Chavez Honored

Golden Bear Center was rededicated April 3 as the Cesar E. Chavez Student Center in memory of the late Latino labor leader. The ceremony included a keynote address by United Farm Workers vice president Dolores Huerta, above, and comments from Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien. The effort to rename the center began in 1995 when two student government senators introduced legislation to change the name.

Distinguished Bear Backers

Several awards were given to outstanding Cal backers at a UC Berkeley Foundation event in February. The Chancellor's Award, honoring the alumnus or friend of UC Berkeley who has given consistently distinguished service to major fund-raising program and campaigns, was given to Peter Haas, shown right with wife Mimi and Chancellor Tien. (Haas was also recently named Alumnus of the Year for 1996 by the California Alumni Association.)

The Young Bear Award, given to current Berkeley students or recent grads who have demonstrated remarkable leadership in fund-raising efforts, was awarded to Karmela Maggliocco, below, and Jamison Gilveli.

Dick Heggie and Carl Stoney, not shown, received the Wheeler Oak Meritorious Award for alumni and friends who have excelled as leaders of fund-raising efforts. Trustees' Citations were given to Lawrence Peirano, Nancy Lusk, Harry Hathaway and John Henderson.

Cal holds open house

More than 30,000 visitors got a chance to try out all Cal has to offer at the Cal Day open house April 19.

Berkeley opened its museums, labs, classrooms, libraries, and athletic facilities and offered lectures, music, drama and dance performances, sporting events and tours highlighting new facilities and campus history.

The day also included the Charter Anniversary Ceremony, celebrating the 129th anniversary of the University of California. The ceremony included a keynote address by Chancellor Tien and remarks by Princeton University President Harold T. Shapiro, processions by the faculty, staff and alumni and music by the marching band and UC choral ensembles.

For a roundup of photographs and comments about the day, visit the Cal Day web site at http://www.berkeley.edu/calday/

Campaign Reaches Halfway Milestone

Just six months into its public phase, Cal's New Century Campaign is already at the halfway mark toward its $1.1 billion goal.

More than $540 million has been committed so far. Many alumni and friends are making gifts in honor of departing Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien.

Progress since the campaign's launch last September has been rapid, with more than 120 volunteers seeking major gifts from their peers in five Northern California regions: San Francisco/Marin, San Mateo, Alameda/East Bay, Contra Costa and Sacramento.

New committees are forming in Modesto and the Monterey Peninsula. The campaign will be launched in Southern California next fall.

The campaign is also making its mark on campus. This spring, Harmon Gymnasium will undergo a massive renovation resulting in the 12,000-seat Walter A. Haas Jr. Pavilion. Golden Bears fans have already given $32 million toward the project's cost of $37 million.

Gains in faculty support include a $1 million distinguished professorship in medieval and Renaissance studies, endowed by former Cal professor Aldo Scaglione of New York.

Dorms donate to homeless

Campus residence-hall dwellers contributed more than 2,500 toiletry items in a one-week drive in February sponsored by the Residence Hall Assembly and the Suitcase Clinic, a campus-affiliated community organization.

The drive was part of the new Adopt-An-Agency program in the residence halls this year, under which each hall has "adopted" a not-for-profit community organization for the entire academic year.

For more information, contract Alice Park at 643-9741 or 664-1200.

Getting the message

It took UC Berkeley graduate student Ian Goldberg only 3 1/2 hours in January to crack the most secure level of encryption that the federal government allows U.S. companies to export.

RSA Data Security Inc. challenged the world to decipher a message encrypted with its RC5 symmetric stream cipher, using a 40-bit key, the longest keysize allowed for export. RSA's $1,000 reward was designed to stimulate research and practical experience with the security of today's codes.

Goldberg's success provides very strong evidence that 40-bit ciphers are totally unsuitable for practical security.

"This is the final proof of what we've known for years: 40-bit encryption technology is obsolete," Goldberg said.

RSA's RC5 cipher can however be used with longer keysizes, ranging from 40 to 2,048 bits, to provide increasing levels of security.

Honored for their work

Three UC Berkeley professors have been honored recently for outstanding work in their field of study.

Corey Goodman, professor and head of the Division of Neurobiology and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was given one of the Gairdner Foundation's 1997 International Awards. This award recognizes his studies on the molecular basis of axon guidance, a fundamental problem of neuronal development.

The Tokyo-based Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications has awarded its Okawa Prize for 1996 to Lotfi A. Zadeh, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer sciences, in recognition of his contribution to information science through the development of fuzzy logic and its applications. The prize includes an award of 10 million yen.

In another presentation, the Honda Foundation has selected Professor Bruce N. Ames as the winner of Honda Prize for 1996. Ames is a professor in the division of biochemistry and molecular biology.

[School and College News]

 


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