January 2009
From the Boards
Board of Advisors undertakes major action agenda
A lively Board of Advisors welcomed Dean Tom Baldwin to his first BoA meeting, and also welcomed his proposals for future development of the College with enthusiasm and energy. Faculty, alumni, corporate partners, and the community will be joining together to participate in UCR Science's future.
Action Item #1: The Faculty as Economic Engines
The CNAS faculty members who have been successful entrepreneurs, Robert Haddon in Chemistry and Bill Frankenberger in Environmental Science, gave presentations about their experiences.
Discussion questions:
- How to create pathways to commercialization
- With declining public support, how best can the board help faculty convert their intellectual capital to benefit the college, the university, and the public at large
The board recommended that a research incubator be established on campus, a move that is already in progress. Hurdles to be over come include:
- The UCR culture
- The chicken-and-egg issue: We have to have the structure in place before venture capitalists will be interested
- Faculty are not rewarded for this kind of activity
Action Item #2: The Business of Science
On a related topic, our graduates are skilled scientists but have little opportunity to learn business skills, a matter of some concern to their future employers. Baldwin asked what it would entail to develop a program leading to a certificate in business, available as an option to CNAS students.
Discussion questions:
- Key courses for the undergraduate and graduate curricula
- Possible mechanisms to integrate industrial partners into college activities
After intense discussion about what topics students would need to know, the group agreed to recommend one elective course at the senior level that would introduce all the major topics--a business "soup to nuts," with entrepreneurship as one aspect. Students would participate in a group project calling upon skills from all areas. Upon successful completion of the course the student would receive a certificate.
Action item #3: Scientific Literacy and the Public
Discussion question:
- What is our responsibility to engage the broader public
Baldwin proposed the creation of a group called the Science Circle, a society of individuals whose activities and support are critical to the continued excellence and reputation of the sciences at UCR.
There are several goals for the Science Circle.
- To sponsor seminars and public lectures
- To support student academic awards--the UCR Science Student Awards in Excellence
- To fund Faculty Fellows
- To hold Science Circle Lecture and Dinner, Scholars Luncheon, Fellows Reception
Various scholarship levels for both regular and corporate memberships were discussed; Assistance Dean for Development Holly Preble is working out the details. Baldwin noted that College supporters Collete and Gary Lee will be hosting a reception soon to establish a Founders' Group to jump-start the Circle.
Each member of the board signed up for one of three working groups dedicated to one of the three action items. The groups will report the results of their activities at the next board meeting, scheduled for spring 2009.
From the University
New leadership for UC, ANR, UCR, and CNAS
It's been a clean sweep with four new brooms over the last 10 months. Starting in January 2008 with the appointment of Dan Dooley as Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), through March with Mark Yudof as President of the University of California, June with Tim White as Chancellor of UC Riverside, and July with Tom Baldwin as Dean, the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences has welcomed four great new leaders.
President Mark Yudof
Mark G. Yudof was named the 19th president of the University of California on March 27, 2008, and took office June 16, 2008. He served as chancellor of the University of Texas System from August 2002 to May 2008 and as president of the four-campus University of Minnesota from 1997 to 2002. Before that, he was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Texas at Austin for 26 years, serving as dean of the law school from 1984 to 1994 and as the university's executive vice president and provost from 1994 to 1997. His career at UT Austin began in 1971, when he was appointed an assistant professor of law. He has continued to teach throughout his administrative career.
Yudof is a distinguished authority on constitutional law, freedom of expression and education law who has written and edited numerous publications on free speech and gender discrimination, including "Educational Policy and the Law." He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Law Institute. He served a two-year term on the U.S. Department of Education's Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy and currently is a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
A Philadelphia native, he earned an LL.B. degree (cum laude) in 1968 from the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned a B.A. degree (cum laude with honors in political science) in 1965. He was awarded the Alumni Award of Merit (2001) and the prestigious James Wilson Award (2004) by the University of Pennsylvania Law School for his many years of service and contributions to the legal community.
Vice President Dan Dooley
Daniel M. Dooley was appointed vice president - agriculture and natural resources Jan. 2, 2008.
As systemwide vice president for the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Dooley leads a statewide research and public service organization responsible for activities in agriculture, natural resources, environmental sciences, family and consumer sciences, forestry, human and community development, 4-H/ youth development and related areas.
Before joining UC, Dooley has had a long relationship with UC and the agricultural community. Throughout his career, he has held leadership positions in local, state and national agricultural organizations, as well as with the University. Dooley previously served as chief deputy director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (1977-80) and member and chair of the California Water Commission (1982-86). He has chaired both the UC President's Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources and the UC Agricultural Issues Center's advisory board, as well as serving as UC representative on the Council for Agriculture Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET), a national grassroots organization of the land-grant universities and colleges.
Dooley was a partner at Dooley, Herr and Peltzer, LLP, a Visalia-based law firm emphasizing agricultural, environmental, business and water rights law, from 1993 to 2007. He has distinguished himself by successfully bridging environmental and economic considerations in a number of controversial legal issues, including the 2006 settlement of protracted litigation regarding the restoration of the San Joaquin River, the reintroduction of salmon and the maintenance of agricultural practices supported by water from the river.
From 1980 to 2002, he was a partner in family-owned Dooley Farms, a San Joaquin Valley farming operation that produces cotton, alfalfa and walnuts.
Dooley is a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources and former chair of the Farm Foundation Round Table. He also served as vice chair of USDA's National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board and as a member of the U.S. Trade Representative's Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade.
A native of Hanford, Dooley received his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from UC Davis and his J.D. from the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific. He is also a graduate of the California Agricultural Leadership Program.
Chancellor Timothy White
Timothy P. White became the eighth chancellor of UC Riverside beginning July 18, 2008.
Prior to joining UC Riverside, he served as the University of Idaho's 16th president as of August 2004. Through his leadership, the University of Idaho established a vision and strategic direction to further the University's role as the state's land-grant and flagship research university. Part of the strategic direction implemented during White's leadership entailed reinvesting resources in support of five key academic priorities: science and technology, liberal arts and sciences, entrepreneurial innovation, the environment, and sustainable design and lifestyle.
Prior to joining the University of Idaho, White served Oregon State University as provost and executive vice president, with an interim appointment as president. He previously held positions as professor and chair of the Department of Human Biodynamics at the University of California, Berkeley, and as professor and chair of the Department of Movement Science and research scientist in the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan.
White received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and spent two years as a post-doctoral scholar in physiology at the University of Michigan before starting his academic career at Ann Arbor. He is internationally recognized for his work in muscle plasticity, injury and aging.
Timothy White was born in Argentina. His parents immigrated to Canada and then to California when he was young. White is a first-generation college graduate. He is married to Karen White and has four sons.
Dean Thomas Baldwin
Thomas O. Baldwin is dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of California, Riverside, and associate director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, State of California.
Dr. Baldwin was appointed dean of CNAS in July 2008. He came to UCR from the University of Arizona, where he had been head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and was the founding director of the Institute for Biomedical Science and Biotechnology. He had held previous faculty appointments at Texas A&M University and the University of Illinois and a postdoctoral appointment at Harvard. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry and doctorate in zoology from the University of Texas, Austin.
A biochemist, Dr. Baldwin is best known for his research on "protein folding," the biochemical process, vitally important to all of life's processes, by which a protein assumes its three-dimensional structure. Protein misfolding leads to a number of disease states, including prion diseases such as "mad cow" disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease.
The recipient of numerous awards for scholarship and research, including a Fulbright Scholarship and a Fogarty Senior International Fellowship, Baldwin was recognized as a Faculty Fellow for excellence in science and academic leadership by Texas A&M and the Texas Agriculture Experiment Station.
A native of Mississippi, Baldwin is married to Miriam Ziegler, who is also a biochemist. They have two grown daughters.
From the Agricultural Experiment Station
UCR scientists battle devastating citrus disease
One of the most damaging citrus diseases in the world, called citrus greening disease or HLB, hit Florida in 1998 and spread rapidly throughout most of its citrus-growing areas. The HLB (huanglongbing, Chinese for "yellow shoot disease") bacterium is spread by the Asian citrus psyllid insect; the disease causes stunted trees and hard, misshapen fruit.
Asian citrus psyllid
UC Riverside Scientists have formed an HLB Task Force, along with representatives of the citrus industry and state and federal agencies, to prepare for this disease. Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell from the Kearney Research Station is heading up outreach programs to educate citrus growers, the nursery industry, and regulatory agencies. Profs. Hailing Jin and Georgios Vidalakis are developing ways to identify infected citrus far more rapidly than occurred in Florida.
It is difficult to do research on HLB because the dangerous bacterium can only be studied under tightly controlled conditions. Prof. Don Cooksey is working with USDA staff at the US Biological Laboratories at Fort Detrick, Maryland, on culturing the HLB bacterium and sequencing its genome. In the meantime, here at UC Riverside, graduate student Allison Hansen has discovered a closely related bacterium that causes psyllid yellows, a tomato and potato disease. Named Liberibacter psyllaurous, the bacterium is likely to become an essential model for investigating the disease process and to design methods for control of HLB, because it is can be studied under normal laboratory conditions. Profs. Richard Stouthamer, Tim Paine, John Trumble, and Don Cooksey are working on culturing L. psyllaurous and sequencing its genome, to compare with the HLB genome from Fort Detrick.
California citrus growers, who have been watching the Florida situation carefully, were alarmed this summer when the Asian citrus psyllid was found in Tijuana. Now it has been found in some San Diego neighborhoods, although the insects discovered were not carrying HLB. Still, the neighborhoods have been quarantined, since the vector, or carrier of the bacterium, must be eradicated if possible.
It has been 20 years since California faced such a serious agricultural threat to its multi-billion-dollar citrus industry. UC Riverside Scientists have responded with every weapon currently at their disposal, and more grant proposals are in the pipeline. Your Science Advantage will keep you informed of future developments.
Upcoming Events
The Volpone family attended Homecoming 2007.
Genomics is theme of CNAS Homecoming luncheon, tour & lecture on Feb. 7
The ultra high-tech Genomics Building is now open and you will be touring it as part of the CNAS event for alumni, staff, families, and friends. Genomics is our theme, starting with the luncheon and tours from 11:30 - 1:00 in the Genomics Building Courtyard. Following lunch and thetour, attend a "Back to Class" presentation, "Genomics: Feeding and Fueling a Sustainable Future," by Dr. Natasha Raikhel, Director, UCR Institute for Integrative Genome Biology. The presentation will be held at 1:00 p.m. in the Genomics Building Auditorium (no charge). College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences Alumni Luncheon Location: Genomics Building Courtyard, corner of Citrus & Eucalyptus Sts. Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Cost: $7.50 per person; open to all Contact: Carol Lerner at carol.lerner@ucr.edu or (951) 827-5089.
From Our Faculty
Geologist says global warming has happened before
Professor of Geology Martin Kennedy has found evidence for an abrupt release of large amounts of methane about 635 million years ago - an event, his research team says, that triggered a series of other events which brought about a dramatic and abrupt climate change, ending the last "snowball" Earth. (The snowball Earth hypothesis posits that the Earth was covered from pole to pole in a thick sheet of ice for millions of years at a time.)
According to Kennedy, it is possible that a little warming today can unleash trapped methane in "clathrates" (methane ice) present in the Arctic permafrost and below sea level at the continental margins of the ocean.
"Unzippering the methane reservoir could potentially warm the Earth tens of degrees, and the mechanism could be geologically very rapid," said Kennedy, the director of the Global Climate and Environmental Change Graduate Program in the Department of Earth Sciences.
Biocontrol specialist authors new book
Biological control refers to the use of natural enemies to suppress pests. Mark Hoddle, a biological control specialist in the Department of Entomology, has coauthored a new text book on the subject. Control of Pests and Weeds by Natural Enemies (Wiley-Blackwell) discusses two major applications of biological control: permanent control of invasive insects and plants at the landscape level and temporary suppression of both native and exotic pests in farms, tree plantations, and greenhouses.
Hoddle's royalty payments from the book will go to the Harry Scott Smith Endowed Fund in Entomology at UCR. "The scholarship will support a graduate student in the Department of Entomology who is studying aspects of biological control," Hoddle said. Smith, a long-time member of the Citrus Experiment Station, was known as the Father of Biological Control.
Citrus Variety Collection a destination for fragrance and flavor
Thirteen chemists, flavorists, photographers, and marketers from Givaudan, a multinational corporation based in Switzerland that produces flavors and fragrances used in beverages, food, and perfumes, visited the Citrus Variety Collection in April to do collaborative research with curator Tracy Kahn. The visitors spent two days in the collection with Kahn and staff from the Office of Research, photographing the different varieties of citrus and sampling flavors and scents to discover new tastes and aromas.
Givaudan group at the Citrus Variety Collection
The Givaudan team captured several aromas and flavors using proprietary sampling techniques. In the company's lab in Cincinnati, scientists will analyze the samples collected, study their molecular makeup, and attempt to recreate the aromas and flavors for commercial use. "The research they are doing will provide us with information about the compounds in the aroma for each of the types they collected," said Kahn.
Geneticist plays scientific advisor to Bollywood movie
University faculty members frequently get invited to speak about their ongoing research. Last January, Norman Ellstrand, professor of genetics, was approached for his expertise on rice genetics by an unusual caller.
Detail from the poster for Basmati Blues
Josh Welsh, director of talent development for Film Independent, wanted Ellstrand to check the script of Basmati Blues, "a film about love, adventure, and genetically modified rice," for the accuracy of its scientific content.
Welsh told Ellstrand that the filmmakers had received the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Producers Grant to create films about science and technology. A musical comedy set in India and the boardrooms of Manhattan, Basmati Blues depicts "what happens when a multinational agribusiness company makes greed and profit its only guiding principles."
Using genetically modified agriculture as a backdrop, the film's story revolves around a young American woman who works for a U.S.-based company interested in promoting genetically modified rice-rice that is created from plants that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering - in India. While in India, she gets caught in a love triangle involving two Indians (a scientist and a government official) who are attracted to her.
"Welsh asked that I read the script for any errors in its portrayal of the issues surrounding genetically modified rice," said Ellstrand, who also is the director of the Biotechnology Impacts Center at UCR. "I also was given the opportunity to improve how these issues were depicted in the film. I was pleased and surprised to find the script to be scientifically sound overall, in need of only little fine-tuning and improvement."
"The film is an American musical comedy that is heavily influenced by the pulsating energy of Bollywood," said the producer, Monique Caulfield. "It is intended as neither a scathing critique of genetically modified crops nor a plug for unbridled agribusiness. It's a story about two cultures coming together to save the day, and should inspire audiences in the West and in India differently." She expects Basmati Blues to be in U.S. theaters by summer 2009.
Biologist's students earn him doctoral mentoring award
John Rotenberry, professor of biology, won the Sixth Annual Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award. He researches community ecology and conservation biology, and examines how environmental factors interact to determine species diversity and community composition.
Faculty are nominated for the Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring award by their students. The Graduate Council of UCR's Academic Senate and the Graduate Division instituted the Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award in 2003 to recognize faculty who have made outstanding contributions to the education of advanced graduate students at the university.
Current and former students who wrote in support of Rotenberry's nomination describe how he gives students freedom to work independently, but also provides feedback and encouragement to enable their growth as scientists. A consistent theme in their comments is the sense of community students working under his direction felt with one another, and how this translated into accomplishments for all concerned. "If I manage to be an effective mentor myself," one former student wrote, "it will be because I learned from a master."
Chemist receives award from the Royal Society
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Guy Bertrand has been awarded the 2009-2010 Sir Ronald Nyholm Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry, United Kingdom, for his "seminal research on the chemistry of phosphorus-phosphorus bonds and the chemistry of stable carbenes and their complexes." Bertrand will receive a silver medal and an honorarium of £500.
The lectureship was founded in 1973 to commemorate the name of Sir Ronald Nyholm, a professor of chemistry at University College, London.
Discovery by physicists could mean faster computers
Assistant Professor of Physics Roland Kawakami and his research team have made an accidental discovery in the lab that has potential to change how information in computers can be transported or stored. Dependent on the "spin" of electrons, a property electrons possess that makes them behave like tiny magnets, the discovery could help in the development of spin-based semiconductor technology such as ultrahigh-speed computers.
Sketch of a ferromagnet/semiconductor structure.
The researchers were experimenting with ferromagnet/semiconductor (FM/SC) structures, which are key building blocks for semiconductor spintronic devices (microelectronic devices that perform logic operations using the spin of electrons). The FM/SC structure is sandwich-like, with microscopically thin slices of ferromagnet and semiconductor between which lies a thinner still interface made of a few atomic layers of magnesium oxide (MgO).
The researchers found that by simply altering the thickness of the MgO interface they were able to control which kinds of electrons, identified by spin, traveled from the semiconductor, through the interface, to the ferromagnet.The researchers found that when the structure's MgO interface is very thin (less than two atomic layers), spin down electrons pass through to the ferromagnet, while spin up electrons are reflected back, leaving only spin up electrons in the semiconductor. They also found that when the interface is thicker than six atomic layers, both spin up and spin down electrons are reflected back, leaving electrons with zero net spin in the semiconductor.
But the surprising result for the researchers was that at an intermediate thickness, ranging from two to six atomic layers, the selectivity of the interface completely changes.
"We see a dramatic and complete reversal in the spin of electrons that pass through the interface," said Kawakami. "This time, spin up electrons pass through while spin down electrons are reflected back to the semiconductor. In other words, the thickness of the MgO interface determines whether spin up or spin down electrons are allowed to pass through it." According to his research team, such a "spin reversal" can be used to control current flow.
"Electron spins are oriented at random in an ordinary electric circuit, and, therefore, do not affect current flow," explained Yan Li, the first author of the research paper, who made the discovery. "But if spin is polarized, that is, aligned in one direction, you can manipulate the flow of current and the transport of information - a feature that would be of great interest to the semiconductor industry. What is amazing is that only a couple of atomic layers of MgO can completely reverse the spin selection of the interface. This is unexpected because MgO is not a magnetic material."
Li, a graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy working toward her doctorate in physics, said the research team will work next on making electronic devices based on the spin reversal. "This will not only test its feasibility for applications, but also help determine the cause of the spin reversal, which is still unclear," she said.
Kawakami's lab is one of very few labs in the world that perform both the advanced material synthesis and pulsed laser measurements needed for experiments with FM/SC structures. "Without the strong interplay between the materials development and optical measurements, the type of discovery we made probably would not have been possible," Kawakami said.
A new area of research, spintronics already has helped develop disk-drive read heads and non-volatile memory chips. Researchers believe spintronics also will make "instant-on" computers one day, as well as chips that can store and process data.
Genomics Institute acquires new supercomputer
Experiments at UC Riverside that once might have required 256 days of computer time on a personal computer can now be performed in just one day, thanks to a new supercomputer the campus has acquired. Named "Biocluster," the supercomputer - UCR's fourth -was purchased by the Bioinformatics Facility of the Institute for Integrative Genome Biology. The new computing resource, a Linux blade cluster system, is now the most powerful computer at UCR. It significantly reduces the computing time of large-scale genome analysis, drug discovery, and simulation studies for many research projects.
Dr. Thomas Girke & Prof. Nataska Riakhel with "Biocluster"
"This new system is a valuable resource for many of our scientists," said Thomas Girke, the director of the Bioinformatics Facility and assistant professor of bioinformatics in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences. "It changes not only the nature of science at UCR but its quality as well, making UCR more competitive for large federal grants. Computational research is being done faster and more efficiently than ever before on our campus."
Cell biologist identifies possible anti-malaria compound
The lab of Karine Le Roch, an assistant professor of cell biology and neuroscience, has identified a compound, salinosporamide A, that could be used to combat malaria.
Le Roch's team made the discovery after examining extracts from 80 marine actinomycete bacteria - bacteria with an unprecedented ability to produce clinically useful antibiotics - for antimalarial activity.
"This finding could serve as a starting point for developing drugs to fight malaria," said Le Roch.
Environmental scientist and spouse welcome first child
Associate Professor of Environmental Scienes Ken Baerenklau and his wife, Viviane, who is a research assistant in the Registrar's Office, welcomed their first child, Hailey Anne, on July 4, 2008.
From Our Students
Biochemistry grad students host 21st annual research symposium
The Department of Biochemistry's Graduate Student Association hosted the 21st Annual BMB (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) Research Symposium on September 17. A huge turnout of 23 doctoral students and 1 master's student from 15 research labs in 6 departments presented their work in posters or talks.
Prof. Russ Hille and Wedding Prize recipient Carol Jones
Highlights of the event were the R.T. and Mary Wedding Graduate Student Prize Presentation & Memorial Speaker. The speaker was Dr. James T. Kadonaga from UC San Diego whose talk was entitled "Adventures in Transcription and Chromatin Dynamics."
Carol Jones, a doctoral student in plant pathology who works in Kathy Borkovich's lab, was the 2008 Wedding Prize recipient. She had received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in that department in 2002.
Other student award recipients were: Jeff Julius, Cell Biology & Neuroscience, Best Symposium Talk; I-Chen Peng, Biomedical Sciences, Best Symposium Poster; Robert Byrne, Biochemistry, Best Symposium Poster.
Evolutionary biology grad student wins NSF fellowship
Matthew Wolak, a first-year Ph.D. student in evolutionary biology working with Daphne Fairbairn, professor of biology, has been awarded a three-year $121,500 graduate research fellowship by NSF.
Wolak studies sexual dimorphism - the difference between sexes in size, color, and other traits - as well as its evolution and ecology. "I will be looking into the genetic basis of sexual dimorphism in water striders," he said.
Chancellor's Fellow studies mammals' pelvis
Heidi Schutz, who received her doctorate in evolutionary biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, is the winner of the second Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship for Cultivating Diversity in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics. Schutz is now working with Ted Garland, professor of biology. Her research focuses on the bony pelvis and how its morphology is affected by life history and selection.
"I am interested in understanding not only how these factors affect overall pelvic shape, but also what differences there are in the responses of males and females to the same factors in light of the fact that female mammals give birth and males do not," Schutz said.
A complex structure, the mammalian pelvis performs a varied and integrated suite of functions: walking, bearing weight and, for females, serving as the birth canal.
Schutz explained that sometimes these functions are in conflict with each other. For example, in some mammals, females with narrow hips are more efficient runners than females with wide hips, but wide hips make the birth process easier.
"Consequently, there is a potential balance that must be struck, at least in some species, between locomotor efficiency and reproductive success," Schutz said. "By examining how these potentially conflicting roles interact, both in an evolutionary and a life history context in mice, we may gain a better understanding of how this balance plays out in other mammals including humans."
“I am interested in understanding not only how these factors affect overall pelvic shape, but also what differences there are in the responses of males and females to the same factors in light of the fact that female mammals give birth and males do not,” Schutz said.
A complex structure, the mammalian pelvis performs a varied and integrated suite of functions: walking, bearing weight and, for females, serving as the birth canal.
Schutz explained that sometimes these functions are in conflict with each other. For example, in some mammals, females with narrow hips are more efficient runners than females with wide hips, but wide hips make the birth process easier.
“Consequently, there is a potential balance that must be struck, at least in some species, between locomotor efficiency and reproductive success,” Schutz said. “By examining how these potentially conflicting roles interact, both in an evolutionary and a life history context in mice, we may gain a better understanding of how this balance plays out in other mammals including humans.”
