The Aggie | Student-run, independent newspaper at UC Davis 🗞️ – 📍New issue out every Thursday!

Editorial: Losing trays not worth losing sleep

Opinion

Opinion

May 8, 2008

Since Apr.22,serving trays have not been made available to Tuesday diners at theUC Davis dining commons.This move,whichwill continue for at least the rest of the year,is expected to cut water and electricity usage from daily washing and deter customers from taking more food than they can eat.

Despite the positiveimpacts,Trayless Tuesdays have been opposed by some students.Manyconsider the day to be nothing more than a money-saving tactic by Sodexoandan inconvenience,asbringing food to and from their tablewithout a tray is moretime consuming.

Regardless of what Sodexo’s motives are,the fact is the once-a-weekabsence of trays helps conserve the environment and encourages students to take only what they plan to eat,making the minor inconvenience well worth thetrouble.

It is important not to forget that tray or no tray,the on-campus commons are still incredibly convenient.Students with meal plans need only to bring their ID card to the dining commons for a worker to swipe.After that,a world ofalready-shopped-for,pre-preparedfood is at their fingertips.Heaven forbid they walk their ready-to-be-eaten food back to their table without a tray.

The idea of being without a tray is nothing new on campus.TheCastilian Dining Commons has never used trays,andlast checked,no student has died from starvation because of their inability to carry their food.

As long as Sodexo never stops servingfreshcookies daily,there is no need to shedtears at the UC Davis dining commons anytime soon.XXX

Editoral: Human impacts will be overturned

Opinion

Opinion

May 8, 2008

Many Yolo County residents have ridden down County Road 98 to observe both Putah Creek’s wonderful contribution to the wildlife and its demise as a damaged ecosystem. In an effort to improve and preserve the creek’s beauty and viability, several independent and campus wildlife groups have teamed up to grow native plants to modify Putah Creek toamorenatural state.

Over the years,Putah Creek has been tremendously altered by humans– it has beenre-channeled,and a dam was installed.This also had an impactonthe habitat itself,especially for the fish and plants,as the changes allowed weeds and other invasive species to dominate the area.

By growing seedlings of native plants to belater addedto Putah Creek,some of the past threats to the well-being of the areawill be reversed.Native plant species helpfoster and maintain the other types of native wildlife,which is why it is important to restore the riparian corridor of the creek.Native plants serve as shelter for the wildlife in and around the water as well as help balance the ecosystem.The native plants contribute to the quality of the waterandthe air and protect the creek from erosion of agricultural land materials.All these factors prove how vital native species are to the region and howimportant the nursery project collaborationisbetween the Putah Creek Council,Lower Putah Creek Coordinating Committee and the UC Davis chapter of Sociology for Conservation Biology.

Other benefits of the collaborative nursery project include reviving a previously unused greenhouse at theL.A.MoranReforestationCenter onChiles Road,which wasnever heavily utilized due to itsolder design.But between using an existing facility and recruiting volunteers,the project’s costs will stay relatively low while positive impacts will be relatively high.

Over the years,modifications and dumping have damaged the integrity of Putah Creek,but it is wonderful to see the local community,including UC Davis affiliates,give the natural habitat a new face.Hopefully,the installation of native plants will not only improve the wildlife but also discourage people fromlittering on the creek’s banks.

Interested volunteers may contact the Lower Putah Creek Coordinating Committee,orgo toputahcreek.org.XXX

Yolo County Housing joins Climate Change Compact

City News

City Editor

May 8, 2008

The Yolo County Housing Authority joined other local organizations in the Yolo County Climate Change Compact last week.The compact is part of a group of county jurisdictions that have agreed to implement programs to reduce the impact of global warming and climate change.

“We believe that working together with local governments,including the county,school districts,UC Davis and other special districts will help provide a framework and context for additional reductions in energy usage,” said Lisa Baker,YCH executive director,in a press release.

The Yolo County Climate Change Compact is part of a large-scale movement inCalifornia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by recruiting local governments to become involvedin reducing greenhouse emissions and creating new sustainability practices.

“Yolo County joined 13 other counties in the U.S.to participate in the Cool Counties Climate Stabilization declaration, making Yolo County one of only 13 charter counties in the entire country making this commitment,” according to the county’s website. “This act commits Yolo County to seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050.“

As part of the Climate Change Compact,the county is conducting an energy conservation retrofit program with a projected savings of a half million dollars per year.The county also initiated an appliance replacement program to replace inefficient appliances aswell as to replace all incandescent lights with energy efficient fluorescent bulbs.

The Yolo County Housing Authority owns and manages431housing units,apartments and duplexes as well as154migrant farm worker units inYoloCounty.While it’s not a component of the county government,the organization does receive funding from county,state and federal programs.

AlthoughYCH just recently signed the Climate Change Compact,it has already begun implementing environmentally friendly policies.They have diverted13,000pounds of scrap lumber from local landfills to biomass electrical generation since2006,developedtolerant landscaping and installed solarenergy in housing developments.

Like the other local organizations involved in the Climate Change Compact,YCH has pledged to establish goals and make plans to reduce the agency’s energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

“YCH aims to further reduce the impact of global warming and climate change through energy and water conservation,purchasing sustainable products,using mass transportation modes and other beneficial practices,” according to a press release.

Many of the changesYoloCounty has been making are mandatory,said Louise Jackson,UCD professor in the land,air and water resources department.

“Many of the county governments inCalifornia have been mandated to change their greenhouse gas emissions due to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Act and have been asked to reduce their levels to1990levels,” she said.

But by increasing awareness,YoloCounty is giving other businesses and institutions a pathway and the ability to do it for themselves,Jackson said.

“YoloCounty is very tuned into thinking ahead about what this might require,” Jackson said. “YoloCounty and UC Davis have been very active in thinking about mitigating greenhouse gas emissions for awhile now.“

David Springer,president of Davis Energy Group,a local companythat uses new technology to develop efficient energy solutions,is another supporter of sustainable environmental practices.

“It is important to make alternative energies efficient,” he said. “You can take a home or business inCalifornia and improve it so that it’s using35percent less energy than with conventional,less efficient measures.“

Existing technologies,such as the ones the Climate Change Compact utilizes,are the most efficient,Springer said.

“As far as alternatives to current technologies,there are limited alternatives and not very much time to implement them,” he said.

“It takes decades to design,build and commission a nuclear or fossil fuel power plant,but by utilizing existing technologies,such as solar,it’s possible to immediately start providing a substantial impact on our energy situation because the infrastructure is already in place.“

KELLY KRAG-ARNOLD can be reached atcity@californiaaggie.com.XXX

Capitol Corridor trains to receive security upgrades

City News

City Editor

May 8, 2008

080508_ci_trainfunds.C

Notes:

Headline: Capitol Corridor trains to receive security upgrades

Layercake: Prop 1B funding allocated for cameras, operations center

By JEREMY OGUL

Aggie Staff Writer

The train ride to the Bay Area from Davis should become safer as a result of new funds the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority received last week.

The authority, which operates Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor trains that run through Davis, received a $1.9 million check from the state Office of Homeland Security to improve safety and security onboard the trains. The money will be used in part to install security cameras on trains and in stations.

“The purpose for these funds is to increase security and safety against both natural and manmade disasters,” said OHS spokesman Steve Turner. “[These cameras] give you a picture of what happened outside of anybody else’s perception of it, and they give you something you can review later.”

Turner said such security cameras were useful during the London train bombings in 2005, allowing authorities to review froman additional perspective.

“It’s new technology, and if something happens – whether it’s to your grandmother or somebody who’s trying to do harm on trains – you want that technology to let you know what happened.”

The funds come from Proposition 1B, a bond approved by voters in 2006 to provide $19.9 billion for transportation improvement projects. The check received last week was the first in a series of payments that will add up to $19 million over 10 years for Capitol Corridor, spokesperson Luna Salaver said.

Train officials are also hoping that the cameras, which will be installed on both the inside and outside of trains, will have other uses as well.

“It will give our security staff members the ability to see what’s going on in real time on trains,” she said. “For the cameras that are at the front of the train, we will be able to reconstruct whenever there’s collisions.”

Salaver said such interior cameras would have helped recently with a report of someone going into other passengers’ luggage on the train. The exterior cameras would also be useful to investigators in situations like the death of a Richmond man who stepped in front of a Capitol Corridor train on Apr. 14.

Officials are planning to use future funding to construct a security operation center in Oakland, install wireless networks, upgrade crossing barriers and swing gates at crossings and install more warning signage.

“We are also going to update our passenger communications network, which is the digital signs in each station telling you the status of the train,” Salaver said.

The Capitol Corridor trains travel between Auburn at the northern end and San Jose at the southern end, passing through Berkeley and Oakland on the way.

UC Davis junior Katie Lieberman has been riding the train between Davis and the Bay Area roughly twice a month for three years.

“I’ve wondered … you don’t get your bags checked, which is kind of rare in transportation these days, so sometimes I worry about that,” Lieberman said.

She said she’s not too concerned about crime on the train, though.

“I’ve never experienced crime on the train, and no one I know has either,” she said.

Capitol Corridor expects to have the cameras installed and operating by the end of 2008. Other projects will be completed as funds become available.

JEREMY OGUL can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com. XXX

City Brief

City News

City Editor

May 8, 2008

Approved the purchase of two para-transit buses from Federal Transportation Administration funds at the total cost of $120,000 Passed a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a memorandum of understanding for collaboration with the U.S.Bicycle Hall of Fame to plan the induction dinner and ceremonial event. Directed staff to continue working with the Bicycle Advisory Commission and Caltrans in evaluating potential improvements to the Mace Boulevard bicycle overcrossing. Received an informational report from the Public Works department about neighborhood electric vehicle accessibility. Received an update on the Climate Action Team member appointments. Revised job specificationsfor the environmental resource supervisor and environmental resource specialist positions. Approved plans,specifications and bid advertisements for the El Macero drainage pump station improvements. Passed resolution proclaiming May 2008 as National Preservation Month.

City Council will oppose Prop 98

City News

City Editor

May 8, 2008

Davis City Council unanimously adopted a resolution Tuesday night indicating its opposition to Proposition 98,a measure on the June 3 ballot that would constrain state and local government’s eminent domain powers.

The controversial proposition aimsto prohibit government agenciesfromforcingthe sale of private propertyandthen subsequentlytransferring ownership to another private party.

The use of eminent domain powers is traditionally reserved for instances in which a government agency deems it necessary to acquire private property for a public use – usually new schools, roads or government buildings.

The proposition was spurred by a 2005 Supreme Courtruling, making it legal for a local government agency to seize private property and transfer ownership to another party, provided the project will result in economic growth or increased tax revenues for the city.

“The supposed primary focus is on eminent domain, but in reality the concerns are with the section that deals with rent control,” said city manager Bill Emlen.

The proposition includes a clause that would prohibit government from enacting new rent control measures as well as phase out rent controls implemented before Jan. 1, 2007 on a unit-by-unit basis after they are vacated voluntarily.

Several residents of Atria Covell Gardens, a senior living facility, encouraged City Council to oppose the proposition, citing a 24 percent rent increase over the past three years. The proposition would make it impossible for Davis to implement any rent control policies.

“Nobody likes rent control in theory, but in practice it becomes a necessary evil where rental costs are so high,” Emlen said.

Davis resident Richard Fields addressed the council in support of the proposition.

“Proposition 98 would it make it more difficult to take from one private citizen and give to another,” Fields said. “I know you folks here in Davis wouldn’t do that,but do you trust the people in Woodland and Elk Grove not to?”

The city of Davis has rarely used its eminent domain powers, Emlen said.

“The experience I’ve had in state and local governments is that they don’t employ eminent domain unless it’s an absolute public need,” said Councilmember Don Saylor. “It’s always better to have a willing seller.“

Opponents of Prop 98 also argue that it would impair local government’s ability to protect the environment.

The measure would prohibit laws that “transfer economic benefit to one or more private persons at the expense of the private owner.“ Because most environmental regulations inherently impose a cost on the private owner while transferring economic benefits to another party,opponents argue it would devastate environmental regulation.

“It doesn’t benefit the taxpayers and could seriously impede local government from addressing environmental issues,” Emlen said. “What always concerns me about propositions is that often their titles do not accurately depict whatthey represent.Folks needto look at them carefully.“

ALYSOUN BONDE can be reached atcity@californiaaggie.com.

‘Hate crimes’ target Jewish, LGBT students

Campus News

Campus Editor

May 8, 2008

A pair of acts of vandalism targeting the Jewish and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities has angered student groups, who have decried the incidents as hate crimes.

At the beginning of last week’s La Raza Cultural Days,sophomorepsychology major Joel Juarez placed over 75 posters in Olson, Hart, Wellman and Young halls advertising “Consciencia y Resistancia,” an event recognizing the intersection of the queer and Latino identities.

The posters depicted two men embracing each other,but nothing “graphic or offensive,” said Juarez, the Gender & Sexuality Coordinator for Yik’al Kuyum, the Chicano/a and Latino/a Holistic Student Support Program for the Student Recruitment and Retention Center.

The day after Juarez and his friends posted the signs, Juarez said he noticed that all ofthem had been taken down.

“I figured it might have been someone who was upset about the picture.I didn’t think anything of it that first time,” Juarez said.

The following day, on Apr.30, Juarez placed 75 more posters all over campus, but they too disappeared by the following morning.

Juarez said he discovered some of the posters in garbage bins, torn in half with slurs and expletives written on them.

“It creates a hostile environment for people who identify as LGBT if the campus can’t even be OK with a poster,” he said. “It definitely hurt and it showed how our campus isn’t really the best or safest place.“

Juarez said the purpose of the program advertised on the poster swas to “celebrate intersecting identities.“ The program was intended to be a safe, comfortable place with expressing two different identities that are not always permitted in the same environment,he said.

“But the fact that the posters were torn down added an element of hostility,” he said.

The Jewish community was also the target of a recent attack. On the evening of Apr.22, someone spray-painted a slur about Jews and the Nazi’s concentration camp crematoriums.

The vandalism occurred just outside the steps leading into the front entrance of Young Hall, where the Muslim Student Association was hosting an event about how French Muslims helped hide Jews during the Holocaust.

Rachel Goldstein, an intern with Hillel House at UC Davis, said she attended the 8p.m.MSA event and did not see any vandalism as she walked intothe building.Goldstein said she would have noticed any spray paint on the ground because she had just been “chalking” there the night before.

Goldstein, a sophomore international relations major, said she had to leave the presentation 20 minutes early and noticed a spray-painted Jewish star on the ground as she walked out.

Upon closer examination, Goldstein said she saw a derogatory message about Jews. Goldstein said she went back into Young Hall to summon her friends,who reported the incident to the UC Davis Police.

The incident marked the second time during this school year the Jewish community has come under attack.Last October,someone defaced a Jewish holiday booth with political messages.

In reaction to the incident,the university issued a statement declaring that “acts of hate are not acceptable and will not be tolerated on our campus.“

Goldstein said she was especially disturbed that therecentincident occurred outside ofMSA’s presentation,which was“a really positive and meaningful event.“

“To Jews,the Holocaust is something that you just don’t mess around with.It’s very personal.I felt like [the vandalism] was very purposeful,” she said.

Goldstein emphasized that she did not believe MSAwasresponsible for the vandalism.The MSA did not return an e-mail message for comment.

Mandy Beatty,a member ofUC Davis STAND,an anti-genocide group,said she was “baffled that this[vandalism] still goes on.“

“I could not believe that there was a hate crime on our campus.The student body should be up in arms,” said Beatty,a sophomore international agricultural development major.

The vandalism of the La Raza Cultural Days posters andthe painted slur outside of the MSA event have brought issues of tolerance back to the fore.

“I think homophobia is definitely still a big issue on campus,and I think a lot of people are unaware of it,” saidLGBTResourceCenterdirector Sheri Atkinson. “And I think [the poster] incident brought to light something that is a prevalent problem on campus.“

Goldstein saidHillel isn’t planning on any specific response to the vandalism,as “there’s no need to be dramatic.” Still,such an incident “can’t happen on a university campus,” she said.

“We have free speech,but there’s a fine line between hate and preaching free speech.We just need to make people remember history and their own personal communities,” she said. “It’s important to realize that we’re all part of a greater human community.“

PATRICK McCARTNEY can be reached atcampus@californiaaggie.com.

Google Transit comes to Davis

Campus News

Campus Editor

May 8, 2008

On Apr.15, Davis joined 51 other cities and regions worldwide using Google Transit to aid in the promulgation of public transportation.

The move to Google Transit was initiated by Unitrans earlier this year. A schedule was submitted to Google through the Sacramento Regional Transit Authorityin March to include the city of Davis in the free program.

“It made sense for us to create [Google Transit],” said Elaine Filadelfo, global communications and public affairs representative for Google. “Google Transit is the logical extension of Google Maps – it brings a greater range of options to Google users.“

Google Transit is a search engine allowing users to enter origin and destination coordinates to obtain a public transportation travel route. According the website, it helps users to “easily access public transit schedules, routes and plan trips using their local public transportation options.“

The cost of providing the necessary information to Google was covered by a regional transit coordination program grant funded byt he Sacramento Area Council of Governments,said Unitrans assistant general manager Anthony Palmere.

“We wanted to join the program when it came out,“ Palmere said. “But we didn’t have the resources to put the format together that Google needed for the search engine.“

Unitrans has not yet recorded any increase in traffic or extra attention as a result of the transition,Palmere said.

“We’re still waiting for the addition to sink in a little,” he said. “[Google Transit] is still pretty recent,but we’re definitely going to keep it.“

Google Transit’s international market currently provides service for all ofJapan andSwitzerland but has yet to make a presence in South America and Africa.

“Right now,we’re working on bringing more and more agencies into coverage in as many areas as possible,” Filadelfo said. “In the past weeks, we’ve added15regions to our service area,six the dayDavis joined and nine more onEarth Day.“

Both Filadelfo and Palmere addressed the environmentally friendly aspect of the program,which promotes mass transit and reduced methane gas emissions.

“A lot of people are very excited when it launched in their regions and we’ve had a lot of support,” Filadelfo said. “One of the reasons people like it is because of its good environmentalpossibilities.“

The project’s test run began in2005with the Portland Trimet public transportation system.Today,Google Transit operates in11cities inCalifornia,and40cities andregions nationwide,including the entire state ofRhode Island.

Currently missing from the site is directions for the walking portions of journeys.Only distances are provided.

People can figure out this by using the map,Filadelfosaid.

“It didn’t cost anything,and it broadens the appeal of our service,” Palmeresaid. “It provides an interesting alternative and makes Unitrans more accessible to peoplenot accustomed tousing other interfaces.“

Google Transit can be found atgoogle.com/transitor through the Unitrans homepage at unitrans.ucdavis.edu.

CHARLES HINRIKSSON can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.XXX

What do you like to see in a professor?

Features

Features Editor

May 7, 2008

More students than not have been known to roll their eyes when professors vehemently stress the importance of teacher evaluations.

As it turns out, however, those bubble sheets really do matter.

By taking a glance at what departments look at when hiring and retaining professors, students can learn that their end-of-the-term evaluations are one of many hurdles a professor must clear to obtain tenure.

What do departments look for?

Shirley Chiang, a professor and chair of the UC Davis physics department, provided an overview of the hiring process for her department. She explained that the department advertises for available positions in specific research areas, and that the most important qualification is experience in the candidate’s research field.

Kathryn Russ, an assistant professor in the economics department, said that to her knowledge, universities generally look for economics professors with experience in their field of study, working with data sets, theoretical models and so on, but also for someone who is going to be committed to quality teaching.

Chiang added that teaching ability is important for the physics department, too, but it’s necessary to keep in mind that this goes beyond teaching undergraduate courses.

“We have big introductory level classes, classes for exclusively physics majors and graduate level courses,” Chiang said. “Sometimes when we are hiring junior faculty, they might not have a lot of teaching experience. However, we do look very seriously at teaching before we recommend them for tenure.”

Candidates submit a curriculum vitae, which is like an extended resume including papers and publications, presentations, services and schools. Russ said that these – in addition to recommendations – are important for the preliminary stage of hiring.

How does the hiring process work?

Being hired at major research institution like UC Davis can be a big accomplishment for one’s career, and the length and complexity of the hiring procedure seems to reflect this.

Chiang said that in the physics department, the process begins with a search committee. The committee is responsible for evaluating all of the applicants and narrowing them down to typically five to seven candidates.

Once these individuals are selected, they are introduced to the entire faculty, typically at something similar to a breakfast introduction, and they then meet with individual faculty members in the same or related field.

“Candidates are then asked to give a research talk to which students are invited,” Chiang said. “There are additional meetings in which the search committee meets to discuss applicants, makes a recommendation to the faculty, and then faculty members hold a vote.”

Russ said that hiring within the economics department is a centralized process. Schools and the government operate a resource called JOE (Job Openings for Economists), which is published online by the American Economics Association.

Before candidates are invited to UC Davis for interviews, they attend preliminary interviews with representatives from different hiring universities.

“The process is stressful, but I also could recognize that it was stressful for everyone,” Russ said. “I remember running a mile in heels to make an interview with a famous individual who I really wanted to meet.”

Hiring within each department is overseen by Bruce White, the Interim Vice Provost for Academic Personnel.

Is teaching ability important, and do student opinions matter?

Teaching ability, while it is not the easiest factor to evaluate when a professor has just been hired, becomes very important in determining whether one is ready for tenure, Chiang said. Student evaluations become very important at this stage.

“Faculty at the UC are reviewed every two to three years, depending on the level – associate professors every two, full professors every three,” Chiang said. “We always look at three things: research, teaching and service. We do look very closely at student evaluations when considering the teaching component.”

For Tom Johnson, a junior English and philosophy double-major, in-depth knowledge about the subject matter and the ability to explain difficult material are essential in a professor.

“Professors need to be easy to understand,” he said. “They’re obviously talking about something complicated, but if they do a good job explaining the material, it won’t seem difficult.”

In terms of personality, Johnson added that a sense of humor and the ability to relate to one’s students is also a plus, and the less pretentious, the better.

Shabnam Tavatli, a cellular biology major, also said that sense of humor is really important to her. She added that her least favorite professors have been those who take themselves too seriously and think that they are more important than everyone else.

While personality is not necessarily the most important factor for

departments to consider, Chiang said that her department looks closely at the “is this person a good teacher?” and “would you recommend this instructor?” questions. These questions, particularly the latter, give students an opportunity to rate every aspect of a professor.

DARCEY LEWIS can be reached at features@californiaaggie.com. XXX

Jefferies mastering juggling act behind the plate

Sports

Sports Editor

May 7, 2008

Jake Jefferies has a lot on his plate.

In addition to juggling his communication classes, handling a 12-man pitching staff, flirting with .400 and opening letters from major league baseball teams about the upcoming draft, the junior catcher also has to, well, clean his plate.

“It’s OK,” Jefferies said of his post-game duty of maintaining the infield dirt by home plate. “It just comes along with being a college student and not having crews to take care of it for us.”

The Merced, Calif. native has come into his own in his third year at UC Davis, establishing himself as a model of excellence while leading the Aggies in their first Division I season on the diamond.

“It’s an exciting experience and a bit overwhelming at times, but you just have to find a balance between everything and try to level it all out,” Jefferies said.

“All of those elements are difficult to manage, and he’s done a very good job of that,” said head coach Rex Peters. “He’s been calling the games pretty much himself throughout the year while also taking a beating as a catcher. And with all the attention he’s getting from the professional baseball scouts and being the main offensive guy on this team, he’s got a lot of responsibility. He’s handled it very well.”

The backstop has turned heads all across the country with his incredible offensive season. Jefferies is second in the Big West Conference in both hits (72) and RBI (50) while compiling an impressive .379/.447/.521 vital line through 190 at-bats. He has also struck out just six times over that span, making him the second-toughest batter to whiff in the nation.

“It wasn’t necessarily something specifically that clicked this year,” Jefferies said. “I just kind of learned some new things like finding the right pitch and not getting myself out as much. It’s all about having quality at-bats and getting the good pitch to hit rather than getting yourself out with ground balls from just swinging at a pitch low and away.”

Jefferies is expected to go as high as the fourth round in June’s amateur draft. Last season, Aggie third baseman Daniel Descalso became the program’s highest player ever taken in the draft after being selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth round with the 112th overall pick.

“The draft is very exciting,” Jefferies said. “Obviously you always dream of being a professional baseball player, but I’m just trying to put it in the back of my mind and try to make the playoffs first. My number one priority is getting the playoff berth and proving to everybody what we’re capable of.”

Senior outfielder Ryan Royster was taken in the 44th round of last year’s draft by the Cleveland Indians but opted to return to UC Davis. Having gone through the process already, Royster has given his teammate advice on how to handle the national attention.

“I’ve talked to him about focusing on the task at hand, and he’s been doing a great job of that,” Royster said. “The draft takes care of itself if you handle your business in practice and in games.”

Jefferies’ monster season has made plenty of noise within the conference, as he is being touted as one of the leading candidates for the Big West Player of the Year Award.

“I think you have to put him in there for consideration,” Peters said. “The key with him is confidence. We always felt like he had the ability to have a season like he’s having this year, and it was just a matter of time before he got his confidence and had things take off.

“A confident hitter is a tough out, and he’s proven that. It has been contagious to some of the other hitters in our lineup. He makes us a better team.”

In addition to the Big West Player of the Year talk, it was announced yesterday that Jefferies and third baseman Ty Kelly have been included in the narrowed-down Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award list as announced by the College Baseball Foundation.

“That’s not on my mind when I’m at the plate,” Jefferies said of his personal accolades. “If we make it to the playoffs and I end up not getting any recognition, that’s OK. It’s a team game, and getting to the playoffs is the one thing we’re trying to do and what we want most.”

RAY LIN can be reached at sports@californiaaggie.com. XXX

UC Davis team discovers genes for frost tolerance in wheat

Science & Technology

Science Editor

May 7, 2008

The worldwide food shortage and prices are expected to continue increasing until at least 2010, forcing the United Nations World Food Program to take precautionary measures, according to an article on allheadlinenews.com.

Data from the UN program suggest that the prices of some food items have drastically increased by 40 percent last year in some nations. The global food reserves have also decreased from 169 food-aid days in 2007 to 53 days this year, the lowest in 30 years.

Reasons for the worldwide food shortage are varied. Escalating prices for energy and grains, the effects of climate change and more farmers planting corn instead of wheat to supply the high demand for biofuel all can partially explain this growing concern.

The head of the UN World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, expects the millions of people living in poverty to be affected the most. They might have to buy smaller quantities of food, less nutritious food or depend on the limited aid if nothing is done.

Despite the desperation of the situation, a team of United States and European scientists from UC Davis have discovered the genes for frost tolerance in wheat, a potential aid to alleviating the growing concern of food shortage in areas prone to frost.

According to the team’s project abstract, the genes residing on chromosome 5A are responsible for a wide range of freezing temperatures that different varieties of wheat can tolerate. This trait, however, is regulated by more than one gene, which has made it difficult in the past to develop more winter-resistant strains. The study has shown that these frost-tolerance genes are activated when exposed to colder temperatures of about 53 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit in frost-tolerant varieties as opposed to in frost-prone varieties.

Wheat chromosome 5A plays a key role in the cold acclimation and tolerance of frost. The first major frost-tolerance gene, Fr-A1, and two loci on the chromosome that regulate the transcription of cold-regulated genes had been mapped before the study. This study led to the discovery of a new locus on the chromosome for frost tolerance, designated Fr-A2.

“We will need to study the different natural variants of these genes, do experiments to see which confer the best frost tolerance, and then introduce them by breeding into current varieties. If all of this is done correctly, we might be able to increase production in cold regions and even expand slightly the area of wheat production,” said UC Davis professor Jorge Dubcovsky and member of the study in an e-mail interview.

Published in the March issue of Plant Molecular Biology, the study provides understanding of winter injury, a vulnerability of wheat to be damaged if exposed to too cold of temperatures.

In order for reproductive development and seeding to occur after winter, wheat, along with other plants, must endure a period of cold. However, if temperatures are too cold during the winter or the spring, there is the possibility of freezing or damage to the crop.

The group of scientists used a variety of techniques including artificial freeze tests and determination of final leaf number and flowering response under increasing daylight regimes to determine the plant’s resistance to cold, according to the abstract.

Despite the potential for this newfound knowledge and its applications in the world, it is only the first baby step to providing relief around the world.

“There are no magic bullets to solve global food shortages. They are just long term investments in research to progress slowly in multiple areas of crop improvement,” Dubcovsky said.

Others, however, believe that there is more than one solution to the situation and focusing only on science is too narrow.

“It is our responsibility as a country to help impoverished nations with this problem. However, we should not just focus on science, but also the social and political situations,” said Kara Bellucci, a first-year women and gender studies and sociology double major.

NICK MARKWITH can be reached at science@californiaaggie.com. XXX

Upcoming Seminars

Science & Technology

Science Editor

May 7, 2008

Today

“Fire Ants and Native Ants: A Cautionary Tale”

Walter Tschinkel

122 Briggs, 12:10 to 1 p.m.

From the laboratory to the shelf:how inventions at UC Davis are developed

Science & Technology

Science Editor

May 7, 2008

Have you ever wondered how inventions get from the minds of researchers to the shelves of stores or to being incorporated into different products? The process is longer and more complicated than one might think, but UC Davis is actually a stepping stone in the process. InnovationAccess,the technology transfer department of UC Davis, helps to connect campus inventors to the patent office and to companies for further development and eventual commercialization.

First and foremost,inventions are reviewed extensivelyto determine if they are worthwhile to patent,said David McGee,executive director of InnovationAccess.

“We receive every week new invention disclosures from people on campus,asking us to look at their inventions for patentability.We look at two things.We look at patentability,and we lookat commercialization potential,“ McGee said. “The reason we look at that is because if we were to patent something that no one cared to license,then we‘d be… spending a great deal of university money for really nopurpose.“

It must be noted that UC Davis does not actually award patents to inventions,as only the United States Patent and Trademark Officehas the authority to do so.However,the university does determine whether or not to move forward with the patenting process if it has ownership rights to the invention.This is based on whether or not university funds have been used for research and development of the invention,said McGee.

“Any faculty member,or any employee,for that matter,who invents something must disclose it to the university,and we then decide if the university has an ownership position in it,“ said McGee. “If it‘s part of their job and if they‘ve been using public funds in terms of salary and so forth,then the university is going to own that invention.“

After the potential of an invention has been determined and the university decides to move forward,the technologytransfer department contacts an outside patent law firm to draft a patent application that later gets submitted directly to theU.S.patent office.

“The criteria are that the invention must be novel,useful and non-obvious,“ Bennet said.

The patent application process,from submission to acceptance,is rather lengthy.

“It can take over three years from the time we apply for a patent before it is awarded.The long time is required for the USPTO to carefully review the patent application to make sure that it is eligible to be awarded“ said Bennet.

During the reviewing period,known as patent prosecution,there are multiple correspondences between thepatent office and the patent attorneys.At the end of the reviewing period,the patent is either denied or allowed,and the university ultimately decides what to do from that point,said McGee.

The cost is more than one might expect,too,which is why the university and itstechnology transfer department takes such care in reviewing inventions that are submitted to them.

“The cost for doing this ranges anywhere from$10,000to$30,000or more to actually get a patent filed and prosecuted to issuance,“ said McGee.

Furthermore,when the patentability potential of an invention is determined,the university decides how they are going to possibly market theinvention.The first step,saidAndrei Chakhovski,intellectual property officer for UC Davis,is to post a non-confidential description on the UC Davis Innovations website.

“We also look for companies to market it to… who might be interested,“ said Chakhovski.

To broaden their idea of who may be interested in licensing an invention,the university even reaches out to sister universities and sometimes uses the internet to further the search.

If a company is interested in licensing an invention,then the university‘s representative meets with them and they discuss it.If all goes well,then a license agreement is signed.

“The long-term licenses usually run for the life of a patent,which is20years from the filing date of a patent application,and it provides certain rights to use,make and sell the invention,“ said McGee.

Even though the company with a licensecan take a lot of liberties with the invention,the intellectual property rights are not granted to them.

“We do this because through the route of licensing we‘re able to get our inventions out there for public benefit… so that we can then start enjoying the public benefits of it,“ said McGee. “In exchange for the license,the university will charge a license fee and collect royalties from the company based on their sales of whatever the invention is.“

The distribution of the income earned from patented and commercialized products can be quite lucrative to both the university and the inventor.After expenses are taken out,50percent of the revenue goes to the chancellor‘s fund,15percent is put toward a research fund forthe campus,and35percent goes directly to the inventors,McGee said.

“It‘s a very good way for inventors to not only see their invention reach the public,but also to share in some of the rewards of that,“ McGee said.

The non-confidential descriptions,as well as the status of many of the inventions and research that are patented or patent-pending are available on the UC Davis InnovationAccess website,atinnovationaccess.ucdavis.edu/home.cfm.

JACQUELYN FLATT can be reached atscience@ucdavis.edu.XXX

Chatting with the faculty

Science & Technology

Science Editor

May 7, 2008

Name: James Griesemer

Position: Chair and professor

Department: Philosophy

What is the philosophy of science?

Philosophy of science is the study of science. We try to understand what science is and how it works. Of course, since most of us are academics, we try to explain that to other people and we get into debates about that, so we have scholarly discussions about whether one person is right in their interpretation or not.

What do philosophers of science aim to do?

The shortest answer is we aim to understand science. The slightly longer answer is we aim to understand the concepts and theories, the methods and practices, and the reasons and values of science.

How did you get interested in this field?

My father is a biologist; I think that had a lot to do with my initial interest in biology. When I was an undergraduate, I was interested in genetics and the law. This was the late ’60s, early ’70s, and it seemed to me that what goes on in genetics during that time is going to have a big impact. Genetic engineering was just getting started. People were worried about recombinant DNA and whether scientists might make microorganisms that would escape into the environment and be dangerous. There was a lot of discussion then about the social implications of biology and so I was interested in that – on the public interest side. But along the way I got disinterested in becoming a lawyer, so I went in a different direction.

What’s your current project?

I am writing a book called Reproduction in the Evolutionary Process. What it’s about is how different kinds of biological processes fit together. I am interested in how inheritance, development and evolution have to all hook together conceptually in order to have a theory of evolution. Development has been, theoretically speaking, the aspect that has been left out. There’s been a hundred-plus years of investigation of the role inheritance in evolution, but how it fits together with developmental biology is very unclear.

What classes do you teach?

Right now, because I am department chair, I teach two classes. I teach a class on scientific reasoning, Philosophy 31, and I teach a class on Darwin in [the] science and technology studies department, STS 131.

Another aspect that philosophers of science do is displayed in that Darwin class. We’re not just interested in philosophical questions. If you want to understand science you also have to study the history of science, because what we think about today in science depends on what happened yesterday.

We also think about social studies of science, [about] scientists as people in jobs, which is how a scientist is organized in the 20th and 21st century. They have jobs. How do they do their work as part of social organizations like the university?

My Darwin class deals with all of those aspects. It focuses on Darwin because I am interested in biology, but Darwin as an individual had a particular history that was important to the kind of science he did. He was a Victorian English gentleman. His values had everything to do with the kind of science he did. The social context of his development as a person and the kind of science he did was very important to his science and so trying to understand Darwin[‘s] science involves all of those kinds of things: his history, his society and culture, the concepts, theories and methods that he used. Part of the point of that course is to try to bring all of those things together to understand them as a whole. When I am not being department chair, I teach a class called philosophy of biology. It’s Philosophy 108.

As a philosopher of science, have you drawn a great conclusion or come to a surprising finding?

It’s hard to put it in a nutshell, but one thing that sort of surprised me through the various kinds of things that I studied was that when I started 25 to 30 years ago, most philosophers of science were interested in the math: mathematical models, mathematical representations of nature. I was always more interested in the material side of biology, so instead of following the symbols, I followed the stuff – I followed the material. I’m interested in how the work gets done by manipulating biological materials.

I guess what’s surprising is that that simple idea of ‘where does the biological matter go in nature?’ has really informed everything I do philosophically. If you think about ecology, ecologists are forever following ‘where does the carbon go?’, ‘where do the organisms go?’, ‘where do the species go?’. Developmental biologists are following ‘where did the cells go?’. Geneticists are following ‘where does the DNA go?’. It’s all about the movement of matter.

Early in the philosophy of biology, which really started up in the 70s, most of it was about how do we represent nature in mathematics. How do we make it look like serious science, like physics is – it’s got to be about the math. I think the most surprising thing to me is how much mileage you can get from following the stuff around. You look at molecular biology these days, it’s all about separating out little bits of stuff and studying its properties in isolation, seeing where it goes and what it does when it gets there.

Lost and found

Opinion

Opinion

May 7, 2008

My roommate Yvette was out at dinner with our friend Carrie, and I was waiting for them to return so we could figure out what our Friday night adventures would entail. So I went through the usual motions – did the dishes, read a few pages of a magazine and finally noticed that our trash can was getting rather full. So I took out the trash, and well … came back with a cat.

In my defense, the thing followed me into my apartment, and once it was sitting in my kitchen meowing at me, I couldn’t bring myself to shoo it out the door. And besides, it had a collar with the owner’s e-mail address on it, so I figured I’d just shoot her an e-mail and tell her where we lived. By the time my roommate came home, I was in bed reading with the cat curled up at my side. What can I say? I’m easily won over.

For a few hours, we got to play at being ecstatic new pet owners. We shredded up pieces of fish filets, pounced around the living room with yarn balls and set aside a makeshift cardboard litter box just in case our guest needed to stay for the night. The owner eventually came to pick up her lost kitty, but for a while there, we had stumbled across a wonderful discovery.

This got me to thinking about the things that we lose. This year, I have lost:

My black beret (which ruins my faux French look).

My glasses (twice, but found them again both times).

My dog (twice, but he’s so fat I can chase after him and catch him with relative ease).

And the silver key on one of my charm bracelets (now there’s a heart with a keyhole on it that can’t be unlocked).

It’s a petty list, yes, of relatively unimportant items – unless you count my dog, that is. But I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t bother me just the slightest bit whenever I found myself without something that I thought I had. Every time I opened that cabinet or drawer where I swore I left something, just to find useless knick knacks and empty spaces where the important stuff was supposed to be.

I remember when I was 10, my mother brought home a bunny from the daycare where she worked.

“We’re only babysitting it for a week,” she said as we poked carrot sticks and pieces of celery through the holes of the cage.

But one afternoon, as we were playing with it, the bunny hopped away, too fast for us to follow. For days, we searched the backyard to no avail. The bunny was nowhere to be found. My mother was frantic. At one point, she wanted to go to nearby pet stores to find a similar-looking replacement bunny.

But then, one morning as I was sitting in the kitchen eating my cereal, I looked out the window into our yard and saw the bunny wriggle out from underneath our patio. And just like that – we found him again.

Whatever you lose will be found again – if not by you, then by someone else. That’s why I’m a sucker for antique stores and yard sales; I love combing through things that people have left behind, love the idea that you can turn your found objects into something amazing.

Yvette’s yearned for a cat of her own for years, so she was thrilled with my dumpster find. I don’t think the owner of the cat realized that when she lost her cat, she brought an evening of pure joy to three girls in a nearby apartment. I don’t think she could even fathom the excitement with which we went out to buy a can of cat food, and the way we cooed over the kitty as it clambered over our furniture.

I not-so-secretly believe that every time you lose something, it comes back to you. Maybe not as you expected it to, but still. It’s there, it’s unexpected and it’s a welcome surprise. Maybe it’s been waiting for you all this time. When I was cleaning out my desk this weekend, I found the key to my charm bracelet, a dull silver piece obscured by wayward ribbons and unsharpened pencils. I held it up to my bracelet, right next to the heart, and smiled. That’s where it’s supposed to go, I thought. And then I put it back in my desk for safekeeping, just until I needed it again.

TERESA PHAM would like to hear about your various springtime adventures. Send all enviable experiences to terpham@ucdavis.edu. XXX

Sections

Resources

Best of Davis

Projects