Media Watch
OC’s Wealthiest Avoid ‘Richcession’
Orange County Business Journal -
It’s been a banner period of fundraising for the University of California, Irvine. After topping $200 million in giving to the school in 2022, UCI has already announced several high-profile donations in 2023, including a June gift of $50 million from Broadcom Inc. Chairman Henry Samueli and his wife, Susan. … The latest gift from the Samueli family to UCI will be used for engineering-focused research … the gift puts the couple’s reported giving to UCI past $300 million. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
As water shortages intensify Iran’s heat wave, authorities shift blame
The Washington Post -
Over decades of U.S. sanctions and hostile relations with the West, Tehran has subsidized agriculture to secure food and jobs. The sector consumes some 90 percent of available water, said Soroosh Sorooshian, director of the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing [and Distinguished Professor of civil & environmental engineering] at the University of California, Irvine. As years pass, wells must be dug deeper. [Subscription required, campus-wide access provided by UCI Libraries. Sign-up here: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/news/post] Read More
Newsletter – The Week in Opinion
Los Angeles Times -
Let’s look back at the week in Opinion. … Disasters like the Rolling Hills landslide are foreseeable. The warnings are all around us. The benchmarks we’ve used to guide important decisions in the past — such as whether to build houses near a canyon in an area where landslides are not uncommon — won’t serve us in the future. Scientific models and forecasts have limitations, writes UC Irvine engineering [and FloodRISE UCI] professor Brett Sanders, but they should guide us in this era of rapid climate change. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
Barrier wall to protect rail line in San Clemente from landslide debris as services set to resume
KABC -
Passenger train service through San Clemente is set to resume again following several shutdowns caused by a sliding slope under Casa Romantica. A temporary wall has been placed to protect the rail line from falling debris. Experts like Brett Sanders, who's a professor of civil and environmental engineering, urban planning and public policy at UC Irvine, are studying the shifting landscape and said the slope is made up of materials that loosen up when moisture sets in. "It's more of like a mixture of soil," Sanders said. "A mixture of sand, and gravel and silts that when wetted, starts to flow like a liquid." He said people across Southern California live on hillsides just like the one in San Clemente. Sanders said residents need to be aware that this could happen to them. Watch More
Opinion: Disasters like the Rolling Hills landslide are foreseeable. The warnings are all around us
Los Angeles Times -
Brett Sanders, UCI professor of civil and environmental engineering, urban planning and public policy writes, “The environment is changing faster now than it has in decades. We are seeing it before our eyes, and especially in the news with reports like Earth’s hottest day ever recorded (July 3, 2023), unprecedented precipitation and severe flooding in California this year, and now a major landslide on ground that was once thought to have stabilized. What this means is that our understanding of the past — benchmarks that we have long used to guide our preparedness and decision-making about environmental risks — aren’t enough to prepare for the future.” [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
University Of California Irvine Expert Recognized By Carnegie Corporation
India Education Diary -
Kyriacos Athanasiou, University of California, Irvine Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering, has been named a “Great Immigrant” by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This year’s list, announced today, honors 35 naturalized citizens whose contributions and actions have enriched and strengthened American society and democracy. Read More
University Of California Irvine’s Engineering School Receives $50 Million Gift
India Education Diary -
The creation of three new multidisciplinary research institutes in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering is being made possible by a $50 million gift from Susan and Henry Samueli to the University of California, Irvine. Unified under the banner “Engineering+,” the Engineering+Health Institute, Engineering+Society Institute and Engineering+Environment Institute will allow researchers from diverse disciplines to conduct transformational research addressing the most important issues facing humanity today. Read More
University Of California Irvine Expert Named 2023 Pew Scholar In The Biological Sciences
India Education Diary -
Quinton Smith, UC Irvine assistant professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been named a 2023 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. … “Being selected as a 2023 Pew Biomedical Scholar and serving as a representative of the University of California, Irvine is truly an honor,” Smith said. “With the support of the Pew Foundation, my group aims to better understand preeclampsia, a disease that disproportionately affects African American women.” Read More
University Of California Irvine Study Finds Human-Caused Climate Change To Blame For Increase In California’s Wildfires
India Education Diary -
Researchers at the University of California and other international institutions have concluded that nearly all of the increase in scorched terrain can be blamed on human-caused climate change. ... “The 10 largest fires in California history have all occurred in the past two decades, and five of those have happened since 2020,” said co-author Amir AghaKouchak, UCI professor of civil and environmental engineering [associate director of Center for Hydrometeorology & Remote Sensing (CHRS)]. “Through our study, it has become clear that anthropogenic climate change is the major driver of this increase in wildfire damage.” Read More
Smoke and heat warnings affect more than 170m in US
BBC News -
Heatwaves have become more frequent, intense and last longer because of human-induced climate change, scientists say. Some have warned that climate change is also likely to lead to more wildfires and subsequent smoke warnings. A University of California, Irvine study published on 12 June, for example, found that "an increase in temperatures and dryness has been identified to be one of the major drivers" of summer forest fires. Read More