Cal research in year’s top 100 science stories
Two UC Berkeley research discoveries — one on a hyperlens with a unique way of altering light and the other on the body positioning of dinosaurs in the throes of death — were honored as two of this year’s top 100 science stories by Discover magazine. The list appeared in the magazine’s January issue, “The Year in Science.” Discover MagazineHass wins 2007 National Book Award
Robert Hass, a UC Berkeley professor of English and former U.S. poet laureate, is the 2007 winner of the National Book Award in poetry for Time and Materials, a collection of poems that are “grounded in the beauty and energy of the physical world, and in the bafflement of the present moment in American culture.”
Cal Athletics ranked No. 1
UC Berkeley’s athletic program is ranked No. 1 in the country in the final fall U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup standings, marking the second year in a row the Golden Bears have stood atop the rankings at the end of the fall seasons. Cal accumulated a total of 370 points in six sports, led by a national championship in men’s water polo and a national semifinal appearance in volleyball.
Former Chancellor Al Bowker dies
Former Chancellor Albert Hosmer Bowker, an expert in statistics and an innovative administrator during his decades-long career in higher education across the country, died January 20 at the age of 88. Working as Berkeley’s fifth chancellor from 1971-80, Bowker established the UC Berkeley Foundation and actively courted alumni support to compensate for losses in state financial support.
Governor’s proposed budget cuts
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month proposed a 2008-09 state budget that includes across-the-board cuts in state spending, including at the University of California, to address a projected $14.5 billion state budget deficit. The proposal would increase funding under his “compact” with the UC system but then apply a reduction of $332 million, or 10 percent. The Legislature will respond with its own proposed budget this spring. promise.berkeley.edu/budget
Chancellor’s editorial on college costs
USA Today recently published Chancellor Birgeneau’s editorial “Bravo for Yale and Harvard, but what about the rest?,” which discusses the cost of education. promise.berkeley.edu/oped
