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Public lecture on the search for life, from Antarctica to Mars

May 9 campus forum to discuss 'The University Library in the 21st Century'

Writer and spoken word artist Ishle Yi Park will perform for Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Economist Rob Fairlie testifies on the digital divide

Scoping meeting on Draft EIR for the Emergency Response Center Project to be held May 12

Recreation Department invites you to learn to make sushi

Women at Work Retreat is sponsoring group tickets for Shakespeare Santa Cruz

Coolidge Drive stoplight set to begin operation soon

May 5, 2003

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Public lecture on the search for life, from Antarctica to Mars

NASA scientist Chris McKay, here diving in Antarctica, will discuss parallels between the Antarctic and Martian environments.
Photo courtesy of Chris McKay

Chris McKay, a planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, will give a free public lecture on Wednesday, May 7. The lecture, "From Antarctica to Mars: The Search for Life," starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab.

Mars appears to be a cold, dry, and dead world. But there is good evidence that early in its history it had liquid water, more active volcanism, and a thicker atmosphere. Mars had this Earthlike environment over three and a half billion years ago, during the same time that life appeared on Earth. The main question in the exploration of Mars, therefore, is the search for an independent origin of life on that planet.

Ecosystems in cold, dry locations on Earth--such as the Antarctic--provide examples of how life on Mars might have survived and where to look for fossils. But finding fossils on Mars, while it would be a stunning discovery, would not be enough to determine if life on Mars had a separate origin from life on Earth. For that, researchers will need to find intact Martian life, possibly frozen in the deep old permafrost.

This free talk is cosponsored by UCSC's Division of Physical and Biological Sciences, the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP), and the Center for the Origin, Dynamics, and Evolution of Planets (CODEP). For special accommodation call (831) 459-1235.
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May 9 campus forum to discuss 'The University Library in the 21st Century'

The University Research Library in the 21st Century" will be the topic of a campus forum scheduled for May 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the University Center Alumni Room. Featured guests will include Sarah Pritchard, university librarian at UC Santa Barbara; Daniel Greenstein, university librarian and executive director at the California Digital Library; Peter Lyman, professor and associate dean at UC Berkeley’s School of Information Management and Systems; and Carla Stoffle, dean of libraries and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona Library.

As the University of California embarks on a trajectory of profound growth, UCSC has a unique opportunity to shape its future. The campus has recently completed a detailed long-range planning process that visualizes what the campus community will become over the next decade. The library will play a crucial role in supporting the programmatic development expected in the future, which will likely include a doubling of graduate student enrollment and important research initiatives. The four distinguished panelists at the forum will discuss how information is exchanged, managed, and regulated--paying particular attention to the intersection of libraries and dramatic new technological developments.

For more information, visit: www2.ucsc.edu/ahr/workshops under Forums.
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Writer and spoken word artist Ishle Yi Park will perform for Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Ishle Park will perform May 14
Photo courtesy of Ishle Park

In celebration of Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, writer and spoken-word artist Ishle Yi Park will perform at UCSC on May 14 at 7 p.m. at the Oakes Learning Center. She has titled her performance "Transformations: Constructing Our Future." She will also lead a writing and poetry performance workshop the same day.

Park has performed at colleges and venues in the United States, Cuba, and Korea as a solo artist and as part of a pan-Asian collective called Feedback. Park has taught creative writing in high schools, colleges, prisons, and community centers throughout New York and San Francisco. She worked as director of arts-in-education of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and was a poetry editor for Gathering of the Tribes and The Asian Pacific American Journal. Park is a recipient of a fiction grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts and a Gregory Millard Fellow, and her work has appeared nationally in publications such as New American Writing, Slam, The Cream City Review, The NuyorAsian Anthology, and Beacon Best 2001. For more information about Ishle Park, visit www.ishle.com.

In the workshop, Park will guide participants through different exercises that help with the beginning stages of writing poetry. It will be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the Redwood Building and is for UCSC students only. For more information or to register, contact AA/PIRC at (831) 459-5349 or e-mail aapirc@ucsc.edu.
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Economist Rob Fairlie testifies on the digital divide

Rob Fairlie, associate professor of economics, testified before the state Assembly’s Committee on Utilities and Commerce in Sacramento recently, discussing the results of his recent research on inequalities in access to technology in California and the United States. The Assembly is considering a bill, AB855, that would take steps to narrow the digital divide in the state.
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Scoping meeting on Draft EIR for the Emergency Response Center Project to be held May 12

The University of California is preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Emergency Response Center (ERC) project which will be located on the south UCSC campus. The ERC Building will be located in the campus corporation yard and will provide approximately 7,920 assignable square feet (asf) of space for the Emergency Operations Center, the Public Safety Dispatch Center, and the Police Department. The ERC Equipment Storage Building will be located on a site south of the Arboretum and will provide approximately 3,280 asf of space for the storage of emergency equipment.

An EIR Scoping Meeting will be held on May 12 between 6 and 8 p.m. at the offices of the UCSC Environmental Assessment Group (EAG) at 515 Swift Street in Santa Cruz. Parking will be available at the EAG parking lot. At this meeting, public agencies and members of the public are invited to provide oral comments on the range of issues to be addressed in the Draft EIR. Call Ann Bertken at (831) 460-3577 for additional information or to request accommodations for persons with disabilities.
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Recreation Department invites you to learn to make sushi

The Recreation Department is offering separate classes designed to teach you to make sensational sushi on May 8 and 31, from noon to 3 p.m. OPERS Conference Room, East Field House.

SUSHI NOW! owner chef Matisse Selman will teach the art of sushi rolling, eating, and proper etiquette, whether at home or at your favorite sushi bar. Great selections for vegetarians and fish lovers alike. Participants will sit down to a feast and then help clean up. Sign up in advance. Cost: $28; add $5 if not a UCSC student or Wellness Card holder.

Sign up through the Recreation Office at (831) 459-2806. Other offerings are listed on the recreation web site.
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Women at Work Retreat is sponsoring group tickets for Shakespeare Santa Cruz

The Women at Work Retreat is again this year sponsoring group tickets for staff and faculty for Shakespeare Santa Cruz plays. The group rate is available for three Friday evening performances in August, at a cost of $18 per ticket.

The reduced-price tickets are available for the following performances:

To order tickets, print out the order form and send it, along with your check, to Diana Sue Miller, c/o of Central Purchasing. Tickets will be available for pickup in early August. For more information, call Diana Sue Miller at (831) 459-2882.
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Coolidge Drive stoplight set to begin operation soon

Currents provides regular updates on construction projects that have an impact on campus transportation and parking. Construction update story

For more information, visit the Transportation and Parking Services web site and the Physical Planning and Construction web site.
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