Oct. 20 - Burying CO2; eucalyptus farewells
Section 1
Anteater Time Machine: “Abstract” says the caption on this archive photo from 1996-97. No other information is available.
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
M.J. Abdolhosseini Qomi, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, helped research the process of converting CO2 gas into a solid that could be buried underground or under the sea. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI
Burying CO2 underground?
In the fight against climate change, researchers at UCI and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have examined the chemical processes involved in converting CO2 gas into a solid that could be buried indefinitely beneath the Earth’s surface. “Understanding how this process works at the molecular level will help us utilize this beneficial chemistry to help solve the problem of runaway climate change,” says M.J. Abdolhosseini Qomi, a UCI associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.
108 eucalyptus trees to be removed
As part of a campus program to gradually replace unhealthy and hazardous eucalyptus trees with native California plants, UCI is removing 108 eucalypti at the Crawford Athletics Complex, in Aldrich Park, along University Drive, and elsewhere on the main campus. Beginning next year, reforestation is planned for Academy Way and at the Crawford Athletics Complex.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
UC regent José Hernández flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009. Photo by Robert Durell/UC
Persistence pays off for astronaut-regent
After being rejected by NASA 11 times, future UC regent José Hernández researched the backgrounds of various astronauts. When he discovered that many were pilots and scuba divers, he earned a pilot’s license and scuba certification. And when he learned the U.S. was working with Russia to build the International Space Station, “I took a job in Russia to learn the language, and that is when NASA called. You must have the minimum requirements to do a job, but you also must do things that will differentiate yourself from the competition,” he says in a wide-ranging interview.
Coalition urges UC to hire undocumented students
Undocumented student leaders and some of the nation’s top legal scholars are proposing that California, an incubator for progressive policies on immigration, begin employing undocumented students at UC’s 10 campuses. The proposal, which would likely face significant political and legal challenges, calls for the state to defy current interpretations of a 1986 federal immigration law that prohibits U.S. employers from hiring undocumented immigrants.
EVENTS
Brown Bag Series: Ilana Horwitz
Monday, noon (sponsored by School of Education)
How Minneapolis Women Confront Interpersonal Violence, Neighborhood Crime and State Criminalization in the Age of Policing Reform
Monday, noon (sponsored by Initiative to End Family Violence)
Reducing Breast Cancer Risk
Monday, 7 p.m. (co-sponsored by UCI Health)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.
UCI IN THE NEWS
Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
Beach Erosion, Rising Seas Threaten Amtrak’s Second-Busiest Rail Line
Bloomberg, Oct. 20
Cited: Brett Sanders, professor of civil and environmental engineering
Gas stoves can leak chemicals linked to cancer, mounting evidence shows
NBC News, Oct. 20
Cited: Andrea De Vizcaya Ruiz, associate professor of environmental and occupational health
Secret files suggest chemical giant feared weedkiller’s link to Parkinson’s disease
The Guardian, Oct. 20
Cited: Bruce Blumberg, professor of developmental and cell biology
#UCICONNECTED
Yesterday’s Wednesday Wellness Walk, part of a series sponsored by UCI Student Wellness & Health Promotion, traveled to Mason Regional Park with (from left) Mariia Stepanova, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering; Hannah Woodward, a computer science major; Marissa Trujillo, who is studying criminology, law & society; and Melika Momenzadeh, a doctoral student in electrical engineering. Next up: the UCI Arboretum on Nov. 3. Photo by Doug Everhart/UCI
One of the sights on Wednesday’s wellness excursion was this park resident. Photo by Doug Everhart/UCI
#UCIconnected spotlights student, alumni, faculty and staff photos, essays, shoutouts, hobbies, artwork, unusual office decorations, activities and more. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.