Memorial to be held for alumni Kenneth Tsang

A memorial for UCSD alumni Kenneth Tsang will be held on April 1 at 9 p.m. Tsang, a former Eleanor Roosevelt College student, passed away after a car accident on March 28 while driving back from Las Vegas. Tsang graduated in Winter 2003 but walked with classmates in Spring 2002. As a student, Tsang was involved in Alpha Phi Omega, a community service fraternity, and was currently working at Nokia. The memorial will be held at RIMAC’s Green Room at 9:30 p.m.

UCSD researchers say dogs resemble their owners

A study now claims that in the case of purebred canines, dogs do resemble their owners. The research conducted by UCSD social psychologists Nicholas Christenfeld and Michael Roy found that people choose dogs that resemble them. The study used a randomized photo matching technique where 45 dogs and owners were photographed separately. Judges were then shown the photographs of the owner, the owner’s dog and a second dog, and asked to match the pictures of owner and dog. Researchers found that 28 judges were able to match 16 out of the 25 purebreds with their owners. No matches were found between mixed breed dogs and their owners.

Researchers concluded that the similarities are because of owner selection at the time of acquisition. Researchers ruled out the theory of convergence, where similarity grows throughout the duration of ownership. The study found no correlation between the resemblances and how long the owners and dogs have been together. The full study can be found in the May issue of Psychological Science.

CalPIRG hosts 20th annual hunger cleanup on April 3

More than 75 UCSD students are expected to participate in the 20th Annual Hunger Cleanup on April 3 hosted by CalPIRG. The event is a one-day community service fundraiser where volunteers raise money and work with anti-hunger and homeless agencies. Volunteers will work in a local shelter and take on projects including cleaning, minor construction and painting. Money is raised through hourly sponsorship of the event and will go to support local, national and international hunger relief programs. The student volunteers will work to raise $4,500 for the different programs. Fifty percent of the funds raised will be given to the San Diego Rescue Mission and will be used to buy 15 new beds.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. and participants will meet at the Price Center stage.

Grants available for undergraduate research

Undergraduates can now apply for grants that can help fund research papers or projects. Run by the A.S. Council, the U.S. Grants program provides funding for undergraduate scholastic projects. Grants range anywhere from $300 to $600 and will be based on a review of applications. Students who wish to apply must submit proposals that disclose details about their project. Applications are due the Friday of the second week of each quarter by 3 p.m. Three undergraduate students will then review and process the applications and determine who the recipients of the grants will be. Information on recipients will be posted by the third week and contracts must be signed by fourth week. Recipients must submit mid-term evaluations during seventh week and a final evaluation during tenth week.

The application for the grants must include a brief explanation of the project, a timeline and a detailed budget. Funding for U.S. Grants comes from the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Instructional Improvement and the Regents Opportunity Funds.

IMM announces new sister center in Beijing University

The UCSD Institute for Molecular Medicine announced the establishment of IMM-China, located at Beijing University. IMM-China will function as an autonomous sister institute of UCSD IMM. The institutes will coordinate activities in various research, clinical research programs and medical student and post-doctoral training. Rui-Ping Xiao, former head of the Receptor Signaling Unit in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science at the National Institute of Aging, will be the director of IMM-China.

UCSD IMM and IMM-China representatives have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and will continue to finalize operational and programmatic details of the collaboration.