Water UCI; atmospheric self-care

April 10, 2023

The UCI Greenhouse glows at dusk. (Photo: Ian Parker)

UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS

Water UCI aims to bridge gap between science and water policy

David Feldman, a professor of urban planning

Despite the recent series of storms that inundated California and more than tripled the Sierra Nevada’s vital snowpack, experts say that the state and region remain locked in a megadrought worse than anything the Southwest has seen in roughly a millennium. At UCI, a group of scholars led by David Feldman, a professor of urban planning and public policy and political science, is working to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public policy to help address this challenge. The project, called Water UCI, aims to mobilize university experts from a variety of academic fields to not only conduct crucial research but provide educational and outreach programs, foster workforce development and advance policy solutions to water problems facing the state, the nation and the world. For the past few years, Water UCI has worked to connect the water industry, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and K-12 schools with the vast resources of UCI and the UC system to educate the public and craft practical policies for the state’s water crisis.

Scientists discover a way atmosphere cleans itself

Sergey Nizkorodov (left), a UCI professor of chemistry, and atmospheric chemist Christian George of the National Center for Scientific Research at the University of Lyon, France, led a project to derive a new understanding of how hydroxide molecules help clear the atmosphere of pollutants and greenhouse gases. Human activities emit many kinds of pollutants into the air and, without the presence of a molecule called hydroxide, many of them would keep aggregating in the atmosphere. In new research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team that includes Nizkorodov and George reports that a strong electric field at the surface between airborne water droplets and the surrounding air can create hydroxide (OH) by a previously unknown mechanism. It’s a finding that stands to reshape scientists’ understanding of how the air clears itself of things like pollutants and greenhouse gases, which OH can react with and eliminate.

Vice chancellor named to task force on U.S.-India partnerships

Vice Chancellor for Research Pramod Khargonekar has been appointed to a new Association of American Universities task force to study expanding research and higher education partnerships between the U.S. and India. AAU created this task force in coordination with the Biden administration’s U.S.-India initiative on critical and emerging technology, which seeks to increase technological and industrial collaboration between the two nations. The task force will meet monthly to determine key focus areas for bilateral research and education cooperation, identify existing programs that could provide blueprints for future partnerships and formulate strategies on how best to move forward.

EVENTS

International Film Club: “Clockwatchers” (1997)
Wednesday, 7 p.m. (sponsored by Illuminations: The Chancellor's Arts & Culture Initiative)

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.

#UCICONNECTED

UCI alum named 2023 Community Engagement grantee

Chantrell M. Lewis, M.F.A. ’22, has been named a 2023 Community Engagement grantee. Community Engagement is an Orange County-based nonprofit that supports artists and art programs that reimagine shared spaces and stimulate social engagement, creative expression and collective empowerment. Lewis will use the grant to support her project "Why Wade?" a multifaceted documentary-style piece that will highlight and preserve the stories of maternal lineage. Lewis is a multi-hyphenate arts educator, author, award-winning researcher, and artist.

#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.

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.

Dr. Eric Vilain, professor of pediatrics, cited in NPR - All Things Considered

Arguments that trans athletes have an unfair advantage lack evidence to support

NPR – All Things Considered, April 9
Cited: Dr. Eric Vilain, professor of pediatrics

Rami N. Khayat, professor of clinical medicine, cited in Healthline

Sleep Apnea May Increase Your Risk of Cognitive Decline, Dementia

Healthline, April 6
Cited: Dr. Rami N. Khayat, professor of clinical medicine

Travis Huxman, Sarah Kimball and Jim Dice, cited in LAist

Everything Is Blooming In The SoCal Desert. What You Should Know About This Year's 'Constant Bloom'

LAist, April 7
Cited: Travis Huxman, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology; Sarah Kimball, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology; and Jim Dice, reserve manager of UCI’s Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center

COVID-19 NOTIFICATION & HEALTH RESOURCES

Upload your vaccine and booster records

Daily COVID-19 symptom check

By coming to campus each day, students and employees are attesting they are free of COVID-19 symptoms and are not COVID-19 positive. If you currently have symptoms of COVID-19 or recently tested positive, do not come to campus, or if you currently live on campus stay in your residence, and follow instructions for reporting your case or assessing symptoms on the UCI Forward page. Close contacts to a COVID-19 case are not required to stay home or quarantine, but should follow guidance for close contact instructions for masking and testing on the UCI Forward page.

Potential workplace exposure

UCI provides this notification of a potential workplace COVID-19 exposure. Employees and subcontractors who were in these locations on the dates listed may have been exposed to the coronavirus. You may be entitled to various benefits under applicable federal and state laws and University-specific policies and agreements. The full notification is available on the UCI Forward site. If you have been identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 case, the UCI Contact Tracing Program will contact you and provide additional direction.

UCI Forward – information on campus status and operational updates

UCI Health COVID-19 Updates – important information related to UCI Health

Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services – assistance with COVID questions including vaccines and vaccine uploads or to report a case, available at contacttracing@uci.edu or 949-824-2300

Employee Experience Center – employee information on COVID benefits

For questions specific to your personal health situation, please contact your doctor or healthcare provider.