News Briefs

Berkeley leads $500 million energy research effort

Steve McConnell photo

Spring 2007 | Global energy firm BP announced in February that it selected UC Berkeley to lead an unprecedented $500 million research effort to develop new sources of energy and reduce the impact of energy consumption on the environment. The work will be done over the next decade in partnership with nearby Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“This,” declared Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, “is our generation’s moonshot.”

The funding will create the Energy Biosciences Institute, a far-reaching multidisciplinary effort that initially will focus on biotechnology to produce biofuels — that is, turning plants and plant materials, including corn, field waste, switchgrass, and algae, into transportation fuels.

The chancellor — who was joined by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in announcing the BP funding — emphasized that the new effort “isn’t just about research, it is also about education.” The stepped-up energy research will surely lead to new courses and research opportunities for both undergraduates and graduate students, he said. “It will present really exciting opportunities for students to work with world leaders on important scientific, engineering, social science, and economic problems that will have a major impact on society.”

View details on the Berkeley-led effort.

Catch up, speed up, or get ahead with summer courses

Registration is open for Berkeley’s Summer Sessions, where current students can fulfill academic requirements or speed up progress toward graduation, and incoming students can get a head start on Berkeley coursework through special programs for freshmen and transfer students.

There are five overlapping sessions running three, six, eight, or 10 weeks, allowing students time for summer travel or work. Students can now also enroll in evening courses, a course-related internship program, or take a course online. In addition, students have an opportunity to go abroad through a Summer Sessions Travel Study Program. See details about enrollment and classes.

Biggest ever gift for Cal Parents Fund

Gary and Allison Beckman, members for the past four years of the Cal Parents Fund advisory board, have given the fund its largest gift ever, $250,000 to support the Cal Independent Scholars Network.
The program (profiled in the last edition of Letter Home) assists Berkeley students who are without parental support, usually having grown up in foster care. As volunteers and ambassadors for the Cal Parents Fund, the Beckmans, parents of Alex ’06 and Nick ’09, have talked to scores of parents about the need for private giving to sustain Cal’s excellence. Theirs is an extraordinary example of how generous Cal parents support Berkeley’s outstanding students. Learn about the fund.

Big bucks for big ideas

UC Berkeley has launched an online marketplace that will help students raise funds from alumni, private companies, foundations, or other donors to support their projects to change the world. The Big Ideas marketplace allows donors to make a targeted donation to support a specific student project. “Cal students have great ideas for addressing such challenges as clean energy, safe drinking water, global poverty reduction, technology-based entrepreneurship, and health care for the uninsured,” says Chancellor Birgeneau. “This marketplace will help them mobilize additional financial and in-kind resources to support their ideas and recruit additional committed students.”

The initiative supports interdisciplinary teams of Berkeley students in the form of seed grants, in-kind contributions, connections, advice, assistance in marketing and communications, and university resources, such as teaching resources for new courses. More on the projects funded and on supporting the effort.

Discover Cal heads south in May

Even if you are in Southern California, you can spend time with some of Cal’s most fascinating professors. Discover Cal, a lecture series that travels the state for parents and alumni, will make stops in Costa Mesa, and Los Angeles on May 1 and 2 with “Being Good When Times Are Bad: Reflections on Ethical Life from Stoic and Buddhist Traditions,” a program featuring professors Anthony Long of classics and Duncan Ryuken Williams of East Asian languages and culture. More on registration and details.

New interim head named for Student Affairs

Harry Le Grande is the new interim vice chancellor for student affairs, succeeding Genaro Padilla, who stepped down at the end of 2006, after more than 10 years in the post. Le Grande, who has been at Berkeley more than 25 years and is a national leader in the field of student housing, will lead efforts including admissions and enrollment, financial aid, academic development, housing and dining, multicultural diversity, campus outreach, student conduct, and other student-life matters.

Campus debit card goes off campus

The Cal 1 Card, UC Berkeley’s student ID card, also serves as a debit card for many campus services, when funds are deposited into a Cal 1 Card debit account. Now, 14 off-campus merchants and additional campus restaurants are accepting the card for everything from buying pizza to using the laundromat. With their student’s ID number, parents can deposit funds in the debit account online — at least you’ll have a good idea where the money goes. View details.

Send a treat during finals

Every student needs some TLC during finals. Show yours that you care by ordering a Finals Survival Kit from the student Alumni Scholars Association. The gift package, delivered to your student, is full of snacks, exam supplies, and tips on getting through finals. See information on ordering details.

Nearby or far away, be here

A host of online offerings can put parents in the center of all that’s happening at Berkeley, no matter where you live. A daily visit to the UC Berkeley NewsCenter will give you all the news from campus, updated throughout the day. If you can plan a trip to campus, an expanded online campus calendar brings you right through Sather Gate to find Berkeley’s daily array of lectures, performances, exhibits, and sports. (Many events are also webcast.)

Rather go right to the top for your news? Chancellor Birgeneau’s occasional “Bear in Mind” webcasts on campus issues (from research to athletics) are updated and archived. “Bear in Mind” can now be viewed on Google Video, eliminating the need for special software; it is also available as a podcast feed in MP3 format.

Need help?

Answers to many of your questions about Berkeley are at the Cal Parents website, but if you’re stumped contact the Cal Parents helplines, 510/642-7147 (M-F, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) or calparents@berkeley.edu. We’re here to help.