May 11, 2001

Jo Ann Stabb Named to Scholars' Roundtable
The Costume Society of America announced at its annual national symposium in Providence, Rhode Island, that UC Davis lecturer Jo Ann Stabb, Department of Environmental Design, was named to its Scholars' Roundtable. Stabb was recognized for her pioneering work in design and published research on the American Wearable Art Movement. Scholars' Roundtable members are expected to stimulate interest in costume scholarship and help establish and exemplify high standards for reporting scholarly activity. Scholars previously recognized include Claudia Brush Kidwell, curator of costume at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and Valerie Steele of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.


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Paul Singh Elected IAFST Fellow
Professor Paul Singh, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Department of Food Science and Technology, was elected a fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology. He was honored in April at the 11th World Congress of Food Science and Technology in Seoul, Korea. Singh studies heat and mass transfer in foods during processing. Predictive models of the frying process have been developed that provide new insights on how heat transfers from oil into an immersed food. Separate studies involve measuring various properties of hamburger meat and rates of heat transfer when patties are cooked on a commercial grill. Predictive models of heat transfer are developed to improve industrial grill design and develop cooking processes that assure a safe product without overcooking. Singh also studies the toasting process widely used in manufacturing breakfast cereals. A predictive model examines moisture gradients, temperature profiles and consequent changes in textural properties of breakfast cereals.


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Andrew Walker and James Wolpert Appointed Endowed Chairs
Two faculty members from the college's Department of Viticulture and Enology were seated in endowed chairs this year - Andrew Walker, the Louis P. Martini Endowed Chair in Viticulture, and James Wolpert, the Marvin Sands Endowed Chair in Viticulture and Enology. Walker is an internationally known grape geneticist whose research involves the development of rootstocks and studying the genetic basis of resistance to soil-borne pests. Walker, who has been breeding grapes on the UC Davis campus since 1989, is working to breed new grape varieties with resistance to Pierce's disease. The Martini chair honors the memory of Louis Peter Martini, the pioneer winemaker who studied at UC Davis. Wolpert, who serves as department chair, is the only wine grape Cooperative Extension specialist in California. As chair, he has overseen development of a departmental strategic plan, the kick-off of a fund-raising campaign and creation of a board of visitors. The Sands chair honors the memory of Marvin Sands, founder of Canandaigua (now known as Constellation Brands) a beverage industry leader.


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CA&ES Faculty Speak at Sacramento Event
Five faculty members from the college spoke at the "Our Place in the World 4 - People, Place and Prosperity" Conference held this week at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento. Participants chose from 45 concurrent sessions. CA&ES speakers included: Martina McGloughlin, director, Biotechnology Program Desmond Jolly, director, UC Small Farm Center Alvin Sokolow, associate chair, Department of Human and Community Development Christine Bruhn, consumer food marketing specialist, Department of Food Science and Technology Patricia Harrison, program chair, Department of Environmental Design


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Barbara Shawcroft is Arboretum Speaker
Professor Barbara Shawcroft, Department of Environmental Design, spoke to Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum on Tuesday, May 8, 2001, at the University Club. The presentation was titled "Sculpture in the Garden/Art in the Park - From Salisbury Plain to Your Own Back Yard." Shawcroft and her students have worked with the UC Davis Arboretum for the past 15 years as part of her Design 125 course, Structures in the Landscape. Her research determines the links between the natural sciences and a visually expressive point of view. Her work is included in the recently published book "Whole Cloth." Shawcroft is compiling a book of her own photography and text, titled "Textiles in the Landscape.


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CA&ES Faculty Address DANR Conference
CA&ES faculty participated in DANR's statewide conference in Riverside titled "Odyssey 2001." The conference was organized to give ANR academics an opportunity to meet new colleagues, renew friendships, discuss their work and obtain and present new information on some of the 'hot topics' in agricultural, natural and human resource areas. CA&ES participants included: Mark Schwartz, associate professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy David Burger, professor and chair, Department of Environmental Horticulture Gregory McPherson, project leader, Western Center for Urban Forestry Research and Education Carl Keen, professor and chair, Department of Nutrition Kent Bradford, professor, Department of Vegetable Crops Robert Hutmacher, associate specialist, Department of Agronomy and Range Science Abhaya Dandekar, professor, Department of Pomology Andrew Walker, professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology


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County Advisors' Spring Meeting
Associate dean Tu Jarvis, Division of Human Sciences, presented opening remarks at the County Advisors' Spring Meeting held Thursday, May 10, 2001, on the UC Davis campus. The purpose of the meeting was to heighten the awareness and interaction of CE county advisors with college faculty in the Division of Human Sciences. In addition to Jarvis, speakers from the college included: Kathi Sylva, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Design 
Dale Heien, professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics 
Sharon Shoemaker, director, California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research 
Alyson Mitchell, assistant professor, Department of Nutrition 
Pat Harrison, professor and program chair, Department of Environmental Design 
James Grieshop, CE specialist, Department of Human and Community Development 
Jennifer Ruhe, network administrator, Department of Nutrition 
Victoria Rivers, professor, Department of Environmental Design 
Carolyn Aldwin, professor, Department of Human and Community Development
Beth Ober, professor and chair, Department of Human and Community Development 
Gang Sun, assistant professor, Division of Textiles and Clothing 
Luis Guarnizo, assistant professor, Department of Human and Community Development 
Michael Smith, professor, Department of Human and Community Development
Xiaojia Ge, associate professor, Department of Human and Community Development 
Larry Harper, professor, Department of Human and Community Development 
Susan Kaiser, professor and chair, Division of Textiles and Clothing 
Peg Rucker, professor, Division of Textiles and Clothing 
Neal Van Alfen, dean


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Carol Cooper Wins Outstanding Adviser Award
The Academic Peer Advising Program named Carol Cooper, Department of Food Science and Technology, the 2001 Outstanding Faculty and Staff Adviser. Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef presented the award to one faculty adviser and one staff adviser at a special ceremony and reception held Wednesday, May 9, 2001, at the International House. This is the first year that the award has been presented to a staff member. Cooper, who received her BS in microbiology at UC Davis in 1966, began her career on campus in 1968. She joined the Department of Food Science and Technology as department librarian in 1975 and became undergraduate advisor in the early 1990s. Cooper received the CA&ES Walker Advising Award in 1997. "Carol is an excellent ambassador for the department and the campus," said Teri Wolcott, management services officer for the department. "She works tirelessly to support student activities - building floats for Picnic Day, providing practice questions for our College Bowl team, providing advice and encouragement for students on our Product Development Team, which competes nationally, and maintaining contact with our alums. After they graduate, they still call Carol if they are looking for interns or a career employee or for advice about their own personal careers. She is the ultimate professional and a fantastic advocate for our students, our department and our campus!"


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Amy Strayer Named Woman of the Spring Quarter
Academic counselor Amy Strayer of the CA&ES Dean's Office was named 'Woman of the Spring Quarter" by the UC Davis Women's Resources and Research Center. She was recognized for her devotion to students and their development and success. The award is presented quarterly. Strayer was recognized at a reception on Thursday, May 10, 2001, in Hart Hall. Strayer attended UC Davis in the 1970s; however, before graduating, she dropped out, went to work and started a family. She later returned to UC Davis to work at Student Special Services and study psychology. She graduated in 1991 and began work on a master's degree in counseling at California State University, Sacramento, graduating in 1997. In 1994, she joined the CA&ES Dean's Office as a counselor. Strayer is adviser to the Prytanean Women's Honor Society, a student organization composed of high-achieving students interested in campus and community service. She also has led student retreats, taught Staff Development classes and facilitated diversity discussions. "I particularly enjoy working with re-entry students who must balance outside responsibilities with academic studies," she said. "I identify with them most of all. I feel honored to be recognized for my contribution to women on campus."


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Memorial Grove to Honor Researchers
Randal Southard, associate dean, Division of Environmental Sciences, announced that plans are underway to plant a memorial grove on campus to commemorate the lives of two UC Davis researchers and three Japanese colleagues who died in the Sea of Cortez a year ago. A grove of trees and a memorial plaque will be dedicated in a public ceremony. In March 2000, Gary Polis, professor and chair of the college's Department of Environmental Science and Policy, and postgraduate researcher Michael Rose perished in a boating accident. Three scientists from the Center for Ecological Research at Kyoto University in Japan also perished: animal ecology professor Takuya Abe, mathematical ecology professor Masahiko Higashi and associate professor of aquatic ecology Shigeru Nakano. Three postgraduate researchers continue Polis' studies on the islands off Baja California: Francisco "Paco" Sanchez-Pinero, Paul Stapp and Gary Huxel. Huxel and three UC Davis students survived the accident.

Information is availableonline


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CA&ES Annual Spring Meeting
The annual spring meeting of CA&ES Academic Senate and Academic Federations members will be held Monday, June 4, 2001, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the University Club Lounge. Refreshments will be served. Members are encouraged to attend.



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"Who's Who?"
Professor Dolph Gotelli, Department of Environmental Design, announced that his Design 156C class, Visual Presentation: Installation and Design, will present an installation titled "Who's Who: A Matching Game of Fictional Characters" in the Design Gallery, May 21-25, 2001. Visitors will be provided a list of fictional characters from literature and - by viewing the installations - will determine which celebrities are represented. Gallery hours are 12 noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Rhonda R. O'Brien
Program Representative
Department of Environmental Design
rrobrien@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6223

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Air Shuttle Takes Off
Include the Air Shuttle in your research and outreach travel plans to the San Joaquin and Salinas Valleys during 2001. The season's Air Shuttle Service, which concludes October 26, 2001, departs from University Airport and serves the San Joaquin Valley Tuesday through Friday throughout the season, except holidays. Service expands to the Salinas Valley on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Air Shuttle is available to all university employees or affiliated personnel on official university business. The fare for subsidized passengers (i.e., CA&ES, Vet Med and DANR personnel) is $.32/passenger road mile; the non-subsidized passenger rate is $1.03/passenger road mile. Payment is by recharge only. The service provider for this season is Woodland Aviation. Reservation: Woodland Aviation, (530) 662-9631 or (800) 442-1333. Call at least one full day prior to the flight date.


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Arboretum Terrace Opens
Stop by Arboretum Terrace, the UC Davis Arboretum's new home demonstration garden for the Central Valley. It is located next to Border's Books at the Davis Commons retail center in downtown Davis. It just opened to the public on Picnic Day.


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Arboretum Activities
Wednesday, May 23, 2001 Ruth Bancroft Garden/Gardens at Heather Farms 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $30 members/$40 non-members Travel to Walnut Creek to visit two great gardens. Fee includes transportation, admission, tours. Bring along a bag lunch. Saturday, June 2, 2001 A Day of Lavender 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. $45 members/$55 non-members Learn about different types of lavender and how to grow and care for them. Limit: 20 people. Bring a bag lunch. Friday, June 8, 2001 Lake Tahoe: A 21st-Century Challenge 6:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. $40 members/$50 non-members Tour the UC Davis Tahoe Research Laboratory and learn about their research. Afterwards, we'll take a ride on the John LeConte research vessel to observe methods used to measure water quality and environmental changes. Limited space. Fee covers tours, transportation and snacks. Bring a bag lunch.

Arboretum website


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DiMI Funding Opportunity
The Digital Media Innovation Program (DiMI) is soliciting proposals for innovative projects in digital media. DiMI supports both core technology research and innovative content development that advances novel digital media applications. Core research areas in digital media include detection, storage, retrieval, interface and presentation of media data; signal manipulation/transformation: analysis, synthesis, encoding, compression; and hardware, operating system and language support for media data. Researchers from a variety of non-engineering disciplines may partner with UC engineers or directly with companies to solve new challenges in application of digital media technologies. These academic disciplines are varied (a portion of the list: education, physical sciences, agriculture, life science, architecture, social science and environmental science). The Web site provides detailed information on the program, including short abstracts of funded proposals. If you plan to submit a proposal, register as a principal investigator on the DiMI Web site.

DiMI website


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RFP: Fund for Rural America Grants Solicitation
The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) of USDA is seeking proposals for the Fund for Rural America to support competitively awarded research, extension and education grants addressing key issues that contribute to economic diversification and sustainable development in rural areas. This solicitation appeared in the Federal Register (66 FR 20355, April 20, 2001).

Phillip Schwab
US Department of Agriculture
pschwab@reeusda.gov
(202) 720-4423

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Lower Back Disorders
Lower back disorders affect 47 percent of all workers with physically demanding jobs. Research underway at the UC Agricultural Health and Safety Center focuses on improving safety and productivity in the workplace by applying occupational biomechanics to understand musculoskeletal disorders.

Fadi Fathallah
Assistant Professor
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
fathallah@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-1612

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Cost Study for Rice Growers
A recently revised cost-of-production study for rice growers in the Sacramento Valley is based on a hypothetical farm using common practices. "Sample Costs to Produce Rice" reflects the realities of escalating energy costs. Input and reviews were provided by UC farm advisors and researchers, growers, farm accountants, private pest control advisers, consultants and agricultural associates.

Karen Klonsky
Cooperative Extension Specialist
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
klonsky@primal.ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-3563

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Longer Life, Longer Relationships
Life expectancy for Americans is now 76, compared to 46 just 100 years ago. The lengthening of life spans means that many more multigenerational families exist than in previous centuries. According to a human development researcher, parent-child relationships can go on for 70 years, which has many implications

Carolyn M. Aldwin
Professor
Department of Human and Community Development
cmaldwin@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-2415

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Health Factors of Young Children
A CA&ES nutritionist specializing in the health of mothers and children is part of a global research team working to develop better growth charts to monitor the health and development of young children. She is directing the only U.S. research site for a worldwide research project, collecting data on the growth of some 700 children in the Davis area. The data will be used to revise World Health Organization growth charts.



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Davis Declaration
A proposal titled the "Davis Declaration" calls for international treaty organizations and the science agencies of developed nations to invest in developing nations to prevent the export of invasive species.

A copy of the proposal is availableonline

James F. Quinn
Professor
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
jfquinn@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-8027

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The Learning Skills of Toddlers
A study of children ages 18 to 35 months found that toddlers are active learners and problem solvers. When teaching a toddler how to perform a task (such as how to operate a new toy), parents can enhance the toddler's learning by modeling the task and - at the same time - explaining what is being done, verbally reinforcing the action.

Zhe Chen
Assistant Professor
Department of Human and Community Development
zhechen@ucdavis.edu
(530) 754-6750

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IPM for Nurseries
Flower and nursery crop growers have a new, 422-page UC reference manual titled "Integrated Pest Management for Floriculture and Nurseries," ANR Publication 3402. The book shows producers how to recognize and prevent damage to bulbs, cut flowers, potted flowering plants, foliage plants, bedding plants and ornamental trees and shrubs - the IPM way.

View the publicationonline


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