News and events

			Upcoming events Coming this August is Think Evolution: A summer institute for science educators, a four-day evolutionary exploration for middle and high school teachers featuring biologists and educators from the University of California. Find our more about, and register for, this summer institute. News archive For older UCMP news see the news archive. Newsletter May 2009 issue Read the latest issue of the official UCMP newsletter, with stories on a Spring Break visit to fossil localities in Oregon, UCMP's acquisition of a cast of Tiktaalik, a report on Cal Day, Faculty Curator Tony Barnosky's new book, and more.

		Lipps and UCMP alums Pyenson and Irmis unravel the mysteries of Sharktooth Hill June 8, 2009 UCMP's Jere Lipps, along with former UCMP graduate students Nick Pyenson and Randy Irmis, published a paper in the July issue of Geology on the origin of the Sharktooth Hill bonebed, an enigmatic rock unit in the Central Valley that has been known since the 1850s. See the press release at the Berkeley Newscenter and the article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

		Valentine elected to the American Philosophical Society May 22, 2009 Congratulations to Jim Valentine on his election as a member of the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the United States. The American Philosophical Society "promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach."

		New book from Barnosky: Heatstroke: Nature in an Age of Global Warming March 17, 2009 Heatstroke: Nature in an Age of Global Warming by Tony Barnosky sets today's global warming and problems with nature conservation in the context of what's normal through paleontological time and suggests some new strategies that will be required to save aspects of nature we need and value. Find out more.

		UCMP receives $50,000 gift from The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation January 14, 2009 As the Year of Science 2009 launches, UCMP is pleased to announce the receipt of a $50,000 gift from The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to support COPUS regional efforts in this celebration of science. For more information about COPUS, UCMP's involvement, and how you can participate, visit the YoS09 website. To find out more about what is going on regionally, visit the Bay Area Science website.

		Understanding Science website launches January 5, 2009 UCMP has officially launched its Understanding Science website in association with the Year of Science 2009 at the annual meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology in Boston. Ken Miller (Brown University) and Natalie Kuldell (MIT) unveiled the site to the attending scientific community, introducing an exciting new paradigm for explaining the process and nature of science.

		A new human evolution exhibit in the Valley Life Sciences Building highlights Berkeley's contributions to the field November 21, 2008 A second-floor corridor in the Valley Life Sciences Building houses a new human evolution exhibit that includes skeletons, a video presentation, and a recreation of a famous Ethiopian field site. The display, co-sponsored by UCMP and the Human Evolution Research Center, was created by Tim White and a team of graduate students and post-docs, and is dedicated to the memory of F. Clark Howell. Read more about the exhibit at The Berkeleyan.

		Barnosky publishes on the relationship between human and non-human megafauna biomass and extinction November 19, 2008 Tony Barnosky's recent work appeared in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and has since been discussed in the popular media. He points out shifts in balance between the human and non-human megafauna biomass, the energy needed to support this biomass, and how a man-made surge in biomass could lead to a crash. Read more about it at the Stones, Bones 'n Things National Geographic blog.

		Dive Into Your Imagination highlights the work of Roy Caldwell September 24, 2008 Roy Caldwell discusses his science, his concerns for our oceans, and the importance of museum collections on the Dive Into Your Imagination website in their Cool Scientists You Should Know series. Dive Into Your Imagination is a website for children to encourage them to learn more about our oceans and the people who study them.

		UCMP Tour for Homecoming! September 10, 2008 UCMP Assistant Director Mark Goodwin will be offering a behind-the-sciences tour of the UCMP in association with Cal's Homecoming on Friday, October 3rd, from 11:00 AM to noon. Just meet at the T. rex.

		UCMP receives a gift for COPUS August 8, 2008 UCMP is pleased to announce the receipt of a $50,000 gift from The Whitman Institute to support regional and national efforts in the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) project. For more information about COPUS, UCMP's involvement, and how you can participate, visit the COPUS website.

For older UCMP news see the news archive.