Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, minority leader and former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver the commencement address at the School of Law next month, the school announced this week.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi will preside at the ceremony, scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, May 17, in Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Dean Kevin R. Johnson said the graduates will benefit greatly from hearing Pelosi’s perspective as a groundbreaking leader on the national stage.”

In 2002, she became the first woman to lead a major party in the House, and, in 2007, after the Democrats regained control of the House, she became the first female speaker. She held the post until 2011 when the Republicans regained control.

Read the complete news release.

UC Davis joins National Academy of Inventors

UC Davis is among five “leaders in innovation” to join the fast-growing National Academy of Inventors, now with more than 70 member institutions, national and international.

The 2-year-old academy had only 46 members when it announced its inaugural class of fellows, including UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi. She is an electrical engineer whose cell phone, radar and antenna circuits are used in signal transmitting, receiving and processing.

The 101 charter fellows hold more than 3,200 U.S. patents. Katehi has 19 (they are listed here, with links to more information on file at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office).

The academy aims to enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.

Honda to build ‘smart home’ at UC Davis West Village

Using shovels made from recycled Honda Civic parts, representatives from UC Davis and American Honda Motor Co. broke ground this week for the Honda Smart Home US.

The home, to be built at UC Davis West Village, is intended to showcase how electric vehicles, renewable energy, and energy efficient design and appliances can work together to create a sustainable, zero-carbon living experience. 

The home will feature energy efficient innovations in lighting, heating and cooling developed by UC Davis energy researchers, including those at the California Lighting Technology Center and the Western Cooling Efficiency Center.

“As an academic leader in sustainability research, UC Davis is proud to be the site of this innovative research home, which will take us to the next level of energy research and deployment,” said Professor Nicole Woolsey Biggart, director of the Energy Efficiency Center. “We are excited by the opportunity for our scientists to test new ideas for integrated and commercially viable carbon-reduction technologies.”

The home, scheduled for completion by the end of the year, will be leased to people associated with UC Davis, though further details about who will reside there have not been finalized.

Read the Honda news release.

Rocket team flies high in Alabama

Turns out there is such a thing as going too high in a rocket competition.

“Unfortunately, our final altitude turned out higher than our simulations predicted (5,670 feet versus our goal of 5,280 feet) and thus technically invalidating our flight per the NASA rulebook (cannot exceed 5,600 feet),” says Daniel Berman, a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering, and coordinator of the UC Davis SpaceED rocket team.

He was referring to the NASA Student Launch Projects competition in Huntsville, Ala., last weekend. UC Davis had never before participated.

Berman reports on the trip in this post on the university’s Egghead blog. “Our rocket … had a picture-perfect flight and successful recovery,” he says. Watch the video on the team’s Facebook page.

Read the complete post on the Egghead blog.

Strategic Sourcing Vendor Fair next week

The campus’s Strategic Sourcing program presents its biggest vendor fair yet, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday (May 2) at Freeborn Hall.

The organizers said they expect about 50 vendors with UC or campus agreements, selling everything from lab equipment to office supplies. Many of the vendors have catalogs or links with UCD Buy.

“Learn how your organization can save money by buying from these vendors,” the organizers said.

Free to all campus organizations. Door prizes and refreshments.

Get a ride at bike auction, May 4

What can you get for $2. Well, not a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck anymore, but maybe a bike! That is, if you’re looking for a parts bike in UC Davis’ biannual bike auction, scheduled for Saturday, May 4.

Other bikes will sell for an estimated $40 to $50 on average, some for as much as $200, based on prices paid at recent sales.

The Bicycle Program, a unit of Transportation and Parking Services, runs the auctions every fall and spring, selling abandoned and unclaimed bicycles. The bike preview starts at 8 a.m., and the sale at 9 — in the west entry parking garage. The sale continues until all of the bikes have gone up for bid. The Bicycle Program accepts cash, check or major credit card with proper identification. Parking is free.

More than 400 bicycles are typically on the auction block: all sizes and types — cruisers, mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX and even a few children’s bikes — with most in the “fixer-upper” category.

A CLICK AWAY

Thank Goodness for Staff (May 8)

Check out the new Arboretum Drive and adjacent path and stairway.

Safety Spotlight: Injury and Accident Prevention

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