GradNews

Senator Simitian

April 12, 2011

What UC Berkeley is worth to California

In the course of a March discussion in the State Capitol about the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, which is exploring the development and use of safe chemicals as well as ways to impact public policy, State Senator Joe Simitian had some specific things to say about UC Berkeley’s immense value to California’s economy.

April 11, 2011

Cal Day is April 16

Since it’s an open house, Cal Day is a chance to see parts of the campus you haven’t wandered into before, many with guides, demonstrations, exhibits, and more. Got kids? There are activities for all ages.

March 17, 2011

Travel warning: Japan

Please be advised that the University of California Education Abroad Programs (UCEAP) in Japan have been suspended and travel assistance providers are assisting students with arrangements to return to the U.S. Please also be aware that the U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning last night.
student waving Cal flag

March 17, 2011

Rankings: Berkeley’s not only super, it’s the greenest

UC Berkeley is a member of a totally informal yet stratospherically exclusive club, an elite “supergroup” of six universities worldwide that are regarded head and shoulders above the rest of the throng. (The others are Harvard, MIT, Cambridge, Stanford, and Oxford.)
Image of a tiger behind gate

March 15, 2011

Most life on Earth to perish — again?

Is Earth heading into a sixth mass extinction? A team of UC Berkeley professors and graduate students think it may well be. But it may be possible to stop short of the tipping point.
a person smiling

March 15, 2011

How’s your emotional intelligence?

Can you tell, from what’s written on someone’s face, whether they’re showing anger or fear? If they’re sad or embarrassed? Happy? Lusty?  Disdainful? It can be tricky, and misreads can cost you in real-world interactions with strangers, friends, coworkers, and lovers.
newt-at-botanical-garden

March 15, 2011

Newts are cavorting in the Botanical Garden

It's what they do in spring: two species of western newt --- the California and rough-skin varieties --- flock to the UC Botanical Garden's scenic Japanese Pool (where they probably were born) to swim, socialize, have amphibious sex, and watch the people who pause to observe them.
Andrew Szeri began serving as Dean of the Graduate Division on July 1st, 2007.

February 10, 2011

A look behind the curtain at the GRE

The Graduate Record Examinations General Test has been a milestone for many of us in the graduate community. A revised test will debut this coming August. How will it look to your college-bound younger siblings?

February 10, 2011

A quick guide to fellowships

A distillation of facts and advice from the Graduate Fellowships Office staff, tips that might save you time as you embark on your quest for funding.
Ken Thompson

February 10, 2011

Impatience helped produce Unix — and, eventually, some big honors

It only took 40-some years, but Unix pioneers Ken Thompson (a Berkeley alum) and Dennis Ritchie have waited --- and continued to breathe --- long enough to receive a major international honor for their creation. They were announced in January as 2011 recipients of the Japan Prize.
Berkeley at Night

February 10, 2011

Cal’s night safety program gets an upgrade

This spring, the campus has relaunched BearWALK, the night safety service, “reinvigorated with interactive and automated technology.”  The enhancements are automated dispatch and a “live map” with shuttle tracking by GPS.

February 10, 2011

Empowering Women of Color for 26 years

Clearly not a flash in the pan, the Empowering Women of Color Conference will hold its 26th iteration on Saturday, February 19, in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union. Keynote speakers are Angela Davis, Ericka Huggins, and Dylcia Pagán. Includes workshops, panels, plus vendors, food, performances, and music a-plenty. Admission: free to UC Berkeley students with IDs.
BIO Workshop

February 10, 2011

A new workshop series for international students

All members of the Berkeley community are welcome to attend a new series of workshops presented by the Berkeley International Office this spring. It’s called The International Student Experience at Berkeley: Pathways to Personal and Academic Success. Workshop titles include "Popular Culture: Why is Everything Super-sized?", "History of Berkeley", "Do You Speak American?", and more.

February 10, 2011

A new summer institute on energy in Livermore

Sandia’s Summer Institute: Technology and Policy Tools for Energy in an Uncertain World is a new cross-discipline week-long research program for top graduate students from the nation’s premier universities. Twenty select graduate students will collaborate in small teams, working side-by-side with leading scientists from Sandia. Participants will develop new career skills by solving challenging problems in a fast-paced, collegial work environment.

January 24, 2011

Through the rough times

I welcome you heartily, if somberly, to the Spring 2011 semester at UC Berkeley. As no doubt you’re aware from media reports, the Berkeley campus and the UC system as a whole foresee a period ahead of continued austerity. It’s realistic, if small comfort, to view our situation as part of the challenge our nation, and California, face in a time that has been labeled accurately the Great Recession.

January 24, 2011

Reminder: to honor your mentors, nominate them now!

Every year, the Graduate Division and the Graduate Assembly team up to call public attention to the exemplary and caring assistance individual faculty members have provided, above and beyond the call of duty, to their students. As the culmination of two separate exhaustive selection processes, they jointly sponsor an awards…
observatory

January 24, 2011

Graduate Funding Opportunities – January/February

The opportunities listed by name only were announced previously. (Links to applications and other details are available in an earlier post.)  Recently received listings are posted below. SSRC Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowships – 1/29 deadline RWTH Aachen University Summer Research Fellowships for UC Berkeley Graduate Students – 1/31…