Profs Elected to National Academy
Three UCSD professors were elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences this week, one of the highest honors available to American scientists and engineers.
Division of physical sciences Dean Mark H. Thiemens, professor of medicine Don W. Cleveland and physics professor Jose N. Onuchic were inducted along with 72 others. They joined 63 UCSD faculty who are current members of the academy, which was formed by Congress in 1863 to serve as an adviser to the federal government on scientific matters.
Thiemens, the founder of UCSD’s Center for Environmental Research and Training, studies the chemistry of the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Cleveland, who also serves as the editor of the Journal of Cell Biology, studies chromosome movement, while Onuchic, a co-director of the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, studies complex biological systems.
UC Tops Patent List for 12th Year
The University of California has remained at the top of the annual list of universities receiving patents for the 12th-straight year, according to a report released earlier this month by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The university system, which placed ahead of MIT, Cal Tech and Stanford, recorded a total of 390 patents last year. Overall, the UC system managed a portfolio composed of nearly 7,400 active inventions, while earning $109.6 million in licensing revenues during the 2004-05 fiscal year.
Famed UC patents include the hepatitis-B vaccine, aneurysm treatments, magnetic resonance imaging, inner ear implants, the nicotine patch and a large variety of new types of fruits and vegetables.
Nurses, UC Hold Round of Talks
The University of California and the California Nurses Association concluded the first round of scheduled talks this week in a contract “reopener” of four key issues: wages, health benefits, break periods and retirement plans.
The meetings addressed concerns of nurses at the university’s five medical centers and 10 student health clinics. Each topic was discussed by both parties, and included exchanges of wage proposals.
The university, in its opening statement, proposed continued efforts to keep market-competitive wages for its nurses and ensure that meal breaks are accommodated, while the CNA asked for a free health plan for nurses. Negotiations will continue on May 1.
Mammograms Show Ethnic Differences
A new UC-led study has found that inadequate cancer screenings directly correlate with high rates of breast cancer in black women.
Results showed that 18 percent of white women were improperly screened, compared to 34 percent of black women. The study recommended more breast cancer education for minorities.
