News Archive

July 30, 2015 — When University of California, San Diego alumnus and biotechnology pioneer David Goeddel, ’72, pledged a gift of $400,000 to establish the David V. Goeddel Endowed Graduate Fellowship at UC San Diego, his goal was to support and foster the innovators and scientists of the future. The endowed fund, which will be matched in full by the UC San Diego Division of Biological Sciences, will annually support the research and scholarly activities of outstanding Biological Sciences graduate students. The inaugural Goeddel fellowship recipients will use the funding to bolster leading-edge research focused on topics ranging from finding better treatments for diseases such as Parkinson’s, to understanding the metabolism of cells in tissues and organs, to studying cyanobacteria as a bio-production platform for renewable fuels.

July 27, 2015 — A fundraiser like no other, the Luau and Legends of Surfing Invitational trades tuxedos and ballrooms for surfboards and sand. The San Diego tradition, now in its 22nd year, features a surf competition that draws scientists, community members and surf legends alike. Afterward, guests will enjoy a Hawaiian-themed luau with entertainment by singer-songwriter and former San Diego Padre Tim Flannery. The festivities begin at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9 on the beach near Scripps Pier. All proceeds from the event will support research and patient care at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health.

July 20, 2015 — San Diego philanthropist, literacy advocate, and longtime supporter of the University of California, San Diego, Audrey Geisel, has donated $3 million toward the renovation of the university’s iconic flagship building, Geisel Library. The gift kicks off a major initiative to transform and revitalize the interior public spaces of Geisel Library to meet the evolving needs of students, faculty, and other Library users in the digital age. Geisel’s gift will be used to renovate and update the entry level of Geisel Library, which opened in 1972 as the university’s Central Library. In 1995, the William Pereira-designed building—known by many as “the spaceship”—was named in honor of Audrey and her late husband, Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, in recognition of a major gift from Audrey Geisel.

July 7, 2015 — Thomas J. Csordas, renowned anthropologist and director of the Global Health Program at the University of California, San Diego, has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Dr. James Y. Chan Presidential Chair for Global Health in the Division of Social Sciences.

June 11, 2015 — The University of California, San Diego was joined by members of the Spanos family at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Alex G. Spanos Athletic Performance Center earlier this week. The new center is made possible by a lead gift of $500,000 from Dean Spanos, chairman of the board of the San Diego Chargers, and his family to revamp and expand the existing Alex G. Spanos Training Facility, located on the northwest side of campus.

June 3, 2015 — In a major step toward broader adoption of document-oriented data and the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data format, University of California, San Diego computer science and engineering professor Yannis Papakonstantinou and Couchbase Inc., today announced their collaboration on a next-generation query language for big data. Their work brings together the full power of SQL with the flexibility of JSON.

May 29, 2015 — Composer Rand Steiger, currently chair of the UC SanC Diego department of music, is known for pushing the boundaries and exploring the combination of classical instruments with digital audio processing. Throughout his diverse career he has composed for and conducted critically acclaimed concerts and recordings with distinguished ensembles both here and abroad. In support of his teaching, research and service activities, Steiger has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Conrad Prebys Presidential Chair in Music in the Division of Arts and Humanities.

May 27, 2015 — Steven Schick, a percussionist, conductor, author and distinguished professor of music at UC San Diego, is known for charging into new frontiers of contemporary music. As a soloist and director, he has performed with and led numerous local and international ensembles. In support of his teaching, research and service activities, Schick has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Reed Family Presidential Chair in the Division of Arts and Humanities.

May 20, 2015 — Fostering increased collaboration and innovation between Japan and San Diego, the University of California, San Diego has established the Japan Forum for Innovation and Technology (JFIT). The new program, which will be housed in UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy (formerly School of International Relations and Pacific Studies), will serve as a hub for research on contemporary business, science and technology in Japan, as well as associated policies. The launch of the Japan Forum at UC San Diego was made possible by a $300,000 pledged gift from Japanese IT company, Broadband Tower, Inc.

May 7, 2015 — When he realized he had neither the talent nor the dedication to be a career musician, San Diego builder Conrad Prebys chose a different path. But his passion for music never wavered, and since 2007, he has generously given to the Division of Arts and Humanities at the University of California, San Diego to help ensure that the facilities, faculty and programs will continue to launch students into successful music careers.