UC Merced Magazine Fall 2013

THEMATTER OF

INSIDE:

What you need to know aboutCLIMATE CHANGE

Having Coffee withPROFESSOR MICHAEL SPIVEY

SIERRA VIEWS – a look at UC Mercedresearch in the mountains

DRONES

THE MAGAZINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED

Fall 2013

14

FEATURES

Leadership Perspectives

with Chancellor Dorothy Leland

Donor Spotlight

The Wallace family is leaving a

lasting legacy on our campus

The Matter of Drones

Go inside the MESA Lab

as researchers take drone

technology into the

private sector

California and Climate Change

How our state and our campus

are searching for answers

Sierra Views

UC Merced research in

the Sierra Nevada

Our World

A peek into UC Merced research

that has gone global

ON THE COVER:

Student Brendan Smith is one

of the MESA Lab researchers

working on unmanned aerial

vehicles, or drones.

DEPARTMENTS

3 FAST FACTS

Admissions data

8 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A recap of our latest news stories

and videos

10 SHELF LIFE

A listing of recent faculty

publications

12 HAVING COFFEE

with cognitive science Professor

Michael Spivey

17 FACULTY FINDINGS

See the top five research grants

from each of our schools

26 ALUMNI CORNER

Catch up with what UC Merced

alumni have been up to as

entrepreneurs

27 SPORTS UPDATE

Several new teams are hitting

the courts and fields this year

28 WHAT’S NEW

A glimpse of how our campus

is growing

CONTENTS

6

18

4

22

24

THE MAGAZINE OF THEUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED

Fall 2013

1 FALL 2013 | UC MERCED MAGAZINE

UCMERCED MAGAZINEFall 2013

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Lorena AndersonSenior Public Information RepresentativeUniversity Communications

PHOTOGRAPHY

Elena ZhukovaVeronica Adrover

ILLUSTRATION

Gail Benedict

PUBLISHED BY

University Communications

UCMERCED LEADERSHIP

Dorothy LelandUC Merced Chancellor

Thomas PetersonProvost and Executive Vice Chancellor

Kyle HoffmanVice ChancellorDevelopment and Alumni Relations

Patti WaidAssistant Vice ChancellorUniversity Communications

Cori LuceroExecutive DirectorGovernmental and Community Relations

n thinking about how best to serve you, we

decided each issue’s two main stories – this

time on climate change and unmanned

aerial vehicles, or drones – will be written

by professional journalists, who offer a fresh

perspective and an objective eye that will give

you a well-rounded look at big topics.

But our staff has been working hard, too,

bringing you up-close looks at campus research

with international reach; a donor spotlight

highlighting the Wallace family, longtime campus

benefactors; a peek at what’s going on at our

research stations in the Sierra Nevada; a coffee

chat with Professor Michael Spivey, who recently

returned from an important cognitive-science

convention in Germany; gorgeous pictures of

our growing campus; and much, much more.

UC Merced Magazine will be distributed each

fall and spring, and we hope you look forward

to getting your next copy. In the meantime, please

explore these highlights of what UC Merced has to

offer, and anytime you want to know more, visit

us on the web at ucmerced.edu or in person!

We welcome your feedback on this issue.

Please email the editor at ucmercedmagazine@

ucmerced.edu.

UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Letter from University CommunicationsWelcome to the first issue of UC Merced Magazine!

We’re so proud of developments and achievements at our campus.

We thought this would be a good way to share our news with you.

FALL 2013 | UC MERCED MAGAZINE 2

I


After evaluating a record application pool of

more than 18,000, UC Merced enrolled 1,757

new undergraduate students for the 2013 fall

semester — reflecting immense demand for

a UC Merced education.

Students continue to come from a wide variety

of backgrounds and regions. About 37 percent

of all undergraduate students are from the

Central Valley, 34 percent from the greater Los

Angeles area and 27 percent from the Central

Coast and San Francisco Bay Area.

UC Merced leads the UC system in the percent-

age of students from underrepresented ethnic

groups, low-income families and families whose

parents did not attend college.

5,837UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

358GRADUATE STUDENTS

TOTAL STUDENTS BY CLASS LEVELTotal enrollment is 6,195 students

this fall, up from 5,760 a year ago. 6,195

FASTFA

CTS

Engineering 1,169

Natural Sciences 1,851

Social Sciences, Humanities 2,061and Arts

Undeclared 756

TOTAL 5,837

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS BY SCHOOL

ETHNICITY NUMBER

African-American 6.3%

Asian/Pacific Islander 26%

Hispanic 43.9%

Native American < 1%

White 15.2%

Nonresident Alien 2.9%

Two or More Races 4.1%

Unknown/Declined to State 1.3%

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS BY ETHNICITY

ETHNICITY NUMBER

African-American 2%

Asian/Pacific Islander 10.1%

Hispanic 13.1%

Native American < 1%

White 38.5%

Nonresident Alien 28.8%

Two or More Races 3.6%

Unknown/Declined to State 3.1%

GRADUATE STUDENTS BY ETHNICITY

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS BY GENDER

GENDER NUMBER

Female 3,004

Male 2,797

Unknown 36

TOTAL 5,837

GRADUATE STUDENTS BY GENDER

GENDER NUMBER

Female 149

Male 208

Unknown 1

TOTAL 358

UC Merced is well into its ninth year as the newest campus in the UC system and the first ever in the San Joaquin Valley. Many people

said it couldn’t be done in a Valley setting – and certainly the state’s prolonged economic struggles haven’t helped. Yet here you are, a

thriving research university with more than 6,000 students and a beautiful campus widely recognized as one of the greenest in the

country. How have you managed to get to this point in the face of such difficult circumstances?

There are dozens of factors and thousands of people whose efforts have turned the impossible into the inevitable, but it really

comes down to three things — the worthiness of the mission, the commitment of strong-willed people and the

support of the community.

Bringing UC-caliber research and educational opportunity to the Valley simply makes sense. California cannot return to pros-

perity if much of its population is left behind. A rising San Joaquin Valley is vital to the state’s long-term health. Strong research

programs addressing the Valley’s most pressing issues, coupled with a better-educated workforce and education are the necessary

catalysts. Our mission here is exactly right for the times, and that has created a strong foundation for success.

Dedicated, deeply committed people have also been essential. Faculty and staff members who work here understand the

importance of our mission and feel compelled to be part of it. We simply could not have made it without their steely resolve

and problem-solving skills.

Finally, the support we’ve derived from the community that welcomed us here means everything. This community fought for

us long before the campus had a name or a location. The relationship offers extraordinary two-way benefits and will only get

stronger as the campus grows.

Student applications to UC Merced last fall grew at nearly double the rate for the UC system as a whole, with strong demand from all

over the state. What does UC Merced offer that makes it an increasingly attractive choice to today’s aspiring young scholars?

UC Merced represents excellence in the great UC tradition, but in a different kind of environment that students help define and

lead. Our small size provides opportunities for contribution and personal growth that simply don’t exist on larger campuses.

The diversity and widely varied backgrounds of our student body are also strong attractions. Students from all over California

see in us a reflection of themselves and the future of our state. They feel welcome here, and they quickly come to realize they can

pursue their dreams as freely and openly as they wish.

Each issue, we will feature a Q&A with campus leaders

to give our readers extra insight into the operations

of UC Merced, leadership’s plans and the future of the

campus. This time, Chancellor Dorothy Leland talks

about what it has taken for the campus to reach this

point, the 2020 Project, enrollment and more.


ChanCellor

perspectivesleadership

Dorothy lelanD

Q

Q

A

A

with


The downside of strong demand is the inability to add physical capacity fast enough to keep

pace. The “2020 Project” was your creative response to this dilemma. Where does this initia-

tive stand today?

Modifications to our Long-Range Development Plan were approved by the UC Board

of Regents in May. The changes allow us to add capacity on campus more rapidly and

cost-effectively than initially planned. We’ll build new facilities in clusters, rather than

individually, and on a smaller footprint, which will eliminate many of the infrastructure

costs inherent in our earlier plans. In addition, we’ll move many of our administrative

staff to off-campus office buildings, which will free up additional space on campus for

academic priorities. Together, these steps should allow us to keep growth on track.

UC Merced’s faculty has attracted more than $131 million in research grants and awards

since the campus began operations. Why is the university’s research mission so important to

the campus and the people of California?

Research prowess is a hallmark of the University of California. Entire industries have

been created or transformed as a result of technical innovations, scientific discoveries

and other breakthroughs emerging from UC laboratories. Countless lives have been

saved or dramatically improved as a result of research conducted in UC medical facil-

ities. The acquisition and application of new knowledge may be the UC system’s most

enduring contribution to California and society as a whole. UC Merced was created in

that mold. We’re extremely proud of the work we’re doing on climate change, air and

water quality, health disparities and so much more that’s critically important to the

Valley, the state and the world.

Two-and-a-half years into your tenure as chancellor, what stands out as the toughest

challenge the campus faces in its quest to become the world’s next great research university?

Building a major research university in a resource-constrained environment is our most

difficult challenge. Despite recent improvements in the state’s economic picture, we sim-

ply can’t count on state funds to provide the facilities we need for student growth and

high-end research. We all have high hopes for UC Merced and know what it can become,

but we’ve had to find creative new avenues to take us there.

What can employees, alumni, friends and supporters do to help UC Merced achieve its goals?

Continue to believe in our mission and provide whatever support they can, in whatever

form they can. We’ve come a long way in just a few years, thanks to the dedication and

commitment of people inside and outside the university. We will need their continued

help to navigate the road ahead. That’s all we can ask.

Q

Q

Q

Q

A

A

A

A

“

”

We’re extremely proud

of the work we’re doing

on climate change, air

and water quality, health

disparities and so much

more that’s critically

important to the Valley,

the state and the world.

CHANCELLOR DOROTHY LELAND

fter graduating with bachelor’s

degrees in business admin-

istration and transportation

from Golden Gate University in San

Francisco, Joel Wallace returned to

Merced and took over the family business

— Wallace Transport Corp. — expanding

it to a statewide operation. He later cre-

ated several other commercial trucking

and property management companies

and became known as a leader in the

transportation industry. He was chosen

to serve on the boards of several trucking

and commercial agriculture associations.

As president and CEO of Red Rock

Properties, a land and commercial build-

ings investment firm, Elizabeth Wallace

used her strong entrepreneurial skills to

spearhead the development of Red Rock

Winery. No task was too small, and she

did everything from marketing to payroll

before the opportunity to sell the winery

to a major conglomerate presented itself.

While the Wallaces have donated to

historic preservation and the arts locally,

their passion is education.

“Education is the most important

thing you can give to your children,”

said Elizabeth Wallace, who was born in

China and schooled primarily in Brazil.

“Education can change the world.”

While providing a solid education for

their two children, Lillian and Nicholas,

was their top priority, they were drawn

to helping other students achieve their

higher-education goals, too.

Long before UC Merced became a real-

ity, the couple had a hand in its future.

As a member of the University Com-

mittee, Elizabeth Wallace passionately

advocated for the 10th UC campus to be

built in Merced. She believed in the cam-

pus and its mission long before the plans

were drawn up, the first pad of concrete

was poured and students arrived.

Similar to their diverse business

ventures, the couple saw the potential in

the pioneering campus and helped build

something great in the town Joel Wallace

has called home all his life.

The Wallaces’ commitment to future

educational excellence is reflected in their

multifaceted philanthropy to the young

campus.

In 2005, they made their first major

donation, and the campus’s dining facil-

ity was named to honor their support.

The Yablokoff-Wallace Dining Center has

become a campus icon, building a sense

of community where students, facul-

ty, staff and community members can

connect while sharing meals together. As

one of the social hubs of the most diverse

UC campus, the dining center provides a

meeting ground for people from across

the globe.

The couple’s generosity in 2008 es-

tablished the Joel and Elizabeth Wallace

Terrace and Elizabeth’s Garden. The

landscaped terrace features a culinary

herb garden with the dual purpose of

educating students while providing

dining center chefs with organic ingredi-

ents such as rosemary, basil and thyme.

Naming of the terrace and garden further

reflects the couple’s deep commitment

to education and providing a positive

student experience.

Earlier this year, the Wallaces leveraged

the benefits of a planned gift of real estate

to UC Merced. The proceeds of the sale

of property will help students while also

affecting the greater community.

A portion of the funds will be used

to build on the Class of 2009’s gift to

Donor Spotlight

Passion for Education Inspires Giving

JOEL AND ELIZABETH WALLACE are no strangers to building something from the ground up.

A


BY BRENDA ORTIZ | University Communications


construct an amphitheater on campus.

The graduating seniors sold bricks that

are now installed in the sidewalk by the

amphitheater. The Wallaces initially

supported the class’s gift by purchasing

granite slabs in honor of their children.

“It is a great pleasure to be part of this

vibrant campus’s continued growth, and

we are so happy to bring the dream of the

Class of 2009 to reality with the creation

of a campus amphitheater,” Elizabeth

Wallace said.

The revamped area will provide a

much-needed venue for outdoor events,

including concerts or movies for up to

2,000 people. A sign reading “The Wal-

lace-Dutra Amphitheater Celebrating the

Class of 2009’s Vision,” named after their

grandchildren, will be installed at the site.

In addition to fostering community

on campus, the Wallaces’ support will

help expand partnerships between UC

Merced researchers and Mercy Medical

Center Merced. The Yablokoff-Wallace

Health Science Research Endowment

will support collaborative research that

targets health issues plaguing the San

Joaquin Valley.

Through this endowment, UC Merced

will initiate one to two research projects

with hospital staff every year, aimed

at improving health in Merced and its

surrounding communities.

The Wallaces remain visionaries who

are committed to building a sense of

community on the UC Merced campus

and beyond.

“As one of Merced’s leading philan-

thropic couples, it is fitting tribute that

the Wallace and Yablokoff family names

will be etched into the campus for gen-

erations to come,” said Vice Chancellor

for Development and Alumni Relations

Kyle Hoffman. “Donors like the Wallaces

ensure that UC Merced will carry out its

mission and make this campus and our

local community a better place.”

Their family legacy is rooted in the

campus’s landscape forever.

“I travelled across oceans and never

really had a permanent home until Mer-

ced,” Elizabeth Wallace said. “This is also

home. We live close to the campus and

can see it and hear it as it develops into

something extraordinary.”

THE AMPHITHEATER | Class of 2009 Campus Gift

“

“

”

”

AS ONE OF MERCED’S LEADING

PHILANTHROPIC COUPLES, IT IS

FITTING TRIBUTE THAT THE

WALLACE AND YABLOKOFF FAMILY

NAMES WILL BE ETCHED INTO THE

CAMPUS FOR GENERATIONS TO

COME. DONORS LIKE THE

WALLACES ENSURE THAT

UC MERCED WILL CARRY OUT

ITS MISSION AND MAKE THIS

CAMPUS AND OUR LOCAL

COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE.

KYLE HOFFMAN

Vice Chancellordevelopment and alumni relations

IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE TO BE PART OF

THIS VIBRANT CAMPUS’S CONTINUED

GROWTH, AND WE ARE SO HAPPY TO

BRING THE DREAM OF THE CLASS OF 2009

TO REALITY WITH THE CREATION OF A

CAMPUS AMPHITHEATER.

ELIZABETH WALLACE

in CaSe yoU MiSSeD it

New Blum Center at UC Merced to Focus on Valley Prosperity

Thanks to a $400,000, two-year

seed grant from the Universi-

ty of California Office of the

President, UC Merced is forging

the newest branch of the Blum

Center for Developing Econ-

omies, focusing on “Global

California: The World at Home.”

The initiative is affiliated with

the Blum Center at UC Berkeley,

which was founded by a gift

from investment banker and UC Regent Richard C. Blum.

Many of the developing world’s challenges can be seen

right here in the San Joaquin Valley, and researchers will

work on three main goals:

y Community-inspired innovation – examining ways to engage communities and the region in their own long-term success;

y Sustainable solutions – taking environmentally, economically and socially sound approaches to growing prosperity;

y The analytics of prosperity – using scientific measures to ensure that our activities actually improve quality of life.

UC Merced Professor’s Research Helping People Get Well

Professor Miriam Barlow is

using her many years of research

on antibiotic resistance to help

people get well. She started

Project Protect, a Facebook and

Twitter campaign that allows

her to funnel information about

the latest news on antibiotic re-

search to the public, and allows

the public to directly ask her

questions.

Bacteria are evolving antibiotic resistance so quickly – and

pharmaceutical companies are not inventing new antibiotics –

soon, none will be effective.

Barlow helped one woman avoid foot amputation, and has

helped many others recover from infections faster. Project

Protect participants also better understand about taking an-

tibiotics, which are over-prescribed or given for illnesses they

cannot cure; and antibiotics can actually make people sick by

killing all the bacteria in our intestines – including the ones

that fight illness – and allowing other bacteria to invade.


UC President Tours UC Merced, First Campus Visit

University of California President Janet Napolitano toured

UC Merced this fall, her first visit to a campus upon being

named the system’s leader.

“I came here first because this campus is really important

— not only for the UC system as a whole but for the Valley

and for the state,” Napolitano said. “We want to do every-

thing we can to make sure it not only succeeds but thrives

moving forward.”

Napolitano met with various people including faculty

and students, toured labs, classrooms, the library and other

campus buildings and facilities.

VIDEO ALERT: Burning Biomass for Energy. An Impact video, created for KVIE public television, shows researchers at

UC Merced working to increase efficiency and reduce emissions from the burning of biomass for energy.

Check it out at bit.ly/1cnGk14.

PRESIDENT NAPOLITANO

HUDDLES WITH THE UC MERCED

WOMEN’S BASkETBALL TEAM.

in CaSe yoU MiSSeD it

Six more students with close ties to the San Joaquin Valley

are on track to becoming physicians as part of the UC Merced

San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (PRIME).

The group, which began medical studies recently in

Sacramento and represents the third cohort in the program,

includes:

y Andrew Davoodian, who grew up in Turlock and is a UC Berkeley graduate;

y Muninder Dhaliwal, who was born and raised in Turlock and is a CSU Stanislaus graduate;

y Fernando Rios, who was raised in Winton, and is a Columbia University graduate;

y Miguel Ruvalcaba, who was raised in Fresno and is a UC Merced graduate;

y Joseph Trujillo, of Merced, who attended Merced College and graduated from UC Davis; and

y Luisa Fernanda Valenzuela-Riveros, who went to high school in Merced, attended Merced College and graduated from UC Davis.

UC Merced San Joaquin Valley-PRIME combines the

strengths and resources of UC Davis School of Medicine,

UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program and UC Merced to

train physicians interested in practicing in the San Joaquin

Valley. The program represents a cost-effective and expedient

way to ramp up medical expertise in the San Joaquin Valley

by integrating it with health sciences research to address the

unique health issues in the region.


UC Merced San Joaquin Valley PRIME Announces Third Class of Students

UC Solar Extends UC Merced’s Reach Across the Pacific

Professor Roland Winston’s work has

helped take UC Merced and UC Solar

global – this time to Singapore, as lead-

ers there use a light-permeable building

material Winston designed to bring

more natural light into buildings, cutting

energy costs and keeping office workers

more content.

Collectors embedded in the concrete

at the ends of open channels in the walls

actually make concrete light-permeable,

taking advantage of one natural resource

the equatorial country has an abundance

of – sun. The collector filters out ultravi-

olet light, which is bad for your skin, and

infrared light, which is hot.

Singapore is a green, progressive

place, and is always looking to use solar

energy in new and inventive ways.

Nanyang Technical University also

plans to use one of Winston’s designs to

implement a solar-powered thermal cool-

ing system similar to the one used at the

Castle Research Facility where UC Solar is

headquartered.

VIDEO ALERT: Understanding

How Children Learn Language. An

Impact video shows UC Merced

research delving into how children

learn and understand words. View

the video at bit.ly/1bCE4nf.

Building Earns Campus 11th LEED Certification

When UC Merced says it’s green

from the ground up, it’s no joke. The

U.S. Green Building Council awarded

platinum LEED certification to the Social

Sciences and Management Building,

an honor that also preserves UC

Merced’s streak — every building project

on campus has already or is expected

to attain LEED (Leadership in Energy

and Environmental Design) certification,

meaning it meets or exceeds standards

for sustainability.

The campus LEED scorecard so far is

one silver certification, eight gold certi-

fications and two platinum certifications,

with five platinum certifications pending.

The campus completed the Student Ac-

tivities and Athletics Center last fall, and

has several new buildings opening over

the next two to three years: Half Dome

student housing, which opened with the

start of the Fall semester; the Student

Services Building; Science and Engineer-

ing Building 2; and the Classroom 2 and

Academic Office Building – all of which

are expected to achieve LEED platinum

status.

VIDEO ALERT: Empowering

Students to Succeed. An Impact

video explains how Merced County

Project 10% places UC Merced stu-

dents in eighth-grade classrooms to

relate their own struggles in school

and the importance of a high school

diploma. Find the video at

bit.ly/199BnWs.

“Más: español intermedio,”by Virginia Adan-Lifante, lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. Her research focuses on second-language acqui-sition; Hispanic women’s literature; Hispanic culture; and Puerto Rican literature and culture.

This second edition of intermediate Spanish was published in January 2013 by MacGraw-Hill as part of its acclaimed M Series. MÁS is a content-based intermediate Spanish program created in response to student feedback on the look and function of their learning materials. With integrat-ed multi-media content from around the Spanish-speaking world, MÁS exposes students to the importance of culture with many opportunities for open-ended conversation, while offering a review and expansion of language structures ap-propriate for the second year. One of the highlights of MÁS is the stunning collection of short films integrated into the program from Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Costa Rica, avail-able for student viewing online and on DVD for instructors.

“Reimagining National Belonging: Post-Civil War El Salvador in a Global Context,” by Professor Robin DeLugan with the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. Her research interests include community; collective identity; the nation-state; migration and transna-tionalism; and political anthropology.

Published in December 2012 by the University of Arizona Press, “Reimagining National Belonging” is called the first sustained critical examination of post–civil war El Salvador. It describes how one nation – El Salvador – after an extended and divisive conflict, took up the challenge of generating so-cial unity and shared meanings around ideas of the nation. In tracing state-led efforts to promote the concepts of national culture, history and identity, DeLugan highlights the sites and practices — as well as the complexities — of nation-building in the 21st century.

DeLugan demonstrates how academics, culture experts, popular media, and the United Nations and other interna-tional agencies have all helped shape ideas about national belonging in El Salvador. She also reveals the efforts that have been made to include populations that might have been overlooked, including indigenous people and faraway citizens not living inside the country’s borders.

“The Southwest Climate Assessment Technical Report,” Chapter 8: Natural Ecosystems, by Professor Anthony Westerling with the schools of Engineering and Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. His research interests include applied climatology; climate-ecosys-tem-wildfire interactions; statistical

modeling for seasonal forecasts; paleofire reconstructions; climate-change impact assessments; and resource manage-ment and policy.

Collaborating with several other scholars on the book pub-lished by Island Press in May 2013, Westerling contributed a chapter for the report that was prepared for the 2013 Nation-al Climate Assessment. The book looks at the climate today and in the past, and how it is projected to change over the 21st century – and how those changes will affect water resources, ecosystems, agricultural production, energy supply and delivery, transpor-tation, human health and a host of other areas.

“The Affinity of the Eye: Writing Nikkei in Peru,” by Professor Ignacio López-Calvo, with the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. His primary area of study covers 20th and 21st-century Latino and Latin American narratives, with an emphasis on the cultural pro-duction by and about Asians in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In “The Affinity of the Eye: Writing Nikkei in Peru,” López-Calvo rises above the political emergence of theFujimori phenomenon and uses politics and literature to provide one of the first comprehensive looks at how the Japanese assimilated and inserted themselves into Peruvian culture. Through contemporary writers’ testimonies, essays, fiction and poetry, López-Calvo constructs an account of the cultural formation of Japanese migrant communities.

With interviews and comments, he portrays the difficulties of being a Japanese Peruvian. Despite a few notable examples, Asian Peruvians have been excluded from a sense of belong-ing or national identity in Peru, which provides López-Calvo with the opportunity to record what the community says about its own cultural production.


shelf life A sampling of books published by UC Merced faculty members in the past year:

“Before L.A. Race, Space, and Municipal Power in Los Angeles, 1781-1894,” by Professor David Torres-Rouff with the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. Torres-Rouff studies race and ethnicity; urban history; Latina/o history; comparative borderlands; social insti-tutions; community formation; public policy; California; and the U.S. West.

“Before L.A.” was published in September 2013 by the Yale University Press, and is part of the Lamar Series in Western History. Torres-Rouff’s book significantly expands border-lands history by examining the past and original urban infrastructure of one of America’s most prominent cities; its social, spatial and racial divides and boundaries; and how it came to be the Los Angeles we know today. It is a study of how an innovative intercultural community developed along racial lines, and how immigrants from the United States engineered a profound shift in civic ideals and the physi-cal environment, creating a social and spatial rupture that endures to this day.

“Sacred Darkness: A Global Perspective on the Ritual Use of Caves,” by Professor Holley Moyes with the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. Moyes studies the archaeology of religion; cave archae-ology; Mesoamerica; geographic infor-mation systems; and spatial cognition.

The University Press of Colorado pub-lished the book Moyes edited in September 2012. The book details how caves have been used in various ways across hu-man society. Despite the persistence within popular culture of the iconic caveman, deep caves were never used primarily as habitation sites for early humans. Rather, in both ancient and contemporary contexts, caves have served primarily as ritual spaces.

In “Sacred Darkness,” contributors use archaeological evidence as well as ethnographic studies of modern ritual practices to envision the cave as place of spiritual and ideo-logical power and a potent venue for ritual practice. Cover-ing the ritual use of caves in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Mesoamerica, the U.S. Southwest and Eastern woodlands, this book brings together case studies by prominent scholars from a variety of disciplines whose research spans from the Paleolithic period to the present day.

“Fundamentals of Soft Matter Science,” by Professor Linda Hirst with the School of Natural Sciences. Hirst focuses her research primarily on membrane biophysics, protein network assembly and novel liquid crystal mate-rials and composites.

Published in January 2013 by CRC press, the textbook “Fundamentals of Soft

Matter Science” focuses on the soft materials such as liquid crystals, polymers, biomaterials and colloidal systems that touch every aspect of our lives. The past few decades have seen an explosion of soft-matter research groups worldwide. This book introduces and explores the scientific study of soft matter and molecular self-assembly, covering the major classifications of materials, their structure and characteristics, and everyday applications.

“Condensed-Phase Molecular Spectroscopy and Photophysics,” by Professor Anne Myers Kelley with the School of Natural Sciences. Kelley is a founding faculty member who uses laser-light-scattering tech-niques to study the atomic-level details of how materials interact with light, including the mechanisms of fast photochemical reactions such as those

involved in human vision, photography, xerography and solar energy conversion.

Published in November 2012, Kelley’s textbook is an introduction to one of the fundamental tools in chemical research — spectroscopy and photophysics in condensed-phase and extended systems.

A great deal of modern research in chemistry and materi-als science involves the interaction of radiation with con-densed-phase systems such as molecules in liquids and sol-ids, as well as molecules in more complex media, molecular aggregates, metals, semiconductors and composites. “Con-densed-Phase Molecular Spectroscopy and Photophysics” was developed to fill the need for a textbook that introduces the basics of traditional molecular spectroscopy with a strong emphasis on condensed-phase systems.


C

Having Coffee with Michael SpiveyBY SCOTT HERNANDEZ-JASONUniversity Communications


ognitive science Professor Michael

Spivey balanced a plastic coffee cup

lid on top of his sunglasses, which

were perched atop his coffee cup.

We sat at a booth in the Lantern Café, sur-

rounded by the hum of students talking about

their classes, social life and other parts of the

college experience.

“When you design an experiment, you’re

asking the universe a question,” Spivey said,

pointing to his model. “You’re setting up a bal-

ancing act in the world. The way that thing falls,

left or right, is generally not going to be affected

by your personal biases.”

He knocked the lid off to emphasize his point.

For nearly 20 years, Spivey has been asking the

universe questions.

First it was at Cornell University, and since

2008 it has been as one of 11 core Cognitive and

Information Sciences professors at the Univer-

sity of California, Merced. The cognitive science

group is rapidly earning distinction among its

peers and is an expression of the campus’s focus

on interdisciplinary research.

Cognitive science is about 30 years old – a

relatively young research area. It’s the study of

thought and behavior using methods and ap-

proaches from linguistics, psychology, philoso-

phy, neuroscience and computer science.

In other words, Spivey is trying to unlock the

brain’s secrets.

Spivey’s journey to UC Merced is one of

intellectual exploration that took him to the

northeast for his graduate training and first

professorship, and ultimately led him back to his

home state of California, where he helped build

a distinctive program that’s training the next

generation of cognitive scientists.

A CROSS-COUNTRy JOURNEy

Raised in the Sacramento area, Spivey devel-

oped a fascination with the brain in high school

and learned about the interview-based work of

Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. He was pursuing

a degree in psychology at UC Santa Cruz when

he took an undergraduate class with Professor

Dominic Massaro. Spivey discovered the power

of scientific research and the interdisciplinary

bedrock of cognitive science.

“I was just blown away as a freshman to

realize that you could ask how the brain works in

a way that’s pretty removed from your subjective

biases,” Spivey said. “That’s when I fell in love

with it and realized I wanted to be a cognitive

scientist.”

After graduating from UC Santa Cruz in 1991,

he began looking at graduate schools where he

could pursue master’s and doctoral degrees with

a focus on language and vision. He applied to

Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, University of Oregon

and University of Rochester. He selected the

University of Rochester because he mentally

synchronized with his potential adviser Michael

K. Tanenhaus.

Though he suffered through long, snowy

winters and was thousands of miles away from

family and friends, the research he was conduct-

ing made the five years melt away and the job

search seem to arrive too soon.

When you design an experiment, you’re

asking the universe a question. You’re setting

up a balancing act in the world. The way that thing falls,

left or right, is generally not going to be affected by your

personal biases.MICHAEL SPIVEY

Spivey’s Higher Education

1991Graduated from UC Santa

Cruz with a bachelor’s in

psychology

1995Earned a master’s in

psychology from the

University of Rochester

1996Earned a Ph.D. in brain and

cognitive sciences from

University of Rochester

Became a professor at

Cornell University

2008Arrived at UC Merced

2010Awarded the 2010 William

Procter Prize for Scientific

Achievement

“

”

Spivey was offered jobs at a couple institu-

tions and in 1996 picked Cornell University,

which was just an hour and a half away

from Rochester. He was part of the campus’s

cognitive science program and eventually led

it during his tenure there.

However, at Cornell he found the profes-

sors in the prestigious and well-established

academic silos — linguistics, computer sci-

ence, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience

— were hesitant to be part of a cognitive

science program or listen to visiting speakers.

“That broke my heart, year after year,”

he said.

Across the country, Professors Teenie

Matlock and Jeffrey Yoshimi were busy de-

veloping a cognitive science program at the

nation’s first 21st century research university

and actively recruiting top faculty members

to help establish it.

Spivey had been reluctant to leave Cornell

for a startup university, though he began to

take it seriously as Matlock and Yoshimi

recruited some of his colleagues, including

David C. Noelle and Christopher T. Kello,

and succeeded in keeping their cognitive

science from being folded into another

program.

“There was my chance. I could see it,”

Spivey said, pausing to hold back tears.

“This was an opportunity to genuinely do

cognitive science the way I wanted.”

Spivey accepted an offer in 2006, though

wasn’t able to be on campus until 2008

because of personal and professional

commitments.

Since arriving on campus, Spivey has

continued his research into the interaction

of language and vision, and how their total is

more than the sum of their parts.

One project with graduate student Eric

Chiu looks at how the brain processes a

complex computer

display filled with visual

distractions.

A person who is told

to look for a red, vertical

bar in a picture filled

with red horizontal bars

can more efficiently

find the target if they’re

looking at the picture

while the instructions

are spoken to them, they

found.

“If you shift the

speech stream so you

hear it beforehand,

you’re now looking for a

conjunction of red and

vertical, and the distrac-

tors will slow you down

a lot,” he said. “People’s

brains are faster at

simultaneous integration than you realize.”

The brain, Spivey said, begins to process

the key information — “red,” then “verti-

cal” — as it hears it, so the visual system is

already searching for redness even before the

word “vertical” is heard.

The findings could prove important

for people designing computer software,

instructional videos or other interfaces that

require human interaction.

EARNING DISTINCTION

Cognitive and Information Sciences (CIS)

at UC Merced has maintained its inter-

disciplinary focus by keeping and hiring

professors with a wide range of specialties.

This past year the group hired a philosopher

and a neuroscientist.

This past summer, CIS was the top pro-

gram represented at the discipline’s premiere

conference, Cognitive Science in Berlin.

There were 25 presentations from the

program’s faculty members, researchers,

graduate students and undergraduates — the

most from any one university — according

to conference data. Indiana University had

21 presentations; UC San Diego had 20; and

Stanford University had 19.

Spivey explains the success by drawing

a parallel between how language and the

vision interact. The cognitive science group’s

culture supports collaborations and has

graduate students sharing advisors and de-

veloping connections throughout the group.

The group meets weekly and the atmosphere

is like one of a big family, he said.

“The magic is when you get those compo-

nents to interact,” Spivey said. “The interac-

tions produce more success and smartness

than the individual components.”

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SPIVEy’S WORK, CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE:

ucmerced.academia.edu/MichaelSpivey


PROFESSOR MICHAEL SPIVEY’S RESEARCH INTO LANGUAGE AND VISION INCLUDES THE USE OF EYE-TRACkING

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE BRAIN IS PROCESSING INFORMATION.

COGNITIVE AND INFORMATION SCIENCES AT UC

MERCED WAS THE TOP PROGRAM REPRESENTED THIS

SUMMER AT THE DISCIPLINE’S PREMIERE CONFER-

ENCE, COGNITIVE SCIENCE. NEARLY ALL OF THE

PROGRAM’S 21 GRADUATE STUDENTS PRESENTED

RESEARCH THERE.

C Merced engineering Professor YangQuan Chen lets the machines do the talking

when he invites budding engineers to his program in unmanned aerial vehicles,

the flying machines better known to the public as drones.

Well, they don’t really speak.

But Chen knows a sure-fire way to recruit a curious engineer is to let a student get hands-on

experience building, programming and testing small flying vehicles at UC Merced’s mechatron-

ics lab.

The offer hooked Sean Rider, who found Chen’s program as a senior last year and returned

this fall as one of the school’s first homegrown graduate students in unmanned systems.

“I had a great time and I wanted to do more,” he said.

Rider is joining an industry poised for takeoff as researchers and entrepreneurs dream up

new uses for a technology most often associated with the military.

California alone stands to gain some 12,000 jobs in the field through 2017, according to

projections recently published by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

Advocates of the technology say the next generation of unmanned aircraft will help farmers

make the best use of their irrigation resources, enable environmental agencies to count rare

animals in the wilderness and support fire crews looking for advantages against sprawling

wildfires.

Count Chen among them.

He says the possibilities for doing good with small, affordable unmanned vehicles are

“endless, just limited by your imagination.”

‘UAVS ARE GOING TO BE EVERyWHERE.’Chen and his students face a challenge at UC Merced that goes beyond creating cutting-edge

machines, however. They’re working in a field that conjures up images of deadly military strikes

in the Middle East, or a step toward total surveillance in the manner of Big Brother at home.

His students, accordingly, have to be ambassadors for the technology.

“Privacy is a big issue because unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are going to be everywhere,”

Rider said. “Like any technology, you have to be careful how you use it.”

All over the country, local and state governments are setting the parameters for how public

agencies and private businesses can employ unmanned aerial vehicles in coming years.

They’re trying to get ahead of the Federal Aviation Administration, which is preparing to

open the skies to more UAVs by 2015.

Seattle’s police department earlier this year received a license to fly unmanned aircraft and

bought two of the machines, only to ground the operation when residents raised concerns

about officers misusing them. Similarly, several state legislatures, including California’s, are

considering laws that would set clear guidelines for when, where and how unmanned aircraft

could be flown.

“Surveillance is nothing new; what’s new is that we have a new medium to do it,” state Sen.

Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, said at an August hearing on possible UAV restrictions. He wrote one

of the proposals to define how unmanned aircraft can be used. >>

D R O N E ST H E M A T T E R O F

BY ADAM ASHTONPHOTOS BY ELENA ZHUKOVA

ABOUT THE WRITER

Adam Ashton is a professional journal-

ist with more than 12 years’ experience

as a reporter and editor including at the

Merced Sun-Star and the Modesto Bee.

He works for the Tacoma News-Tribune

covering military affairs at Joint Base

Lewis-McChord in Tacoma.


U


UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES, OR DRONES, ARE BEING DEVELOPED FOR AGRICULTURAL AND

ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH APPLICATIONS. BY EQUIPPING THESE FLYING ROBOTS WITH

CAMERAS AND SENSORS, HIGH-RESOLUTION MULTI-SPECTRAL IMAGERY CAN BE OBTAINED

FOR LAND SURVEYING, INVASIVE SPECIES MONITORING, CROP YIELD ESTIMATIONS AND MANY

OTHER APPLICATIONS THAT CAN DIRECTLY BENEFIT THE CENTRAL VALLEY.

Padilla that day heard from a string of

public safety officials seeking permission to

fly unmanned aircraft, industry representa-

tives looking for new markets and privacy

advocates asking legislators for tight restric-

tions on the technology.

Much of the discussion focused on law en-

forcement agencies, which some fear might

use unmanned aircraft without warrants

to gather information that could be used

against people in court.

“When you have a nearly silent drone,

one might simply not be aware that surveil-

lance is going on,” UC Davis law Professor

Elizabeth Joh told lawmakers.

Chen spoke at the hearing, too. He has led

discussions at the San Joaquin Valley campus

about how to respect privacy in an era that

could see the use of low-cost unmanned

aircraft explode to the point where

anyone could afford them.

The collision between technology

and privacy appears inevitable as

the price of new technology plum-

mets while its quality improves.

“Today you just point and click”

on personal computers, he said.

“The technology (for UAVs) will

mature to a point where you can

just put it in the air and use it.”

The right path, he said, is to be

transparent about what any given

agency or business will and will not do with

drones.

For example, agricultural cooperatives

employing unmanned aircraft to assess their

crops could announce that they won’t be

approaching towns. They might stress to res-

idents of their communities that the aircraft

would not retain any videos from the flights

beyond a certain amount of time.

“It does take a lot of us being proactive

saying ‘we don’t fly over people, we don’t spy

on people. That will never be our goal,’” said

Brandon Stark, a doctoral student in un-

manned systems at UC Merced who helped

Chen launch the lab.

TURNING POINTThe summer ended with a powerful exam-

ple of state agencies turning to unmanned

aircraft for help in an emergency.

With the Sierra Nevada burning through

one of its most severe wildfires ever this fall,

a Predator drone with a 55-foot wingspan

piloted by the California National Guard

kept a watch on the 200,000-acre Rim Fire.

Its reports gave fire commanders up-to-the-

minute information on the fire’s movements

without putting firefighters’ lives in danger.

Multimillion dollar Defense Department

drones likely will remain outside the realm

of what local governments can afford as they

experiment with unmanned aircraft over the

next few years.

Instead, they’ll turn to less expensive

options to help them work through hostage

situations or assess natural disasters.

Chen and his students want a hand in

creating those tools. The professor in a

2011 research paper showed someone could

purchase, program and pilot an unmanned

aerial vehicle for less than $500.

From there, he said, researchers could de-

velop “swarms” of low-cost UAVs that could

fly into fire zones or airborne toxic events to

gather data.

Losing one wouldn’t break a budget, and

with many aircraft collecting information on

the same incident, officials would be empow-

ered with a full picture of events.

Those are the kinds of problems that

motivate Rider, Stark and the rest of the

students in UC Merced’s unmanned systems

program. They’re getting plenty of company

as word gets out about the research taking

place in the drone lab.

“Attracting people is not an issue with

us,” said Stark, who came to UC Merced as

Chen’s only student in the Fall 2012. More

than 40 students joined the lab a year later.

“People flock to us because we offer this real

exciting hands-on opportunity for research

on all sorts of exciting projects.”

Rider’s senior project looked at how

PG&E might use UAVs to spot gas leaks in

remote locations. It made a lasting im-

pression on Mark Hendrickson, Merced

County’s director of commerce, aviation and

economic development.

“The research being carried out at UC

Merced right now is nothing short of ex-

traordinary,” said Hendrickson, who helped

UC Merced’s School of Engineering evaluate

student projects in unmanned systems for its

annual Innovate to Grow contest in May.

Hendrickson liked the “real-world prac-

ticality” he noticed in the gas-leak detecting

UAVs Rider’s team designed.

For his graduate work, Rider’s thinking of

studying ways to develop unmanned vehicles

that could monitor their own systems so re-

searchers on the ground know when they’re

in danger of falling from the sky.

His experience in Chen’s lab

opened his eyes about what he

wanted to do with his career, and

showed him where he wanted to get

his start.

“Because of this program, UC

Merced is the only grad school I

want to go to,” he said.


The research being carried out

at UC Merced is nothing short

of extraordinary.

MARk HENDRICkSON

Merced County director of commerce, aviation and economic development

”

“


y Professors Michael Dawson and Michael Beman received a $1,369,982 grant from the National Science Foundation for work on biodiversity issues.

y Professor Rudy Ortiz received an $857,175 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for his research into diabetes.

y Dean Juan Meza and Professor Mike Colvin received a $749,998 grant to connect UC Merced with a network for computational nanotechnology.

y Professor Fabian Fillip received a $746,997 grant from the National Institutes of Health for his research into cancer metabolism.

y Professor Katrina Hoyer received a $732,809 grant from the National Institutes of Health for her work on autoimmune anemia.

y Professor Alberto Cerpa received a $539,539 grant from the National Science Foundation for his work on wireless sensor networks.

y Professor Ariel Escobar received a $113,685 grant from Gilead Sciences, Inc., for his work on atrial arrhythmia.

y Professor Ariel Escobar received a $97,790 grant from Electronic BioScience, Inc., for his work on a nanopatch system for ion recordings.

y Professor YangQuan Chen received a $71,661 grant from Utah State University for his work on unmanned aerial vehicles.

y Professor Gerardo Diaz received a $45,000 grant from UC Irvine for his work on solar energy.

y Professor Ruth Mostern received a $110,381 grant from the National Science Foundation for her work in historical information and analysis.

y Acting Graduate Dean Chris Kello received a $49,520 grant from the National Science Foundation for a workshop and summer school course on dynamics of language and music.

y Robert Ochsner, director of the Merritt Writing program, received a $34,535 grant from the UC California Writing Project for “No Child Left Behind #9.”

y Professor Jan Goggans received a $25,000 grant from the UC Human Research Institute for her work on working-class cultural labor in the Central Valley.

y Robert Ochsner, director of the Merritt Writing program, received a $20,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for leadership development.

Faculty Findings

SCHOOL OF

NATURAL

SCIENCES

SCHOOL OF

SOCIAL SCIENCES,

HUMANITIES

AND ARTS

SCHOOL OF

ENGINEERING

UC Merced faculty members rely on grants and gifts

for their work. Here’s a list of the top awards from

each school this calendar year.

esearchers at California’s newest public

university are looking deep into the

past to study how climate change will

influence the state’s future, from the fre-

quency of catastrophic wildfires to the availability

of water for its reservoirs.

They’re breaking down barriers that tradition-

ally separated fields of scientific study to create

a full picture of what global warming means for

ecosystems from the sea level farms at the base of

the San Joaquin Valley to the airy alpine meadows

that inspired John Muir on his walks through the

Sierra Nevada a century ago.

“If California can’t solve the world’s problems,

who can?” asked Professor Roger Bales, director

of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI)

at UC Merced.

Faculty researchers with SNRI – UC Merced’s

first and still-premier research institute – con-

tinue delving deep into the puzzle that is climate

change. They examine as many pieces as they can,

using data from the last ice age to the present to

model increases in wildfires, the Sierra snowpack

– California’s natural reservoir – the shifting of

species and even how climate-change science and

information is communicated.

These are questions that will affect

everyone.

BY JASON M. RODRIGUEZILLUSTRATION BY GAIL BENEDICT

Bales is confident the answers will come

from California, and that the state has a

bigger responsibility than just to itself.

Engineering Professor Elliott

Campbell agreed.

“When it comes to solving

environmental problems, California

leads and the world follows,”

Campbell said. “Climate change is the

biggest threat we’ve seen yet, so a lot rides on California’s success.”

FIRE AND WATERUsing the latest information and a new system of modeling,

engineering Professor Anthony Westerling looks at monthly data to

chart and predict how wildfire will affect California and other parts

of the Southwest.

His layered Google Earth maps show the probabilities and

odds for California and Nevada on a monthly basis using cli-

mate conditions observed to date. The models also use historical

lightning-strike data gathered from a network of sensors around

the country to offer a variety of scenarios for people who manage

wildfires, state and national parks and air-quality issues.

“It’s a more sophisticated way of modeling,” said Westerling, an

SNRI member. “We can compare where the fire risks are with where

large concentrations of biomass are, so early steps can be taken.”

Those who manage wildlands might choose to conduct controlled

burns before the fire danger increases, or might choose to use wild-

fire for biomass control, for example. >>

CALIFORNIAANDCLIMATECHANGE

Westerling has said there is no doubt the

increase in temperatures coming over the

next century will give rise to more and

more intense wildfires, but there are other

factors to consider, too.

“In the southern coastal areas, fires are more

wind-driven regardless of how they are ignited,

so in the Fall, the Santa Ana winds contribute

greatly to how large and fast a fire grows.”

Not only is his data important to fire and

park officials and the state’s residents – espe-

cially as the urban-wildland interface expands,

it will also be important for those who manage

other resources – like the state’s dwindling

water supply.

Bales is mapping the Sierra snowpack and

observes that as the average temperature rises,

more precipitation falls as rain – rather than

the snow the state has come to depend on in

the Sierra.

That means less in reserves.

Bales said the state is moving toward the

“three ‘I’s of water” needed in addressing cli-

mate change — infrastructure, institution and

information.

“In the context of providing an acceptable

quantity and quality of water at the right time

and the right place, California is going in the

direction of evaluating what infrastructure

improvements are needed to provide water se-

curity,” he said. “What institutional changes can

facilitate better water security and can provide

water when and where it is needed?

“The foundation, though, is that you really

have to have better information, because many

of our water institutions have operated with

very limited data in the past.”

Bales said water institutions have been able

to do that because the climate has been relative-

ly stable and the demands have been commen-

surate of the availability of water.

But that’s changing.

“We can’t necessarily use past history,”

Bales said. “We also have increasing population

that’s trying to make use of the same resources

that a smaller population made use of in

the past.”

He advocates for a unified, statewide water

monitoring system and has been working with

colleagues to develop a low-cost system of

sensors. They have already been placed in

the American River watershed area and are

in use now.

That technology is just some of the research

UC Merced has been working on.

“Our research is really focused on what do

you about it,” Bales said. “How we respond

to build some resiliency into the state’s water

systems or forest management and so forth.”

‘LIKE NOTHING WE’VE SEEN IN THE PAST’

Paleoecology Professor Jessica Blois, studies

how species and communities have responded

to climate change over the past 21,000 years –

since the height of the last ice age.

Blois uses data on how life responded in the

past to try and understand how biodiversity

might respond to future climate changes. But

the climate is changing so rapidly now, it’s “like

nothing we’ve seen in the past,” she said.

“Ideally we would have something in the past

that we could use as an analog for the future,”

she said. “But one of the problems is

that the future is without analog,” she said.

The number of people and the ways they are

modifying the world’s landscape — through

emissions and other activity — is drastically

changing the course, and the rate, of the Earth’s

climate, she said.

“One thing that’s of concern to me is range

shift. In the past, species shifted their geograph-

ic distributions quite a bit,” she said. “They

shifted where they were found on the landscape

as climates changed.”

The worry is that the rate of current and

future climate change is more than species can

handle naturally, and they won’t be able to shift

to new locations on their own.

“We are seeing responses in many species,”

she said, including plants that have never been

found before in certain climates – such as spe-

cies of palms found in Sweden – and in animals

moving to higher elevations as their habitats

grow too warm for them.

Researchers don’t know if species can move

or track those new environs quickly enough.

There also might be situations where there is

no habitat for them to move to, she said.


ABOUT THE WRITER

Jason M. Rodriguez is a profes-

sional journalist with more than a

dozen years’ reporting and editing

experience. He hails from the

Chicago area, and has worked for

Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chi-

cago Sun-Times and was a video

editor for CNN during the 1996

Democratic National Convention.

He currently covers county gov-

ernment for the Sun News in the

Myrtle Beach, S.C., area.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Gail Miles Benedict is a fine-

arts painter who moved from her

hometown of San Diego to Merced

in 2001 to be a part of the new

University of California campus.

She co-founded the arts program

Arts UC Merced Presents . . .,

coordinates the annual UC Merced

Bobcat Art Show, is a member of

the Merced County Performing

Arts Presenters Coalition and the

Contemporary Humanitarian Artists

Association, comprising artists

who meet regularly to discuss art,

critique each other’s work, inspire

each other and put together group

shows. Her painting style incorpo-

rates surrealism and symbolism and

sometimes collage.

JESSICA BLOIS AT WAGON CAVES IN THE LOS PADRES

NATIONAL FOREST. PHOTO BY SETH FINNEGAN, UC

BERKELEY

SNRI scientist Lara Kueppers, who studies

ecosystem feedbacks to climate change, said

one of the big projects she has worked on

since joining UC Merced is trying to un-

derstand what the consequences of climate

change could be for high-elevation species in

ecosystems.

Her work has been primarily in high-ele-

vation forests and in alpine meadows, where

she has been conducting artificial warming

experiments, raising temperatures by 4 to 5

degrees, similar to projected warming for the

latter part of the 21st century.

“We can’t change the whole ecosystem in

our experiment. We’re focusing on one piece

of the puzzle and that is forest regeneration

and where forests might be able to establish

themselves in the future, using seedlings.

“We think this is a really important piece

of the puzzle because in order for a tree to

move uphill into new places… it needs to

get its seeds there and those seeds need to

be able to become established in that new

place.”

And part of the question comes back to

water.

“What we’re finding is that there’s actually

a big problem. It’s not just temperature,”

Kueppers said. “When climate changes, tem-

perature is not the only thing that changes.

Another big part of climate is precipitation

and, really, water availability. Plants don’t

care about how much it rains or snows,

per se. What they care about is if they have

enough water in the soil when they need

to grow.”

WHERE TO GO FROM HEREKueppers said how the world addresses

climate change rests on the shoulders of

California’s top researchers.

“Just like everywhere on the globe, Cali-

fornia really has a big challenge on its hands.

California is a really incredibly ecologically

diverse place,” she said. “California citizens

place a high value on the natural environ-

ment and the species that live here and it’s a

strong part of California’s identity.”

She said a challenge when it comes to

climate change, research and policy is that

the world is already committed to a certain

amount of climate change that’s pretty

significant on historical and even geological

time scales.

“I think there’s a lot to do to figure out

how we adapt our approach to conserving

natural systems to this reality,” she said.

“Right now we have parks and reserves set

aside to protect certain places. But if the spe-

cies that are currently living in those places

need to be somewhere else, under future

warmer climates, that’s a real challenge.”

California has encouraged more regional

approaches to conservation planning issues

it faces, she said.

“I think there’s a lot of brainpower in

California that wants to help figure this

out, but a lot of times scientists direct their

research efforts toward what they can get

funded. That may or may not always be

aligned with what’s needed for policy or land

management and I think there can be ways

to work on that.”

A lot of that brainpower is at UC Merced.

Researchers aren’t just focused on under-

standing the impacts of climate change in

California, but also on renewable energy,

sustainability and engineering solutions,

using everything from basic chemistry and

physics to learning how to design or regulate

buildings so they don’t use more energy than

necessary.

A way to strengthen UC Merced’s effect on

climate change would be to centrally locate

researchers examining the various issues.

One of UC Merced’s hallmarks is its

interdisciplinary research, and SNRI is an

example of that, attracting faculty affiliates

from all three of the university’s schools –

Engineering, Natural Sciences, and Social

Sciences, Humanities and Arts. That enables

researchers to draw upon each other’s

strengths to accomplish more.

But being a new university has its chal-

lenges, too, Blois said.

“Because UC Merced is still growing, we’re

still a small school and we’re really space

constrained, so we’re not all located on the

main campus,” she said. “I just sit back and

think, we’re really doing some good work

already – imagine what we could do if we

were all housed in the same building.”

RELATED LINKS:y The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, “Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers,” at bit.ly/1dWL8s6

y The U.S. National Climate Assessment: 1.usa.gov/1dWL6AK

y The Sierra Nevada Research Institute: snri.ucmerced.edu/

y Anthony Westerling’s publications on wildfire and climate change: bit.ly/1c5Yvbw

y Wildfires in California and the Western United States: bit.ly/18Qu1Fh

Ideally we would have

something in the past that

we could use as an analog

for the future, but one of the

problems is that the future is

without analog.

PROFESSOR JESSICA BLOIS


PROFESSOR JESSICA BLOIS DOES HER SHARE OF FIELD

RESEARCH TRYING TO HELP MODEL WHAT HUMANS

CAN ExPECT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE BASED ON

WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST. HERE SHE’S Ex-

PLORING SAMWELL CAVE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

PHOTO BY XUE FENG

“

”


UC Merced researchers take advantage of

the university’s proximity to the beautiful

Sierra Nevada mountain range through

research in Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings

Canyon national parks.

In Yosemite this summer, Professors

Stephen Hart and Michael Beman and

Yosemite Field Station Director Becca

Fenwick hosted eight students from

around the state and the country as they

lived in the park for nine weeks and worked

closely with scientists from UC Merced, the

National Park Service and the U.S. Geologic

Survey through the Research Experience for

Undergraduates program (REU).

Hart said the goal was to give students

who wouldn’t otherwise have it the oppor-

tunity for real scientific research experience.

“It went fabulously,” Hart said. “The

eight REU students, all were exceptional

students and they gave outstanding oral

presentations of their research in Yosemite

Valley at the end of the program to park

personnel and other guests.”

Of course, a highlight for the students

was actually living in the park – not

something everyone gets the chance to do.

In their time off, he said, they took full ad-

vantage of their location to hike, backpack,

swim and camp. They also took part in

interactions with other, non-mentor re-

searchers in the park on Science Mondays,

and occasionally on weekend trips like an

overnighter to Mono Lake led by Chris

Swarth, director of UC Merced’s Vernal

Pools-Grassland Natural Reserve Project.

Sierra VieWS:

What was most surprising to me

was how well they all got along

with each other. They all shopped

for groceries and cooked togeth-

er, and did non-research activities

together. I never expected such

a cohesive group. I am sure that

some lasting friendships were

formed this summer.

PROFESSOR STEPHEN HART

reSearCh in the MoUntainS

y microbial ecology and biogeochemistry in mountain lakes with Beman, a microbial ecologist;

y rising snowlines and water availability for park resources in a warming climate with Professor Roger Bales, a hydrologist, and Jim Roche, a hydrologist with Yosemite;

y hydro-ecological implications of buried volcanic ash in the meadows of Yosemite with Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei, a soil hydrologist;

y effects of physical perturbations in the environment on soil organic matter dynamics with Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, a soil biogeochemist;

y the role of biotic and abiotic controls over conifer seedling establishment in subalpine meadows in Yosemite with scientist Lara Kueppers and USGS ecologist Rob Klinger;

y Yosemite Valley’s riparian habitat with Yosemite biologist Sarah Stock and Yosemite social scientist Todd Newburger;

y the giant sequoia population’s demographic structure and impacts of fire and soil biology and nutrient cycling with Bill Kuhn, a Yosemite landscape ecologist and Hart, an ecologist;

y and anthropogenic and biogenic fluxes of greenhouse gases in Yosemite with Professor Elliot Campbell, an environmental engineer, and Leland Tarnay, a Yosemite physical scientist.

DURING WORK TIME, THE STUDENTS INVESTIGATED:

“

”

The students came from Bakersfield

College, Eckerd College in Florida, Montclair

State University in New Jersey, City College

of San Francisco, Knox College in Illinois,

UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz and of course, UC

Merced.

“What was most surprising to me was

how well they all got along with each other,”

Hart said. “They all shopped for groceries

and cooked together, and did non-research

activities together. I never expected such a

cohesive group. I am sure that some lasting

friendships were formed this summer.”

The program had 130 applicants for eight

slots this year, and Hart said he expects many

more applicants next year. Additionally,

the annual Ecological Society of America

meeting is scheduled to happen in Sacra-

mento during next year’s REU program, so

Hart said he hopes to take the students to the

conference.

“It would be great if we could take them

to a day or two so they can experience what

it is like to attend a major scientific meeting,

and perhaps network with other ecological

scientists and undergraduate researchers

from elsewhere in the U.S.,” he said.

Down in the Southern Sierra Critical Zone

Observatory (CZO), a site run by Professor

Roger Bales, who is also the director of UC

Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute

and Professor Martha Conklin, a mead-

ows expert and biogeochemist, researchers

worked on water issues.

How do you best manage water in a state

like California? This state, which has one of

the largest state populations in the country,

and produces 25 percent of the produce for

the country, has to balance multiple compet-

ing claims for water.

The economy, livelihoods and environ-

ment depend on judicious allocations.

“To complicate the situation, precipitation

is highly variable from year to year,” said Erin

Stacy, the CZO’s education and outreach co-

ordinator. “Even in a wet year, more precipi-

tation may fall as rain than as snow resulting

in a smaller snowpack. In turn, that means

less natural storage and a greater challenge

for water managers.”

Without that natural storage in the snow-

pack, downstream managers and water users

have to rely solely on reservoirs for water

storage.

There are many ways to address the prob-

lem through infrastructure like dams, reser-

voirs and hydropower installations; institu-

tions like the Department of Water Resources

or irrigation districts; and information like

historical records and current measurements

of snow pack and water stores.

The CZO’s goal is to improve information.

As part of a nationwide network, the South-

ern Sierra CZO investigates questions

of climate, land management, and ecohy-

drology in the critical zone from bedrock

to the atmosphere boundary layer – critical

because it’s vital to life on Earth.

The National Science Foundation recently

funded the Southern Sierra CZO for five

more years.

“Planning for five years from now can

be a challenge for anyone, but when that

plan involves six research institutions, seven

investigators, and countless collaborators

and cooperating researchers, that challenge

grows,” Stacy said.

Over the summer, 26 members of the

Southern Sierra CZO team gathered in

Fresno for an annual two-day meeting

featuring science presentations and in-depth

discussions of research questions and

collaboration.

The outcome is a plan to consolidate

current knowledge of forest and water man-

agement in the Sierra Nevada for improved

modeling and prediction, Stacy said.

“Specifically, the work will clarify the

timing and amount of runoff, the distribu-

tion, density and activity of the forests, and

options available to resource managers to

enhance forest and water management,”

she said.

The flux towers are a way Southern Sierra

Critical Zone Observatory researchers mon-

itor weather and gas fluctuations. Running

from 400 m to 2,700 m in elevation, the

transect anchors the CZO research. Each site

also monitors soil moisture, matric potential

and temperature. The data allows researchers

to quantify the water balance on the western

slope of the Sierra Nevada, where precipi-

tation transitions from a rain-snow mix to

predominantly snow.


Specifically, the work will clarify

the timing and amount of

runoff, the distribution, density

and activity of the forests, and

options available to resource

managers to enhance forest

and water management.

ERIN STACYCZO education and outreach coordinator

“

”

A SAMPLING OFUC MERCED RESEARCH WITH GLOBAL REACH


MARK ALDENDERFERThe Himalaya is a cold, unforgiving

place. Home to some of the Earth’s highest

peaks, including Mount Everest, the Asian

mountain range separating the plains of

the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan

Plateau is known for extreme weather.

It’s here where archaeologist Mark Alden-

derfer peers into the mystery of highland

dwellers. Why live here when lower lands

are more fertile and abundant with resourc-

es? How did they adapt to environments as

high as 16,000 feet?

“Although high-elevation environments

may appear forbidding, there are a num-

ber of instances in human history when

they were likely seen as very attractive,”

Aldenderfer said. “Periods of warming,

documented by painstaking paleoclimat-

ic research in the Himalayas and other

mountainous regions, would have allowed

familiar low-elevation species to migrate

into the mountains, creating new, fertile

niches for hunting and gathering. People

took advantage of these opportunities and

began to exploit the new environments.”

Aldenderfer, the dean of UC Merced’s

School of Social Sciences, Humanities and

Arts, has turned his research attention to

the Mustang district of Nepal.

In places it seems only birds could reach

lie man-made caves carved deep into the

rock. National Geographic, which has

funded his exploration into Mustang, refers

to these sky caves as one of world’s greatest

archaeological mysteries.

The thousands of caves have served three

major uses: burial chambers 3,000 years

ago; dwellings from 1100-1600 AD; and in

more recent times, as places for meditation,

military observation and storage.

Aldenderfer’s quest is to search the sky

tombs for human remains, from which

members of his team can extract DNA in

hopes of identifying the genetic changes

that allowed people to survive the seeming-

ly uninhabitable region.

“Our species evolved at low elevations —

oxygen- and resource-rich environments.

But to live permanently above 7,500 feet

requires both physiological and cultural

adaptations for survival,” Aldenderfer said.

“I want to recover data that may help to

resolve these questions.”

Aldenderfer returned to the Tibetan

Plateau this fall to reexamine archaeological

sites thought to date between 20,000 and

30,000 years ago. Understanding the age of

these sites is crucial to evaluating arguments

about the peopling of the plateau and the

antiquity of the genetic changes that had to

take place to make it possible to live there.

BY TONyA KUBOUniversity Communications

OUR WORLD:

THE TIBETAN PLATEAU HAS BEEN THE SITE OF SOME

HUGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES.

FORTY-THREE HUNDRED FEET ABOVE THE VALLEY

FLOOR, DEAN MARk ALDENDERFER STANDS AT A

CHUSANG, NEPAL, ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE THOUGHT

TO BE AS OLD AS 20,000 YEARS.

TOM HARMONProfessor Tom Harmon, another of

UC Merced’s prestigious founding faculty

members and an environmental engineer, is

part of a major international study funded

by the National Science Foundation and the

Inter-American Institute for Global Change

Research (www.iai.int).

The project, Sensing the Americas’ Fresh-

water Ecosystem Risk (SAFER) is a collabo-

rative effort among researchers in Argentina,

Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Canada and the

U.S.

Harmon outfits bodies of water with

sensor networks and uses the sensor output

to interpret ecosystem change in response

to environmental factors like weather and

pollution. This allows researchers to assem-

ble more information and identify changes

faster than possible using more conventional

sampling methods.

Rather than exhausting resources by send-

ing scientists to collect individual field sam-

ples over months or years, embedded sensors

allow large amounts of data to be collected

on a number of variables simultaneously.

Even subtle changes can be identified and

tracked over time with more comprehensive

recorded information.

“This is a coordinated research effort to

examine issues that affect aquatic ecosystems

from North America all the way to South

America,” Harmon said. “The benefit here is

that for the first time, we can compare water

quality and climate response in relatively

pristine areas of Patagonia with places like

the San Joaquin River that have a long histo-

ry of human disturbance.”

Comparing data sets from various areas

only scratches the surface of what Harmon

and his fellow scientists are doing.

They are also engaging stakeholders along

the way. Meeting with locals in each country,

the team asks questions to sort out the

critical services provided by the monitored

ecosystems and to discuss the effects of var-

ious policies on fishing, building dams and

agricultural practices along the waterways.

“Our goal is to build an understanding

of the fragility of these ecosystems, and to

provide support for sound resource man-

agement decisions across a wide range of

environmental, socioeconomic and cultural

settings,” he said. “There are places in the

world where lakes are changing, even drying

up and threatening livelihoods.

“That realization opens the door for us

to have a deeper conversation about how

people and institutions can adapt to reverse

or slow these changes by adopting more

sustainable practices.”

The circle of life Harmon’s team members

discuss with stakeholders is at the crux of

UC Merced’s international research efforts:

Whether in the remote highlands of Tibet or

in battle-scarred Central American nations,

climate change, civil unrest and resource

mismanagement affect more than just those

living in the immediate area.

These are real-world problems that don’t

just live in the past, they linger today and

how we deal with them leaves a legacy inher-

ited by the future.


ROBIN DELUGANFast-forward a few hundred years and

shift west on the globe, and you’ll find your-

self squarely in the realm of Professor Robin

DeLugan’s research.

The anthropologist and founding faculty

member is passionate about social justice,

especially as it relates to the building of

nation-states.

She has spent her academic career im-

mersed in the study of the aftermath of El

Salvador ’s civil war, from 1980 to 1992, and

has written a book about it.

Using post-civil war El Salvador as the

example, “Reimagining National Belong-

ing” looks at efforts to create social unity

and construct shared identity following an

extended, divisive conflict.

Now DeLugan is taking her research on

contemporary nation-building a step further

by looking at 1930s massacres in similar

countries to compare how the past is recalled

today by government leaders and citizens.

Her hope is to construct a comprehen-

sive picture of what shapes social memory

and how that affects nation-building and

cohesion among citizens, especially when it

comes to equality and justice.

“This type of research provides a rare

lens into the dynamics of nation-building,”

DeLugan said. “There are few people in the

world studying how national memories

emerge after decades of silence.”

DeLugan’s work is rare enough that she

was invited to deliver the keynote address

this fall at an international forum focused on

memories of the Salvadoran war.

“What we’re finding is that memory work

allows for the strengthening of democracies,”

she said. “And in the 21st century, govern-

ment is not the only entity that can control

how nations take shape.”

In El Salvador, for example, it has been the

people — namely academics, activists and

human rights organizations — who have led

the charge in recalling past violence against

indigenous people.

The public outcry has grown loud enough

that the government is considering rewriting

a portion of the constitution to finally recog-

nize the existence of the native population.

PROFESSOR ROBIN DELUGAN IN OUANAMINTHE, HAITI,

THIS SUMMER. OUANAMINTHE IS AT THE BRODER

BETWEEN HAITI AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, AND

WAS THE SITE OF A 1937 MASSACRE OF HAITIANS OR-

DERED BY DOMINICAN DICTATOR RAFAEL TRUJILLO.

PROFESSOR TOM HARMON, THIRD PHOTO FROM LEFT, WORkS ON AN INTERNATIONAL FRESHWATER-ECOSYSTEM PROJECT.


ne of the hallmarks of a

UC Merced education is the

opportunity to help build the

campus – forming student organizations,

athletic groups, student government — and

paving the way for future generations of

students.

UC Merced encourages students to take on

the challenge of starting up new enterprises,

so it’s no surprise that several of our students

took that entrepreneurial attitude and put it

to work.

AJ WATKINS Take AJ Watkins, for example. As a student

at UC Merced, she had big dreams to travel

but struggled to find a job that would help

her save money to fly across the country.

Watkins created her own business – Candy

Lei Industries – making and selling candy leis

to graduating students at high schools and

junior high schools throughout the Bay Area.

Time and time again she sold out of leis

at each event – her customers seeking that

last-minute gift to honor their graduates at

an important milestone in their lives. At $5

per candy lei, her customers bought three or

four for their graduate, making demand far

outweigh her handmade supply.

Although she didn’t end up traveling to

New York, she did treat herself to a back-to-

school shopping spree in Las Vegas and took

notes to help her business grow even more

the next year.

Hiring two local junior high students the

following summer, Watkins visited 15 schools

and learned the importance of planning

ahead – as she continued to sell out of leis as

fast as she made them.

HARSIMRAN (SIMRAN) SINGHHarsimran (Simran) Singh is the founder

and president of Tiger Trans Inc., a transpor-

tation logistics company based in Turlock.

Singh tried a couple of different ventures

before attending UC Merced as a transfer

student from Modesto Junior College, but

when the opportunity to start Tiger Trans

presented itself while he was still a student,

Singh jumped. His father had been a truck

driver, and Singh knew the business, the

challenges and the opportunities well.

As the business began to grow, Singh

recruited fellow classmate David Lopez to

help him on the business-side of things, in

addition to his good friend Bhagdeep Gill,

who was also living in Turlock.

Since graduating from UC Merced, Singh

has further grown the business, working with

27 trucks to haul products across the country

and into Canada and expanding to hire UC

Merced students as summer interns.

He hopes to continue building an intern-

ship program for UC Merced students as part

of his business.

EFFERMAN EZELL, DERRICK GELLIDON, MATT SZETO

Another alumni venture came to fruition

this past summer in the form of a mobile

beverage company called Blendid.

Three friends, Efferman Ezell, Derrick

Gellidon and Matt Szeto, a UC Irvine gradu-

ate, set out to fill a gap they perceived in the

market.

Blendid specializes in dessert-inspired

drinks that offer a healthier alternative to ac-

tual sweets. With flavors like Banana Cream

Pie, Mango Sticky Rice and S’mores, it’s hard

to believe they might actually be good for

you, but they pack a punch of protein and

natural sweetness.

All the drinks are less than 300 calories

and are made with almond milk and ricotta

cheese to maximize protein and create that

creamy shake texture.

The owners also try to use fresh, local-

ly-grown produce from Central Valley- and

San Francisco-area farmers. For example,

they’ve contracted with J. Marchini Farms in

Le Grand for the pumpkin in their Pumpkin

Pie shakes.

Since their grand opening in August 2013,

the trio has already hired two part-time staff

members and hopes to hire even more to

help them meet the growing needs of their

small business.

They’re also planning trips back to Merced

to share their product with UC Merced

students.

UC Merced is proud of the dozen or so

alumni who have ventured out to start their

own businesses around the Valley, the state

and the world.

ALU

MN

I CO

RNER

ALUMNI ENTREPRENEURS:

UDAy BALI

(environmental engineering/bachelor’s/2008)

owner of Bali Learning Center in Merced

KELVIN DO

(economics/bachelor’s/2009)

owner of The New Heart Café in San Jose

JOSE CARLO ELAMPARO

(world cultures and history/bachelor’s/2009)

co-founder of Stance Trader Inc., in Los Angeles

JAMES PUGH

(political science/bachelor’s/2010)

co-founder of Dad’s Jerky in San Diego

JANNA RODRIGUEz

(mechanical engineering/ bachelor’s /2012)

owner of J&R Tacos in Merced

ERIC SHORR

(environmental engineering/ bachelor’s /2008)

owner of Nameless Designs in Haifa, Israel

MATTHEW TOLBIRT

(political science/ bachelor’s /2010)

founder and managing partner of One Key Ventures in Tracy

KURT WINBIGLER

(literatures and cultures/bachelor’s /2009)

owner of Coffee Bandits in Merced

OUR ENTREPENEURS BY HEATHER BUCKNERdirector of alumni relations

O

UC forCalifornia

UC Merced has two new National Association of

Intercollegiate Athletics sports for students to

participate in and fans to be proud of: men’s

soccer and men’s basketball.

They, along with men’s cross country and volleyball and women’s basketball, cross country, volleyball and soccer, bring the young campus’s total to eight National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) sports teams.

Albert Martins is the new head coach of men’s soccer, while David Noble leads the men’s volleyball team.

Games go on through fall and winter, with cross coun-try meets in such places as University of San Francisco, Stanford, Santa Clara and Davis, leading up to the NAIA National Championship in Lawrence, Kan.

Soccer started in August and runs through the first half of November, with Bobcats taking on such opponents as Modesto Junior College, William Jessup University, Menlo College, Embry-Riddle and Marymount University.

Tickets are available for all games, as arefull schedules and player and coachinformation.

Visit ucmercedbobcats.com.


SPO

RTS U

PDA

TE

Make a Difference —

Support UC Merced

UC Merced is subject to changing state and federal laws that could impact

our students, faculty and staff members.

In recent years, the University of California and its supporters have fought hard in

Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to ensure the access, affordability and quality

of the university for current and future students, as well as on various policy issues

that could benefit or adversely affect its employees.

If you would like to join in the effort to advocate on behalf of UC Merced and the

University of California, please visit ucforcalifornia.org/merced to learn how

you can make a difference.

Wh

at’S n

eW

HALF DOME, THE NEWEST RESIDENCE HALL, REFLECTS NOT ONLY THE OPEN SkY AND BUILDINGS AROUND IT, BUT THE

COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY ON THE UC MERCED CAMPUS. MUCH OF THE BUILDING USES RECYCLED MATERIALS, FROM ITS CARPETS

TO ITS CEILING TILES, AND CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES ENABLED THE DIVERSION OF TONS OF WASTE FROM LANDFILLS BY

RECYCLING OR REUSING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE.

University Communications

5200 N. Lake Road

Merced, CA 95343

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PAIDPERMIT NO. 2194

FRESNO, CA

STUDENTS – INCLUDING UNDERGRADUATES AT ALL LEVELS – ARE A

VITAL PART OF THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED AT UC MERCED.

ONE LAST LOOK PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPERNovember 2013 | 19,400

UC Merced Magazine Fall 2013

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Transcript of UC Merced Magazine Fall 2013