UC Berkeley NewsCenter » People

Nicholas Dirks: Administering change

Carol Ness — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:16:15 +0000

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.

Neuroscientist Hillel Adesnik named Pew Scholar

Robert Sanders — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:33:41 +0000

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.

Best Father’s Day gift? For dads in prison, it’s Get on the Bus

Gretchen Kell — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:55:51 +0000

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.

Five new Bakar Fellows pursue path to marketplace

Robert Sanders — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:44:06 +0000

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.

Grad student’s debut novel a PEN/Faulkner finalist

Public Affairs — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:36:15 +0000

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

Public Affairs — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:55:41 +0000

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

Public Affairs — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:17:51 +0000

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.

Dirks: ‘We are all in this together’

Public Affairs — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 20:20:39 +0000

In an introductory video, Nicholas Dirks — on his second day as Berkeley's new chancello — declares himself "thrilled finally to be here," "deeply honored to take on this role at UC Berkeley," and "unreservedly enthusiastic about our future."

Dirks' first day: Chancellor No. 10, day No. 1

Chancellor No. 10, day No. 1

Public Affairs — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 21:07:26 +0000

After months of meetings and preparation, Nicholas Dirks arrived for work June 3 as Berkeley's 10th chancellor. On a day that was all about connections, he received a warm welcome from staff in California Hall, and a loud serenade from the Cal Marching Band.

Roll on, you Bears! AIDS LifeCycle Cal team is L.A.-bound

Christine Shaff — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 18:05:41 +0000

A campus team, 25 strong, headed out of San Francisco Sunday on a 545-mile bicycle ride to L.A. Members of the AIDS LIfeCycle Cal Team will use social media to chronicle their ride. To follow their progress through the week, check back here for updates.

J. Keith Gilless reappointed as CNR dean

Carol Ness — Fri, 31 May 2013 20:47:20 +0000

J. Keith Gilless has been reappointed as dean of UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources, effective July 1, for a five-year period, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer announced Thursday (May 30).

NPR’s ‘Teacher Feature’ profiles biologist Tom Carlson

Robert Sanders — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:53:11 +0000

NPR's Flora Lichtman of Science Friday profiles ethnobotanist Thomas Carlson and his love of teaching in a new segment called "Teacher Feature."

Le Grande eager to take up student-aid challenge

Public Affairs — Thu, 30 May 2013 22:30:02 +0000

State legislators approved the appointment of Berkeley’s vice chancellor for student affairs to the California Student Aid Commission earlier this month.

Birgeneau: ‘Ready for something new’

Public Affairs — Thu, 30 May 2013 18:00:34 +0000

As he prepared to hand over the reins to his successor as chancellor, Robert Birgeneau reflected on his nearly nine years in California Hall, and on his future as a member of the UC Berkeley faculty. And he explained why he's "deeply worried about public higher education."

Margo Bennett sworn in as UC Berkeley police chief

Public Affairs — Wed, 29 May 2013 17:32:53 +0000

Margo Bennett, a University of California Police Department captain with more than 35 years of law enforcement experience, was sworn in Tuesday (May 28) as UC Berkeley's new police chief.

Rhetoric student wins Obie for best new American play

Public Affairs — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:55:24 +0000

Judges for the 2013 Obie Awards chose two winners for best new American play, announced May 20. One of them is Julia Jarcho, a graduate student in rhetoric at UC Berkeley and author of the triptych "Grimly Handsome." Read NY Times review here."

Barry Eichengreen on currency wars — ‘perception and reality’

Public Affairs — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:25:11 +0000

In a white paper titled "Currency Wars: Perception and Reality", UC Berkeley Professor Barry Eichengreen, a leading academic authority on international currencies, makes the case that not all governmental manipulations to devalue a country's currency should be seen as part of a "currency war."

Emeritus English professor Paul Alpers dies at age 80

Gretchen Kell — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:15:30 +0000

Paul Alpers, a UC Berkeley professor of English for 38 years, died May 19 at his home in Northampton, Mass. Alpers was the husband of Smith College President Carol Christ, who served as Berkeley's executive vice chancellor and provost from 1994 to 2000.

Student graduation speaker on ‘vaulting off a page and into the world’

Public Affairs — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:29:07 +0000

At the English department's 2013 commencement, student speaker Prachi Naik '13 pays respects "to the connective tissue of our world, that glimmering lattice of convergences [that is] made most brilliant, most visible through literature."

Sociologist a KQED Asian Pacific American ‘local hero’

Public Affairs — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:26:15 +0000

Each May KQED radio honors a number of 'local heroes" of Asian Pacific American heritage. Among its 2013 honorees is UC Berkeley sociologist Evelyn Nakano Glenn, cited for groundbreaking scholarship on the intersectionality of race, gender, citizenship and labor.