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May 24, 2004
Awards and Honors
Mathematician Ralph
Abraham touring Japan on Fulbright grant
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| Ralph Abraham |
Ralph Abraham, professor emeritus of mathematics, will give a series
of lectures at universities in Japan through the Fulbright Senior Specialists
Program. Abraham was in Japan for one week in May and will be there
for two weeks in June, giving talks on a range of subjects at the Future
University of Hakodate and at the Katsura and Yoshida campuses of Kyoto
University.
As a Fulbright Senior Specialist in information technology, Abraham
is eligible for grants to support short visits to foreign academic institutions
that request a senior specialist in his field. In addition to the lectures
in Japan, Abraham has also been invited by the Jawaharlal Nehru University
in New Delhi for a series of visits to help design a graduate program.
Abraham is known as one of the pioneers of chaos theory (also called
dynamic systems theory). He has long been at the forefront of research
in the area of nonlinear dynamics, including work on the mathematics
as well as applications and experiments. He has been a consultant on
chaos theory and its applications in numerous fields, including medical
physiology, ecology, mathematical economics, and psychotherapy. Abraham
has been at UCSC since 1968.
The Fulbright Senior Specialists Program offers two- to six-week grants
to leading U.S. academics and professionals to support curricular and
faculty development and institutional planning at academic institutions
in 140 countries around the world. Created to complement the traditional
Fulbright Scholar Program, which was started in 1946, the Senior Specialists
Program maintains a roster of approved candidates for awards in a variety
of fields. Candidates are matched with appropriate programs as countries
submit requests for Fulbright Senior Specialists.
"The traditional Fulbright Scholar Program offers grants ranging
from two months to an academic year, and some academics and professionals
find it difficult to be away overseas for that length of time,"
said Patti McGill Peterson, executive director of the Council for International
Exchange of Scholars, the organization that manages the Fulbright Scholar
Program. "The new Senior Specialists Program offers them another
option."
-By Tim Stephens
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UCSC student receives
$10,000 public service scholarship
Timothy J. Galarneau, a double major in psychology and community studies,
has received a $10,000 scholarship to fund a research project about
conventional and organic agriculture on the Central Coast.
The Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship Foundation, established
as a memorial to the late Don Strauss of Newport Beach, awards $10,000
scholarships to at least 14 California college juniors annually. The
scholarships fund public service projects proposed by applicants, and
recipients will carry out their projects this summer and during their
senior year.
Galarneau, who is from Clifton Park, New York, will research the environmental
and social health risks of the most widely used synthetic pesticides
in each county. He will launch a public education campaign based on
the effect of synthetic pesticides on growers, farmworkers, consumers,
and the natural landscape.
Galarneau plans to create a web site, write magazine and newspaper
articles and editorials, and produce a documentary about the agricultural
practices of the Central Coast. An agricultural summit next year will
address ways to promote the use of more biologically sound practices
and to improve the environmental and working conditions of farmworkers.
The summit will bring together farmworkers, growers, leaders of nongovernmental
organizations, labor union and government representatives, and academics.
Donald Strauss, who died in 1995, demonstrated a lifelong commitment
to public service and education. His widow, Dorothy M. R. Strauss, established
the foundation in January of 1997 and invited 10 universities to nominate
up to three students each for scholarships. The foundation has since
broadened its reach and now awards at least 14 scholarships each year.
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Governor’s
office on volunteerism honors 51 UC Santa Cruz students
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UCSC students building a house in Tecate, Mexico, during their
spring break.
Photo: Luke Botzheim |
The hard work of 51 UC Santa Cruz students who spent their spring break
building a house, digging trenches, and repairing roofs in Mexico hasn’t
gone unnoticed. GOSERV,
Governor Schwarzenegger’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, has
highlighted the students on its web site with a "Spotlight,"
honoring the state’s "everyday heroes who give selflessly
so that others may benefit."
Letters from the Governor’s Office commending the students will
be presented by Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Francisco Hernandez
at the campus’s College Nine and College Ten Volunteer Recognition
Awards ceremony May 25 at the University Center.
"The work you did in that community will be remembered for a very
long time," the letters say. "You are the epitome of today's
volunteers; you sacrificed a hard-earned vacation from school and spent
it improving the lives of people you had never met. The time and effort
you dedicated to the families of Tecate is unparalleled and you are
an inspiration to anyone who knows you."
"Commitment and involvement such as yours are a shining example
of the Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism's mission, which
is to bring Californians together to meet community challenges through
service and volunteerism," the letters continue.
Abbey Asher, service learning coordinator for College Nine and College
Ten, accompanied the students on the Mexican trip. "Although I
often tell students that being thanked and receiving praise isn't what
it is all about when we serve others, it's quite a special thing to
receive an unsolicited letter from the Governor's Office in recognition
of their dedication and hard work."
Forgoing the traditional spring break, the students slept on the floor
of a community center in Tecate, with no indoor plumbing until they
installed it themselves. In addition to working alongside the townspeople,
the student volunteers spent time with the local children on art projects
and played Frisbee and soccer with them. The group worked through the
nonprofit Corazón organization
in Mexico.
"I am sure that I speak for the entire campus when I say that
we are very proud of these students and all they accomplished. They
represent the true Santa Cruz student; very smart and very committed
to positive change," Vice Chancellor Hernandez said.
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