Faculty Highlights

Gulf Oil Spill Continues to Grow - Richard Ambrose, director of UCLA’s Environmental Science and Engineering Program and a professor of environmental health sciences, was interviewed on ABC News about the environmental impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dan Blumstein, chair and professor of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology named 2010 Distinguished Teaching Award Winner.

Blumstein also co-authored a paper published in Nature, an Opinion entitled "Decentralize, adapt and cooperate" that reports recommendations from an interdisciplinary working group on National Security.

Phil Rundel, professor of ecology and evolutionary featured on "Conservation Maven" for the publication, "Public Internet-connected cameras used as a cross-continental ground-based plant phenology monitoring system" in "Global Change Biology."

A flawed cost/benefit study of a greener California. IoE Professor Matthew Kahn commented on an incorrect analysis of AB 32, California's global warming solution law, in an LA Times Op-Ed.

Alex Hall, associate professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, joined the Institute of the Environment Center for Climate Change Solutions as Faculty Director.

Hilary Godwin, School of Public Health Associate Dean for Academic Programs and professor of environmental health sciences, elected American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow.

Rebecca Shipe, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology co-authored the paper, “Spatiotemporal development of physical, chemical and biological characteristics of stormwater plumes in Santa Monica Bay, California” for the Journal of Sea Research. The study characterized stormwater plume development and associated phytoplankton dynamics in a coastal marine ecosystem through shipboard monitoring.  

“Survival in a Changing World” - Journal of Experimental Biology vol.213 (6): iv + 853-1003 (March 2010). Special issue of the leading international journal of comparative animal physiology. Contains 15 papers presented at a symposium on the effects of global climate change held at Awaji, Japan in August 2009. The symposium was organized by a committee including Malcolm Gordon, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. The keynote address was delivered by Glen MacDonald, IoE Director. Content will be available free on-line in September 2010 at http://jeb.biologists.org

Charles Corbett, professor of operations management and environmental management, was a Finalist for Aspen Institute’s Faculty Pioneer Award 2009

J.R. DeShazo, associate professor of public policy, appointed Director of the Luskin Center for Innovation.

“Governance for the Environment: New Perspectives” co-written by Magali Delmas, professor of management.

Randall Crane, professor of urban planning, selected as the editor of the Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA). The journal will be housed at UCLA for five years beginning October 1, 2010.

Video of the National Academies studies on climate change debuted featuring committee chair, Albert Carnesale, Chancellor Emeritus and professor of public policy and mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Hot Cities - Surviving Climate Change?- IoE Director Glen MacDonald featured in BBC World News Documentary Series.

Misreading Climategate - IoE Director Glen MacDonald commented on "Climategate" - the illegal interception of e-mails from scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia in al LA Times Op-Ed.

Center Highlights

Center for Climate Change Solutions

• Los Angeles Health and Climate Symposium, designed to advance healthy and resilient communities in a changing environment Sponsored by the UCLA School of Public Health and the Nature Conservancy, in concert with Physicians for Social Responsibility, the IoE and Center for Climate Change Solutions, the California Department of Public Health and Communities for a Better Environment.
• India and Climate Change Conference presented by the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment, Evan Frankel Environmental Law and Policy Program and UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy. Cosponsored by the Center for Climate Change Solutions and the Asia Society of Southern California.
• "Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy" - In honor of the International climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark IoE and the Center for Climate Change Solutions hosted a film screening, panel discussion and book signing.
• Climate Change Forum: Creating Security & Prosperity for the 21st Century with Rep. Henry Waxman, Sen. Fran Pavley and Mary Nichols, Chair of the California Air Resources Board, co-hosted by the Center for Climate Change Solutions.

Center for Tropical Research

• New findings reveal dogs were likely first domesticated from wolves in the Middle East - A study conducted by the Center for Tropical Research's Robert K. Wayne is picked up by numerous media outlets.
• This year Center for Tropical Research researchers conducted fieldwork across the globe in areas including the Galapagos Islands, Brazil, Egypt, Gamboa, Panama, Columbia and Ecuador.
• Center for Tropical Research affiliates gave presentations at a number of events including the Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases Principal Investigators’ meeting and 2010 American Ornithologists' Union meeting. Affiliates also received various accolades such as a Fullbright award, Sigma Xi grant and National Science Foundation Broadening Participation in Biology Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.

The Wine Consumer Research Team, led by the Center for Corporate Environmental Performance’s Professor Magali Delmas, is investigating consumer attitudes and perceptions towards wines, how informed consumers are on certification processes, and how wine producers can make their labels more appealing.

Urban Center for People and the Environment

• The Urban Center for People and the Environment’s Stephanie Pincetl was a presenter at the 2010 American Association of Geographers meeting session on The Green New Deal? Her topic was “Green Jobs or the New Quick Fix?”
• Urban Center for People and the Environment’s Pincetl also delivered the keynote presentation at the 12th annual meeting of the NSF Long Term Ecological Research Program on Phoenix at Arizona State University on “Urban Nature's Services Infrastructure: Challenges in Implementation and Ideas of Nature.”

A study by IoE professors and Center for Air Pollution and Exposure researchers Suzanne Paulson, Arthur Winer and colleagues found higher air pollution near Santa Monica Airport –ultrafine particle emissions are 10 times higher than normal 300 feet from the runway -- a range that includes many homes.

UCLA is California's largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic and research programs.

 

 

Published: Wednesday, May 19, 2010