's annual meeting in Irvine. Ponzio helps youth and youth leaders learn how to do hands-on, informal, fun activities with children. In the process, the children learn about science. His programs specialize in promoting an inquiring attitude among youth. They learn to ask questions, collect evidence and be self-critical in asking the key question in all science: how do we know that? Ponzio's "Youth Experiences in Science" project, conducted through the California 4-H Program, reached over 10,000 youth in 32 counties. As part of the project, he trained 982 teenage volunteers to take science education projects into 270 after-school childcare programs. A lot of Ponzio's work is summarized in a book he co-edited titled "The Joy of Sciencing." Ponzio's work is way ahead of most educational practice, according to Dr. Dave Riley of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who served on the awards-selection panel. "You learn from Richard that science isn't just memorizing the right answer," he said. "It's figuring out how to find the answer for yourself."


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David Neale and Claire Kinlaw Receive $1 Million NSF Award
David Neale and Claire Kinlaw, Department of Environmental Horticulture affiliates, recently received a $1 million award from the National Science Foundation for pine genomics research. The award is from the NSF Plant Genome Research Project and is through a sub-contract from North Carolina State University. The title of the proposal is "Wood Formation in Loblolly Pine." Neale and Kinlaw will contribute towards development of an expressed sequence tagged (EST) database for genes expressed in wood forming tissues and will construct genetic maps and identify candidate genes for commercially important wood property traits. They are affiliated with the Institute of Forest Genetics, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service located at the Department of Environmental Horticulture.


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Liz Applegate and Linda Harris - Thanksgiving Experts
Good health and nutrition need not go out the window during the holidays, stresses nutritionist and author Liz Applegate of the Department of Nutrition. Many traditional holiday foods have health benefits, she notes. Pumpkin pie, for example, is loaded with carotenes known to help ward off heart disease and certain forms of cancer. Cranberry sauce also comes with a good dose of vitamin C and phytochemicals great for health. When it comes to the potato dishes, mashed potatoes should be served with their skin for extra fiber. Sweet potatoes, like pumpkins, are a great source of carotenes. Applegate is the author of the recently published book "Eat Your Way to a Healthy Heart" and a nutrition consultant to Olympic and professional athletes. If you're not careful, warns Cooperative Extension food scientist Linda Harris of the Department of Food Science & Technology, Thanksgiving can turn into a gathering of unwanted guests of the microbial sort. It is estimated that there are more than 76 million cases of food-borne illness each year in the U.S., and many of those cases are preventable, Harris says. Key prevention points at Thanksgiving and throughout the holidays include: (1) stuff the turkey only when you're ready to put it into the oven; (2) use a meat thermometer to make sure the stuffed turkey is heated to 165 degrees; and (3) refrigerate or freeze prepared foods or leftovers within two hours. To prevent the spread of harmful bacteria in the kitchen, wash hands, as well as utensils and cutting boards, before working with foods and when moving from one food item to the next.

Liz A. Applegate
Lecturer
Department of Nutrition
eaapplegate@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6682

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Mark Francis and Rob Thayer Bask in Glow of ASLA Award
Professors Mark Francis and Rob Thayer of the Landscape Architecture Program, Department of Environmental Design, were in the audience when Davis major Julie Partansky was presented the Centennial Medallion by the American Society of Landscape Architects for the recently completed project, Davis Central Park. The medallion is a once-in-a-century honor received by a select few of America's "places of the heart," landscapes that improve the quality of life in our nation. The presentation ceremony was held November 6, 1999, at Central Park in conjunction with the city's weekly farmer's market. The medallion award program is intended to build a better understanding of the landscape architecture profession by helping the public understand that these significant sites are planned and designed, not simply preserved stretches of nature. Central Park joins 362 historic landscape sites around the country - including the U.S. capitol grounds and New York's Central Park - in receiving this centennial honor. Francis and Thayer were partners in CoDesign, the firm that designed the park. Francis was chief designer.


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"Keep This Copy for Your Records" Exhibition
Fourteen graduate art students have works presented in the "Keep This Copy for Your Records" exhibition at the Memorial Union Art Gallery through December 17, 1999. The exhibition explores the ideas of the copy. Approximately 200 artworks generated from 14 MFA students are exhibited, illustrating a complex system of artists copying each other's work. The process began by pairing unlikely artists together. Each artist shows the other how to copy a selected piece. The copy process continues after the initial copy is made, with each artist then creating several versions of the initial copy. Then, almost like a virus mutating, the last replicate will be passed to the next artist who will copy the piece and pass it to the next artist. This continues until each artist has made a version of all the copies. The gallery is open to the public, free and wheelchair accessible. Monday through Friday hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A reception will be held Monday, November 22, 1999, from 5 to 8 p.m. Artists: Jose Arenas, Nelleke Beltjens, Loretta Bourque, George Bowes, Vonn Cummings-Sumner, William Edwards, Lauren Kline, Jeff Leake, Robin McCauley, Mike McFalls, Richard Martinez, Nola Romano, Douglas Slayton and Anya Ulinich.


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California Alfalfa Symposium
The 1999 California Alfalfa Symposium will be held Thursday, December 8 and 9, 1999, at the Fresno Radisson Hotel. According to Extension agronomist Daniel Putnam, Department of Agronomy & Range Science, the symposium is an indispensable source of information for producers of irrigated alfalfa in the Western United States. "In addition to an intensive educational program that covers the latest developments in alfalfa production, marketing, forage quality, pest control, harvest, equipment, irrigation and soil fertility, the symposium also includes a trade show and an opportunity to talk with growers, seed industry representatives, marketers and university scientists." The University of California Alfalfa Workgroup sponsors the symposium.

Nikki D. Picanco
Department of Agronomy and Range Science
ndpicanco@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-0700

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Development News: $250,000 Gift
Professor Kent Bradford of the Department of Vegetable Crops and director of the new UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center announces that a recent contribution in the amount of $250,000 brought a total commitment of $805,000 toward the $1.5 million Biotechnology Center campaign goal. The gift was received from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.

Kent J. Bradford
Professor
Department of Vegetable Crops
kjbradford@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-9098

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Kinsella Memorial Prize
The Kinsella Memorial Prize, established in honor of Professor John E. Kinsella, is presented annually by the college to one or more outstanding individuals who submit a Ph.D. dissertation during the spring, fall or winter quarter immediately preceding the due date for nomination. Nominations require a one-page abstract of the dissertation and a three-page letter addressing the quality and originality of the work, the multidisciplinary impact of the research and the importance of the research to the college's mission to serve agriculture, the environment and human health and development Deadline: March 10, 2000



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First-Year Experience Conference
First-Year Experience Conference-West will be held January 26-29, 2000, in San Francisco. It is co-hosted by UC Irvine, California Community College Chancellor's Office and the University of San Francisco. At the conference, participants from across the country share a common dedication to promoting student achievement and success in the first college year. Proposals for concurrent sessions, roundtable discussions and poster sessions are invited. Quality proposals are invited that sufficiently and seriously address issues related to the first college year.


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Slide Cards: Salmon and Introduced Species
Facts about salmon and introduced species are presented in an easy-to-understand manner on two new "slide guide" cards now available from the Water Education Foundation. "The Salmon Story" card includes information about the salmon life cycle and threats to salmon population. It explains the ongoing efforts to restore chinook salmon runs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta Estuary, outlines what salmon need for healthy reproduction and offers a list of restoration tips. "Unwelcome Visitors" includes a list of some of the introduced species found in the Bay-Delta and why they are unwelcome. It explains the difficulty of eradicating introduced species and promotes prevention of additional introduced species - including a list of what to do and not do. Copies of the 4-inch by 9-inch cards are available for $1 each.



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RFP: Idaho Alfalfa Seed Commission
The Idaho Alfalfa Seed Commission requests proposals in areas including, but not limited to: diseases, parasites and predators of pollinators of alfalfa seed; pollination management; biological control of pests in alfalfa seed production; cultural practices including irrigation management, fertilizer management and screenings disposal; plant populations (thinning practices); and weed management. Deadline: January 1, 2000


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RFP: Sugarbeet Research
The California Beet Growers Association is soliciting research proposals with a special emphasis on alternatives for some of the most commonly used herbicides and insecticides in sugarbeet production. Deadline: December 17, 1999


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RFP: Pistachio Research
Proposals for research on pistachio during 2000-2001 are solicited by the California Pistachio Commission. Deadline: December 13, 1999


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