Berkeleyan

News Briefs

07 March 2007

Thursday's faculty forum on Energy Biosciences Institute will be webcast live

As announced in last week's issue, the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate has scheduled a faculty forum to discuss issues relating to the selection of UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to share $500 million in research funding to create an Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI). The forum will be held Thursday, March 8, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Sibley Auditorium, Bechtel Engineering Center. There will be limited seating for non-Senate members; a real-time webcast of the forum will be available at webcast.berkeley.edu/events.

A faculty panel will speak about academic freedom, shared governance, and corporate responsibility, as well as the specifics of the scientific issues in the venture. A question-and-answer and open-discussion period will follow the panelist presentations.

Invited panelists include Beth Burnside, vice chancellor for research; CITRIS director S. Shankar Sastry; Goldman School of Public Policy professor Robert Reich; Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering Jay Keasling; David Vogel, professor of business; and Ignacio Chapela, associate professor of environmental science, policy, and management. The panel will be moderated by the Graduate School of Journalism's Linda Schacht.

Additional information is available on the senate website (academic-senate.berkeley.edu).

New 'Bear in Mind' installment focuses on the EBI

In the latest edition of the "Bear in Mind" webcast series, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau delves into the details of the winning proposal to create the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI). In one segment, "The Campus Context," he is joined by Vice Chancellor for Research Beth Burnside and Energy and Resources Group professor Dan Kammen, both of whom played significant roles in drafting the proposal. In another, "How the EBI Can Help 'Save the World,'" Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory director Steve Chu joins the chancellor to discuss aspects of the push to develop biofuels, including the need for public-private partnerships to address climate change and alternative energy.

This edition of "Bear in Mind" can be viewed at www.berkeley.edu/news/chancellor/bim; viewers can use RealVideo software or follow the link to Google Video, where special software is not required.

Register now for March 22 conference on 'Changing the Culture of the Academy'

As part of the campus's ongoing conversation on diversity, equity, and inclusion, an all-day conference, "Changing the Culture of the Academy," will be held in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union on Thursday, March 22. The goal of the conference, which is subtitled "Toward a More Inclusive Practice," is to create a working model for transforming the University of California into a truly inclusive university system rooted in excellence.

The lineup of events includes keynote talks by Troy Duster, Chancellor's Professor in the sociology department, and UCLA doctoral student Maria Ledesma, UC student regent for 2006-07. Registration is required and space is limited. For a detailed schedule and to register, visit cci.berkeley.edu/news. For information, contact Gloria Chun (gchun@berkeley.edu) or Elizabeth Gillis (egillis@berkeley.edu).

The Scholar's Workstation is moving

After 16 years in University Hall, The Scholar's Workstation (TSW) will be moving to Hearst Field Annex, Building D, during spring break, March 23 to 30. TSW will be closed during those dates and expects to reopen during the first week in April. The move is being made to accommodate the demand for academic space on and around campus.

The new location (directly behind the Pacific Film Archive Theatre, near the corner of Bancroft and Bowditch) will be a temporary home for Information Services and Technology's newly formed Technology Acquisition and Sales Division. Units involved in the move include TWS's computer store and will-call office, Computer Repair and Support, and Cellular Devices and Services. A search for a long-term space will begin immediately after the move.

There will be an order and inventory transition period (through March 31) leading up to the actual move dates. See the TSW website, calcomputers.berkeley.edu, for updated information relevant to ordering on the web, in-store purchases, and delivery-date estimates. For information, e-mail april@tsw.berkeley.edu or see www.tsw.berkeley.edu.

'Stem Cell Research and the Politics of Religion' on March 13

In this talk, co-sponsored by the Science, Technology, and Society Center (STSC) and the Stem Cells and Society Program, the Princeton Theological Seminary's Nancy Duff, an associate professor of Christian ethics and an ordained Presbyterian minister, will focus primarily on the political influence that conservative evangelicals have had on public opinion and policies, including the rhetoric they employ. She will also discuss how and why some conservative evangelicals actually support stem-cell research. This open lecture in Rhetoric 174, The Rhetoric of Scientific Discourse, taught by STSC director Charis Thompson, will take place Tuesday, March 13, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in 20 Wheeler Hall.

'Radical re-dating' of St. Patrick is the theme of March 16 public lecture

Recent research on writings by St. Patrick, undertaken by Professor of Rhetoric and Celtic Studies Daniel Melia, supports a radical re-dating of Patrick's life, and thus of the Christianization of Ireland. Melia's research shows that Patrick's knowledge of Latin technical idiom and formal
rhetoric was more sophisticated than previously believed.

Melia will outline his arguments in "The Real St. Patrick," a public lecture to be held Friday, March 16, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in 242 Dwinelle. The lecture is free and open to the public. For information, contact Melia at dmelia@berkeley.edu or (510) 540-1941.

Cal Overstock and Surplus Den has been officially certified 'green'

On Feb. 27, the Cal Overstock and Surplus Den received formal certification as an Alameda County "green business" from the Bay Area Green Business Program. Certification means that the den complies with all environmental regulations related to disposing campus surplus property via sale, recycling, or re-use. A partnership of environmental agencies and utilities coordinated by the Association of Bay Area Governments, the green-business program assists and recognizes local entities that voluntarily operate in an environmentally responsible way; its collaborators include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cal EPA's Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the business community.

The den now offers a computer-recycling drop-off event for the community on the third Friday of each month, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1000 Folger Ave. in Berkeley. For information, visit overstock.berkeley.edu.

Spring into a healthy lifestyle with 10-week incentive program

On Wednesday, March 14, the Health*Matters Walking Group will hold a kickoff event for "Spring Into Action," a 10-week healthy-lifestyle incentive program. The kickoff begins at 12:10 p.m. on the south side of the Campanile; registered participants receive free giveaways, including $10 off the price of an Accusplit Eagle 120 XL pedometer. (To purchase a pedometer, contact Health*Matters at 643-4646 or hmatters@uhs.berkeley.edu.)

Attendance at the kickoff event is not required in order to participate in the incentive program, which runs from March 19 through May 25. Through this program, participants are encouraged to walk a minimum of three times a week for 30 minutes, log their activities, and make simple improvements to their diets. Those who complete the program are eligible to win gift cards, massages, home exercise kits, and other goodies.

To register, visit uhs.berkeley.edu/facstaff/healthmatters/springintoaction.shtml.