News

Spring 2009 Edition

Simple Steps to Going Green

UCI Energy Project Manager Chris Abbamonto contributes to examiner.com article entitled, "Simple Steps to Going Green." >> More

Scientists Recieve $2 Million for Basic Energy Research

UCI will receive $2 million over five years as part of two of 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers Recently announced by the U.S. Department of Energy. The goal is to accelerate scientific breakthroughs necessary to build a sustainable energy economy. UCI chemists John C. Hemminger and Matt Law are part of the Center for Advanced Solar Photophysics involving Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, which will develop materials that convert sunlight to electricity with high efficiency. Chemist Reg Penner and physicist Phi Collins are involved with the Center for the Science of Precision Multifunctional Nanostructure for Electrical Energy Storage at the University of Maryland that aims to design a new generation og electrodes for electrical energy storage. >> More

Law School Gets $2 Million for Environmental Clinic

The School of Law has received a $2 million grant to start an environmental law clinic that will enable students to do hands-on environmental legal and policy work. It's the first of several legal clinics envisioned for the new law school. An anonymous foundation of global reach provided the grant to create a clinic that will further the public interest in environmental law, environmental health, and environmental sustainability. >> More

Researcher Study Traffic's True Toll

When Dr. Ralph Delfino and Michael Kleinman look at Southern California's gridlocked freeways, they don't just see traffic. They see research opportunities. The UC Irvine School of Medicine colleagues are on the forefront of efforts to understand how vehicle exhaust contributes to lung and cardiovascular illness. Their work confirms what most Southern Californians know intutitively: living by a freeway isn't a very good idea. >> More

Alumnus Solorio Named Chair of New Water Committee

Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) - UCI alumnus and former ASUCI president - was appointed by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass to chair a new select committe on "Regional Approaches to Addressing the State's Water Crisis" May 14. Solorio is the chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee and also serves on the Assembly Education, Transportation, and Appropriations Committees. He represents the 69th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana.

Cicerones Fund New Graduate Fellowship

The UC Irvine School of Physical Sciences announced May 19 the creation of the Ralph J. & Carol M. Cicerone Graduate Fellowhip in Earth System Science for doctoral students. The fellowship, endowed at $200,000 will support research resulting in journal publications and/or for the student's dissertation. Graduate student Ray Anderson, working with department chair Michael Goulden, will receive the inaugural fellowhip, made possible by the generaous gifts from the Cicerones and other gracious donors. Ralph Cicerone, UCI chancellor emeritus, leads the National Academy of Sciences. >> More

UCI, Chapman & CSUF Join Forces to Develop Global Warming Solutions

UCI's Newkirk Center for Science & Society, Chapman University and California State University, Fullerton host a daylong forum entitled "Green Development: A Search for Solutions" Friday, May 22. The solutions-oriented conference will include a series of short-presentations on emerging technologies and methods to build a greener society. >> More

Climate Change for Kids

CLEAN Education, a UCI student group, designs grade-appropriate science lessons on climate change for elementary and middle school classrooms using everything from handheld puppets to ecosystem models made of plywood and papier-mache. >> More

UCI Undergraduates Show Support for a "Greener" UCI

In the 2009 Spring elections, 61% of UCI undergraduate students voted in favor of a referendum to raise tuition by $3.50 per quarter to create a fund, The Green Iniatiave Fund (TGIF), to support projects that reduce UCI's impact on the environment. >>More

Student Center Turn Green to Gold

People relaxing in UCI's new Student Center may be oblivious to how fly ash in the concrete and low-VOC carpet make it a healthier and more Earth-friengly place to hang out. But across campus in Design & Construction Services, there is more than a little pride in the attention to sustianability that recently earned the Student Center a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. >>More

Czimczik Digs for New Dirt on Global Warming

Claudia Czimczik is deep in the Amazon rainforest, digging soil from the bottom of a muddy pit. She rolls the dirt between her fingers to feel its texture. "If you can make it thinner than a pencil, it has a lot of clay. If it breaks apart right away, it's sandier," says Czimczik, recalling her 2001 trip to Peru, during which she collected soil for an international study. Published in the journal Science, the study found that drought affects the Amazon rainforest more than previously thought, killing trees, which then release carbon, the main contributor to global warming. >>More

Fiala on Food Choices Changing the Environment

"A family of four that gives up eating beef one day a week has basically traded in their pickup for a Prius" - Nathan Fiala, environmental economics doctoral candidate, commenting on the positive effect that everyday dietary choices can make on the environment. USA Today, April 22, 2009. >>More

California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology: Interface Spring 2009

Highlights numerous research projects at UC Irvine including solar cells, biofuel, clean coal, fuel cell generation, etc.

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UCI to Participate in Grounbreaking Fuel Cell Tests

UC Irvine’s National Fuel Cell Research Center will partner with New-York based Plug Power to test the viability of the latest generation of fuel cell technology for providing electricity and heat to homes. >>More

UCI Wins EPA Award for Green Transportation Efforts

UC Irvine’s effort to reduce congestion and improve air quality through sustainable transportation programs was recognized Thursday, April 16, with an outstanding achievement award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

UCI’s sustainable transportation program promotes walking, biking, and the use of scooters, carpools, vanpools, car-sharing services, shuttles and public transportation. The EPA lauded the comprehensive program for eliminating more than 39 million vehicle miles and 19,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and for saving the university community more than $21 million annually. UCI commuters average 1.87 riders per car, the highest average vehicle ridership for any employer of comparable size in Southern California. >> More

Ogunseitan Named to State Panel for Green

Oladele Ogunseitan (population, health, and disease prevention professor and chair) has been selected to the State's new Green Ribbon Science Panel. The advisory panel was created for California's Green Chemistry program, an innovative approach to removing or reducing toxic chemicals in products sold in California. >> More

Earth Week: Student Groups Go for Green

While Colin Murphy and his fellow Earth Week 2009 organizers see improvement in students' awareness of sustainability, they say there is still room for growth. UCI's first Earth Week from April 14-18 encourages community awareness of such issues. >>More

Where Does Your Institution Stand?

This is the question Vice Chancellor of Administrative and Business Services Wendell Brase and Assistant Vice Chancellor of Administrative Computing Services Mark Askren ask in the recent EDUCAUSE Quarterly on-line publication. >> More

Join Green Up

This free, 30-day on-line incentive program is geared towards raising environmental awareness. Registration begins on April 6 and logging begins on April 22. >>More

Balancing the Planet: Prather Discusses New Environment Institute

Last spring, UCI launched a new institute that will bring together scientists to identify new research needed for an improved understanding of society's response to a changing climate and for environmental science to better respond to societal needs. Inaugural director Michael Prather, Fred Kavli Chair and Earth System Science Professor, answers questions about the institute. >> More