Gov. Jerry Brown gave welcoming remarks last Friday (Jan. 19) at the California Air Resources Board’s 50th Anniversary Symposium, held at the campus Conference Center and hosted by UC Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies and the School of Law and its California Environmental Law and Policy Center.

The half-day program recognized and celebrated the board’s half-century of work to clean the air, and discuss future challenges. Speakers and panelists included Professor Dan Sperling, director of the Institute of Transportation Studies and member of the state board.

Cal-span.org presented the conference via livestream; it is archived here.

Read more in this blog post by Kevin R. Johnson, law school dean and the Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies.

Vacancies low, rents up, more beds coming!

UC Davis’ latest survey of apartment cost and availability in Davis found rents are higher and vacancies still very low. The findings released Jan. 22 follow upon the news that the university is planning its most ambitious student housing project ever — adding 8,500 beds.

The survey commissioned by Student Housing and Dining Services estimated a 0.4 percent blended vacancy rate (including apartments leased by the unit and by the bed, essentially unchanged from 0.3 percent in fall 2016.

All survey respondents reported static or increasing rents. The average monthly rent for unit-leased apartments of all sizes was up 6.2 percent, from $1,576 last year to $1,673. The average monthly rental rate for a bed lease was up 1.9 percent, from $875 in fall 2016 to $892.

Read the UC Davis news release.

Data privacy resources available

The Office of Compliance and Policy has posted videos, articles, posters and fliers in connection with Data Privacy Day (Jan. 28) and Data Privacy Month (February).

“The purpose is to raise awareness of the importance for safeguarding personal information and respect for privacy,” the webpage states. “It is important for individuals to consider how they make their personal information available online, often without considering the terms and conditions to which they agree.”

Picnic Day application deadline near

"We are looking for UC Davis departments or department-sponsored organizations to host fun exhibits,” said Aaron Garcia, publicity director for the 2018 campus celebration. “Additionally, UC Davis registered student groups, ASUCD units and sport clubs can apply for the Student Organization Fair.”

Applications are also being taken for animal events, the Children's Discovery Fair, entertainment, parade and preweek activities.

You’ll find all the forms online; the deadline is 5 p.m. Feb. 1

TED.com to feature marine biologist’s talk

UC Davis marine biologist Mike Gil’s TEDGlobal talk will be featured beginning Tuesday, Jan. 30, on the TED.com website. His roughly 4½-minute talk explores how fish communicate and what that means for the future of coral reefs.   

Only a fraction of talks given at TED conferences are posted to the main website, which has millions of subscribers.

Gil, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral research fellow, presented the talk as a TEDGlobal Fellow in Tanzania last August. He is the founder of sciall.org, a nonprofit science communication organization that, through its YouTube channel, conveys his deep passion for the adventure, wonder and importance of science.

In 2017, Gil became one of 18 change-makers from around the world invited to deliver their talks on the TEDGlobal stage in Arusha, Tanzania. Gil calls the experience “life changing,” and it didn’t stop when he stepped off the stage. Fellows receive career coaching and mentoring, and join an active and powerful influential network of fellows, who were selected based on their achievements, strength of character and innovative approaches to solving the world’s tough problems.

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