March 17 - Helping Ukrainian scholars; bird-inspired robots
Section 1
Anteater Time Machine: In this undated photo from the University of California Education Abroad Program, UCI leprechauns celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin.
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Offering a UCI sanctuary for Ukrainian scholars
Ukrainian American engineering professor Iryna Zenyuk has launched a ZotFunder campaign to bring displaced scientists and scholars from war-torn Ukraine to UCI. So far, the fundraiser has collected more than $23,000 toward its goal of $100,000.
The BirdBot prototype could improve the capabilities of two-legged robots and prosthetics.
Bird-inspired robot could improve locomotion
One of the big challenges in robotics is navigating complex terrain. Many robots rely on human-inspired mechanisms to move. But a team of researchers from UCI and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems theorized that bird-based locomotion would be more stable and economical. Their study, titled “BirdBot achieves energy-efficient gait with minimal control using avian-inspired leg clutching,” appears in the journal Science Robotics.
Campus safety and policing survey
UCI’s Office of Inclusive Excellence is conducting a community safety survey to gauge attitudes toward security and policing at UCI and UCI Health. The anonymous questionnaire can be filled out online through March 25, and participants are eligible to receive $75 Amazon gift card prizes. The survey results will be reported later this year.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Some aren’t ready to drop masks, but going against grain can be tough
Each person has to become sort of an amateur epidemiologist, calculating how much risk they're willing to take, NPR suggests. A UCSF expert adds, “Our brains have all been pickled by anxiety for two years. You can't snap your fingers and say, ‘Don't worry about it all.’ In part cause it's hard for the brain to make that kind of pivot and in part because the risk is low — but it's not zero, it's just low.”
EVENTS
Woman Wisdom: Shakespeare’s Female Truth Tellers
Monday, 9:30 a.m. (co-sponsored by New Swan Shakespeare Theater)
Social and Environmental Influences on Health
Monday, noon (sponsored by Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.
UCI IN THE NEWS
Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
New COVID variant spreads quickly in NJ. Here's what you need to know about BA.2
NorthJersey.com, March 17
Cited: Daniel Parker, assistant professor of public health
Growing Old in China in the Age of Abundance
Think Global Health, March 17
Cited: Wang Feng, professor of sociology
Frequent and Feared. But Can Dementia Be Avoided?
Managed Healthcare Executive, March 17
Cited: Dr. Claudia H. Kawas, professor of neurology
#UCICONNECTED
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!