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Merced grads leave mark
Those of us who supported the establishment of the University of California at Merced see Saturday's commencement ceremonies as a landmark event for a campus that many of the state's most powerful politicians didn't want to build. One even called it the "biggest boondoggle ever."
But UC Merced supporters overcame the resistance and the campus finally opened in 2005. On Saturday, its pioneer class of students will be getting diplomas at a ceremony that will feature first lady Michelle Obama.
The first lady's appearance has made this a high-profile event, and that should help the campus recruit future students. But Saturday's ceremony is about the 517 graduates. They and their families are to be commended for taking a chance on a new university, and then following through by finishing their rigorous course work amid the campus' growing pains.
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Architectural Team Looks to Win Department of Energy Competition by Using Thermablok(R) Aerogel Insulation
Living green is a matter of striking the right balance between innovation and environmental stewardship. With that in mind, Tampa-based Thermablok(R) donated 2,000 linear feet of its revolutionary aerogel insulation material to California architecture and design students participating in the 2009 "Solar Decathlon." The Solar Decathlon is a prestigious international competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy that challenges 20 college and university teams to design, build, and operate the most aesthetic, energy-efficient model home possible.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090702/FL41200 )
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UC Merced hopes Obama will help boost image
Turns out you can put a price on good will -- and it's about $700,000 for the University of California at Merced.
That's how much the UC's youngest campus expects to spend on today's commencement. The six-figure budget is more tied to the marquee speaker -- first lady Michelle Obama -- than the 500 or so graduates from its pioneer class, which includes students who entered as freshmen when the campus opened in 2005.
The university had been planning a ceremony in the campus quad for about 2,500 people that would cost around $100,000. Obama's appearance means an expected crowd of up to 25,000, only half of whom can even fit on campus.
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Fresno air base goes solar
The new solar panels on rooftops at the California Air National Guard base in Fresno are a first for any air guard base nationwide, but they won't be the last.
Military and solar company representatives expect to see more solar projects on air guard bases -- and all types of military bases -- across the country.
A solar company recently finished installing 3,819 solar panels at the Fresno air guard base, home to the 144th Fighter Wing. The 660-kilowatt system was built on three newly constructed carports and a rooftop at the McKinley Avenue base.
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GE Global Research Celebrates 5 Years of Innovation and Cooperation in Europe
GE Chairman and CEO, Jeff Immelt, joined Bavarian Minister of State Siegfried Schneider today, to mark the 5th anniversary of GE’s research and development center in Germany. At the celebration, GE Energy, GE Healthcare, and GE Global Research signed new European technology partnership agreements that will further strengthen GE’s commitment to the European region, while solving some of the world’s biggest environmental challenges.
The agreements signed today are:
GE Healthcare and the Asklepios Hospital Group announced a cooperation
agreement to create and realize a "Green Hospital" concept focussing
on an energy efficient environmental design of healthcare facilities.
Pilot project for the cooperation will be the Asklepios Hospital in
Hamburg-Harburg, Germany.
GE Energy announced their own new collaboration with Slovenian energy
developer ECOS to install an innovative industrial waste-heat recovery
system at
Less than two weeks before St. Patrick’s Day, the University of California at Merced is taking its “green” aura all the way to the state Capitol.
The campus will present energy-saving research today in Sacramento, joining its sister campuses for the annual Alumni Association of the University of California Day.
Teachers, students, alumni and friends of all 10 universities in the system will use the time to emphasize to legislators how UC -- facing tough financial cutbacks — not only provides education, but contributes to the state’s technology and resources.
UC Merced will play off its reputation as a “green” university, focusing through its presentations on the school’s alternative energy research and practices.
Jeff Wright, dean of engineering, said students from his department will share information today about their work for nonprofit organizations. About 12 students are completing a project to bring a solar lighting system to the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa.
“I think [the event] reflects the kinds of things we are doing on campus for education and energy in general,” Wright said.
Also on the schedule is a presentation about a working solar concentrator, part of a project developed by professor Roland Winston of the Engineering and Natural Sciences Department.
The concentrator is being tested for industrial and commercial uses. “It could be used at the hospital to create steam for a sterilizer,” explained Kevin Rico, a UC Merced management student and a contractor for SolFocus, a Bay Area company also involved with the project.
One solar unit is being tested at UC Merced’s research center near Castle Air Force Museum. It involves six tubes surrounded by mirrors to focus the sun’s energy into the tubes. The system can heat oil to 400 degrees, and that heat can be transferred to other uses, Rico said.
UC Merced is first in the University of California system to do research on this particular solar-concentrated thermal device, said Kevin Balkoski, a junior specialist for the university.
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