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Long before Amy Chua’s provocative 2011 memoir,Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, raised the bar for tough-love parenting, psychologists at UC Berkeley were studying the effects of three kinds of child-rearing: authoritarian (too hard), permissive (too soft) and authoritative (combo). Now, with the recent release of Berkeley alumna Kim Wong Keltner’s memoir, Tiger Babies Strike Back, along with other scholarly works and testimonials, the results are in.
News archive
Haas and MIT team up to improve energy-efficiency research, policies
June 18, 2013: But are these programs realizing their potential? Researchers from Berkeley-Haas and the MIT Energy Initiative have come together to collaborate on a new research project, dubbed E2e, an interdisciplinary effort that aims to evaluate and improve energy-efficiency policies and technologies.
Nicholas Dirks: Administering change
June 18, 2013: The career of Nicholas Dirks has led him out of the classroom in order to influence what happens within it. California Magazine interviews UC Berkeley’s new chancellor.
Communicators’ huddle seeks compelling ways to tell Berkeley’s story
June 17, 2013: Compelling storytelling was a theme at the second annual Berkeley Communications Conference (BC2), held June 13. The event brought together more than 200 campus staff who work to convey the campus’s essence to an internal audience, prospective students and the world.
UC Berkeley to guide job-training reboot for green economy
June 17, 2013: Under a $500,000 contract with the Public Utilities Commission, researchers at the Vial Center for Employment in the Green Economy will help utility companies like PG&E implement improvements in workforce training to achieve state energy-efficiency goals.
Topping $394 million, a banner fundraising period for Berkeley 
June 14, 2013: In fiscal year 2012, UC Berkeley received more than $394 million from about 59,000 donors, the second-highest it has raised in a single year. The San Francisco Business Times lists the year’s top five philanthropic sources.
At Summerfest, staff turn out in force to be celebrated
June 14, 2013: Close to 3,000 staff members turned out Thursday for Summerfest fun at the center of campus. The two-hour, mid-day smorgasbord of happenings, this year part of a five-day Staff Appreciation Week, featured music, food, crafts and, for many, a first chance to greet Chancellor Dirks in person.
Neuroscientist Hillel Adesnik named Pew Scholar
June 14, 2013: Assistant professor Hillel Adesnik, a neuroscientist in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, was named a Pew Scholar, one of 22 early-career faculty members from around the nation so honored. A former UCSF post-doc, Adesnik uses novel optical probing technologies to uncover the neural basis of perception.
IGS poll: Californians support path to citizenship
June 14, 2013: Most California registered voters support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, according to a new Institute of Governmental Studies survey. But a majority also says it is “extremely important” that prospective new citizens have a history of holding a steady job and be able to speak English.
For teachers, free workshop on immigration June 25
June 14, 2013: Educators are invited to register for the Center for Latin American Studies’ Summer Institute for Teachers, which this year looks at “Immigration and Assimilation:
Negotiating a Place for Newcomers.” The free workshop takes place Tuesday, June 25. Speakers include Alex Saragoza, professor of history, and Berkeley Law’s Maria Echaveste, an immigration-policy consultant; and former White House deputy chief of staff.
Engineering to launch design innovation institute
June 14, 2013: Answering the call for a more technologically literate workforce, the College of Engineering is launching a new institute for design innovation, with a $20 million gift from the Paul and Stacy Jacobs Foundation. UC Berkeley engineers watched via webcast as Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, president of the foundation, made the announcement at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Chicago.
Best Father’s Day gift? For dads in prison, it’s Get on the Bus
June 13, 2013: As Father’s Day nears, UC Berkeley students and alums will help local children visit their dads in prison through their work as Get on the Bus volunteers.
Research News Brief
June 12, 2013: Research News Brief: Neuroscientists find that people summarize sound sequences in a study that could help improve speech recognition programs and hearing aids.
New doc, ‘Rape in the Fields,’ to air in June 
June 12, 2013: The sexual abuse of farmworkers is explored in a new documentary set to air on PBS and Univision. “Rape in the Fields” was co-produced by the two broadcasters, the Center for Investigative Reporting and UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program. It will air June 25 on PBS Frontline, June 29 on Univision News.
Researchers develop easy and effective therapy to restore sight
June 12, 2013: Gene therapy using adeno-associated virus (AAV) has successfully restored sight to people with a rare inherited retinal degeneration, but current therapy requires injecting the virus directly into the retina. UC Berkeley researchers have evolved AAV so that it is able to penetrate the retina, allowing doctors to inject the virus and its gene load into the vitreous to reach all cells of the retina.
Berkeley given high marks for ‘return on investment’
June 11, 2013: UC Berkeley is a top California institution for financial “return on investment,” according to the College Database, a non-commercial website that analyzes federal and Carnegie Foundation data. The site ranked Berkeley second among California colleges and universities, based on tuition and post-college entry-level salaries.
With climate change, stronger wildfires for California? 
June 11, 2013: After two years of sparse rains, California fire officials say the 2013 wildfire season has started a month early and that the fires so far have been stronger than usual. Max Moritz and Bill Stewart, Cooperative Extension specialists with the College of Natural Resources, discuss the future of California wildfires in light of climate change, on KQED radio’s “Forum” program.
Five new Bakar Fellows pursue path to marketplace
June 11, 2013: Five UC Berkeley scientists eager to take their lab-bench discoveries into the marketplace have been awarded Bakar Fellowships to help them achieve their goals. They are chemist Felix Fischer, biologist Daniela Kaufer, mechanical engineer Lydia Sohn, physicist Feng Wang and plant and microbial biologist Mary Wildermuth.
Greater Good: How to cultivate gratitude at work
June 10, 2013: Americans are reportedly less likely to say “thanks” on the job than anywhere else. That needs to change, writes Jeremy Adam Smith of the campus’s Greater Good Science Center. As the campus celebrates Staff Appreciation Week, Smith offers five research-tested tips for fostering gratitude at work.
New book highlights harsh lives of migrant workers
June 10, 2013: A new book by Dr. Seth M. Holmes, assistant professor in the School of Public Health, documents the stories of undocumented Mexican migrant farmworkers. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies is based on five years of research, during which Holmes embedded himself with migrant workers. He shows how social inequalities, racism and anti-immigrant prejudice detrimentally affect the health of those who harvest our food.
Grad student’s debut novel a PEN/Faulkner finalist
June 10, 2013: Besides teaching and working on his dissertation in Berkeley’s School of Education, T. Geronimo Johnson has been busy promoting his first novel — a finalist for the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award — and selling his second.
In first week in office, Dirks moves to strengthen ties in the Capitol
June 10, 2013: UC Berkeley’s new chancellor made his first official trip to Sacramento on Thursday, meeting with legislators to further strengthen UC Berkeley’s partnership with leaders in the state Capitol.
‘Conversations with History’: a dog’s world
June 10, 2013: A dog’s point of view. That’s the topic of a new “Conversations with History” video, featuring UC Berkeley’s Harry Kreisler in conversation with Barnard College psychology professor Alexandra Horowitz. Understanding canines requires consideration of wolf ancestry, cognitive skills and anatomy, says Horowitz, author of Inside of a Dog.
Student-advising revamp gathers momentum
June 7, 2013: Launched last spring, the two-year initiative aims to align advising services and standards campuswide to better serve evolving student needs.
Ready for better wifi? Connect to AirBears2
June 7, 2013: On Monday, June 10, IST Telecommunications deploys a new campuswide wireless network service, which aims to provide a simplified and improved user experience for connectivity to the campus wifi network.
Skydeck startups win $100k Founder.org funding
June 6, 2013: Smartphone-stethoscope developer Eko Devices and intelligent bottle-label creator Pristine Solutions beat out 500 fledgling ventures from leading universities across the U.S. to land prestigious accelerator grants.
Berkeley joins international effort to share human genetic data
June 6, 2013: UC Berkeley and some 70 other research institutions, non-profits and funding agencies around the globe have signed an agreement to create a way to securely share the genetic information gathered in human research but unavailable now to other scientists.
Patent on engineered yeast a milestone for EBI
June 5, 2013: The Energy Biosciences Institute has obtained its first patent, a milestone for the group that hopes to make biofuels a viable source of energy. The patent is on 2009 research in which fungal genes were inserted into yeast to allow the yeast to eat a broader range of plant sugars and turn them into alcohol for fuel.
Nobel laureate to discuss temperature and fate of universe
June 5, 2013: Nobel laureate Eric A. Cornell will give a free public lecture at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11, titled “Lazy vs. sloppy: The epic story of energy, entropy, temperature, the ultimate fate of the universe and the role of divine intervention.” Cornell’s talk is part of the 21st International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy hosted by UC Berkeley.
With global warming, will iguanas grow as big as Komodo dragons?
June 4, 2013: Based on fossils in the Museum of Paleontology, scientists have identified a giant vegetarian lizard that roamed South Asia 40 million years ago, suggesting that plant-eating lizards can grow larger in warmer periods – and perhaps in our planet’s warming future.
