Wednesday, February 25, 1998
Community Briefs
BRIEFS:
Book collections could win cash prizes
Attention booklovers: Dont hesitate to turn in submissions to
the 50th Annual Robert B. and Blanche Campbell Student Book
Collection Competitions.
All submissions are due by Wednesday, April 8.
The complete rules and applications can be found at the
reference desks at the College Library, the University Research
Library, the SEL/Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Library, the
Biomedical Library or the Department of Special Collections.
The final judging and presentation of awards will be at 3 p.m.
on April 22. Awards, which have been doubled because of the 50th
anniversary celebration, are $600 for first place for
undergraduates and graduates, and $300 for second place. There is
also a $600 prize for childrens book collections.
For further information, contact Octavio Olvera at (310)
206-0584 or Silvia Mariscal at (310) 825-9056.
Town-hall meeting gives students a voice
Representatives from the transportation department, housing
department, the College of Letters and Science and the assistant
vice chancellor to the Capitol Program spoke at a town hall meeting
Tuesday. Held at Ackerman Union, the meeting gave students an
opportunity to voice concerns and questions to administrative
representatives involved in the issues, said Internal
Vice-President (IVP) Carol Lee.
Comments and questions made during the meeting stressed the
importance of increased communication between the administration
and students, construction on campus and increased
transportation.
We were excited that a good amount of students came not
associated with the IVP. It shows that there are a lot of students
out there concerned about these issues as well, said Liz Geyer of
the IVP office.
UC schools acquire most patent dollars
The UC system has earned more money from its patents and
licenses than any other university, according to a study.
The nine UC campuses earned $63.2 million in patents, placing
them first among the 173 major colleges and universities surveyed
by the Connecticut-based Association of University Technology
Managers.
Stanford University placed second in the survey with $43.8
million, followed by Columbia University with $40.6 million earned
in license and patent money.
Biotechnology and medical-related patents made up the majority
of the top 25 UC system patents. UC San Franciscos hepatitis-B
vaccine ranked first, with a $26 million profit last year. Other UC
inventions include the process of splicing genes, the nicotine
patch, the human growth gene and the atomic force microscope.
The survey also found an increasing trend in the revenue raised
by patents and licenses over the past five years at universities
focusing on research.
But David Hodges, a Berkeley professor of electrical engineering
and computer science, said that in the computer field, changes are
so rapid that patents do not yield a substantial source of
income.
Instead, patents that have been around for a long time are the
actual money-makers.
Computers change so fast, so success is not based on patents,
Hodges said.
Patents are not so important in my field. However, in medicine
and drugs, patents are good for 20 years or so, he added.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.