California Science News

On May 27, 2009, the California Council on Science and Technology convened, on behalf of the State’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BT & H), the first formal meeting of a newly formed Personalized Health Information Technology Task Force (PHIT). This meeting was an outcome of several months of investigative work by a steering committee […]

The worsening of the financial crisis since September 2008 has made it more difficult to finance new clinical information systems (CIS) in the near term, but newly approved federal funding for healthcare information technology (HIT) has the potential to offset these challenges, according to a newly released report by researchers at the University of California, […]

CCST Chair Charles Kennel, former director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and CCST Council Member Wanda Austin, president and CEO of the Aerospace Corporation, have been named members of NASA’s Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee. “I am honored to be part of this committee to help NASA through the […]

UC Merced, in the San Joaquin Valley, is only starting its fourth year of operations, but it has hit the ground running in building collaborations and making a name for itself in energy research. The University of California Office of the President has made UC Merced the centerpiece of an aggressive energy plan, and the […]

On July 9, the California State Board of Education voted 8-1 to test all eighth graders in algebra, replacing the General Mathematics Test and making California the first state to require algebra at such an early level. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had encouraged the move with a letter to the Board earlier this week. “Algebra is […]

For the past several years, the California State University system (CSU), the largest teacher preparation system in California, has been focusing on increasing the quantity and quality of K-12 math and science teachers it produces, through its Mathematics and Science Teacher Initiative (MSTI). CSU committed to doubling its math and science teacher production from 750 […]

Teachers of all kinds are a dwindling resource throughout the country, and states need to re-examine their strategies regarding math and science requirements and standards, according to CCST Council Member Alice Huang, Senior Faculty Associate at the California Institute for Technology. “There are many reasons why it’s hard to get and keep good teachers,” said […]

California’s ambitious climate change policies need to take into account not just the need for and impact on energy production and ensuring the water supply, but how the two issues relate to one another. Energy and water related policies are highly complex issues that are inextricably intertwined, and need to be examined in concert, rather […]

California needs to think ahead to cope with issues raised by new technologies, according to CCST Council Member Jean- Louis Gassée, general partner, Allegis Capital. “Policy does not generally keep up with the rapid pace of progress,” said Gassée. “Advances in computer science and molecular biology are raising serious legal and philosophical questions, and there […]

The state has moved closer to broader adoption of Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) as the University of California, in partnership with a coalition of government agencies, health care providers and others, received a three-year, $22 million award from the Federal Communications Commission in November to help develop a new California Telehealth Network. “The University is […]

The potential effects of climate change have driven numerous efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions. However, while many analyses of these effects focus on issues of energy and water supply, California’s land management agencies also face a myriad of complex issues related to climate change impacts on biodiversity. Biodiversity, the variety of life in a […]

The perennial struggle to encourage California’s students to pursue and succeed in the sciences is by now well-known. While important efforts are being made to bolster the number of well-prepared science teachers in the classroom, there are also programs in place to connect the university community directly with the K-12 system. One such program at […]

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) is one of the leading such facilities in the nation. One of the four original sites in the Teragrid project, it is internationally recognized for its contribution to computational biosciences and computational approaches to earth sciences and genomics. SDSC is especially known for its role in creating and maintaining […]

It is no surprise that one of the nation’s biggest engineering and construction firms is concerned about science and math education, said new CCST Council member Jude Laspa. “The workforce issues identified in Rising Above the Gathering Storm and Shaping the Future directly affect companies like Bechtel,” said Laspa. “We have a need for large […]

A meeting convened at Stanford in July 2006 by CCST Board member Arthur Bienenstock has led to a set of guidelines intended to protect the public interest when universities grant licenses for the rights to their latest scientific advances to private parties. “We hope that every university when considering the licensing of intellectual property will […]

The state is continuing its focus on healthcare information technology (HIT), with new action by both the Legislature and the Governor’s office to enable the creation and management of an effective HIT system in California. In March, the Governor issued Executive Order S-06-07 aimed at advancing California’s efforts to adopt health information technology (HIT), increase […]

With increasing consensus among policymakers that global warming is more than a hypothesis, the time is right for California to take on a leading role in understanding how climate change could affect it and how best to cope with it, according to CCST Council member G. Scott Hubbard and CCST Fellow Charles Kennel. The California […]

California’s high tech economy depends on cooperation between academia, industry, and government, and these sectors need to work together on effective long-term science and technology strategies, according to CCST Board Member Warren Baker. “There are significant steps that each sector can and should take to safeguard the future success of California’s S&T sector,” said Baker. […]

California’s community colleges are a crucial point of entry into higher education for many students in California, and are increasingly coming into focus as a major component of the state’s overall science and technology education system. “Improving California’s science and technology workforce pipeline will require long-term strategies involving every component of the education system,” said […]

The message in the National Academies’ Rising Above the Gathering Storm report – that the nation’s science and technology capabilities are poised to falter in the coming years – has been sounded before in other venues. However, this report has succeeded in grabbing the attention not just of policymakers, but of industry leaders. “The problems […]

California recognizes the importance of increasing its science and technology workforce, investing in programs to increase the number of students obtaining science and math degrees, and increasing the number of teachers to train them. However, these efforts are still in an early stage. California’s high-tech employers are already facing recruitment challenges and many companies, such […]