Monday, January 25, 1999
Community Briefs
BRIEFS:
Committee named
for chancellor selection
A committee of UC Regents, faculty, students, staff and alumni
representatives from the San Joaquin Valley has been appointed by
UC President Richard C. Atkinson to advise him on the selection of
a founding chancellor for the new Merced campus.
UC Merced, the first UC campus planned since the mid-1960s and
the first American research university to be established in the
21st century, is expected to open its doors to its first students
in fall of 2005.
The 18-member committee will be asked to begin reviewing
candidates for the post next month, and a recommendation to the
regents is expected to be forwarded in May or June. The appointment
would be effective July 1, 1999.
Initial duties of the chancellor will include recruitment of an
outstanding founding faculty; development of campus academic and
physical plans; participation in the planning and development of
the surrounding community; and recruitment of staff.
Atkinson and regents’ chairman John G. Davies will serve as ex
officio members.
The new campus will be located near the City of Merced on 2,000
acres near the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The area surrounding
the campus is reserved for an 8,300-acre university community
development featuring residential, office and retail areas.
Science education needs improvement
The president of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS), speaking at the association’s annual meeting in
Anaheim, urged her fellow scientists to become directly involved in
efforts to improve science education and the public’s understanding
of science. President M.R.C. Greenwood advocated changes throughout
the educational pipeline and proposed a national campaign to
promote the involvement of scientists on school boards.
While recent scientific discoveries and advances give scientists
ample cause to celebrate, the United States may be slipping behind
other nations in its ability to inspire and educate the next
generation of scientists, said Greenwood, chancellor of the
University of California, Santa Cruz.
Experimental diet may be healthy, study finds
Eating a low-calorie yet nutrient-rich diet produces
physiological changes that may lower your risk of serious disease,
according to new research presented by Dr. Roy L. Walford, UCLA
professor of pathology, at the American Association for the
Advancement of Science meeting on Jan. 21 in Anaheim, Calif.
Walford’s presentation centered on results from two studies he
conducted. One was the first controlled study of physiological
changes in humans on low-calorie regimens. Four women and four men,
including Walford, sealed themselves inside a closed ecological
area from 1991 to 1993 for an experimental study called Biosphere
2.
Duplicating a low-calorie, nutrient-dense diet that had retarded
aging and lowered disease in rodents during Walford’s earlier
studies, the participants dined on a chiefly vegetarian diet
consisting of grains, legumes, bananas, papayas and fresh greens
and vegetables grown inside Biosphere 2. The livestock they raised
provided small quantities of goat meat, goat milk, pork, chicken,
fish and eggs.
As the group’s physician, Walford obtained and froze blood
specimens for analysis from the participants every eight weeks
during and after the study. His findings proved intriguing. Over
the course of their stay, the men lost an average of 18 percent of
their total body weight; the women lost 10 percent. Most of the
weight loss occurred over the first six months.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff reports.
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