CCST Newsroom

A Different Approach to Digitally Enhanced Education
Harnessing the increasing capacity of advanced information and digital technologies to improve all levels of learning and education has become a goal for many in the education system at the local, state, and national level. However, finding the best ways for the education system to take advantage of rapid and significant advances in information technology […]
Getting to the Heart of Biometric Data
The increasing ability to track, store, and analyze biometric data has offered many possibilities for those interested in monitoring their own health. At the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), numerous projects are underway exploring the potentials that inexpensive, ubiquitous biosensors offer. For Calit2 UCSD Division Director Ramesh Rao, the exploration has been […]
F. Sherwood Rowland Leaves Legacy of Dedication That Goes Beyond Nobel Prize-winning Research
CCST Senior Fellow F. Sherwood Rowland, who passed away on March 10 at age 84, was known for many significant accomplishments. A founding professor of the Chemistry Department at UC Irvine, he was a widely acclaimed scientist who won a Nobel Prize for demonstrating that chlorofluorocarbons damage and could destroy the Earth’s ozone layer. But […]
CSU Partners with PhysTEC to Boost California Science Teacher Production
California’s perennial shortage of qualified science teachers is nothing new. Addressing the shortage has long been a priority for the state, with both the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) spending considerable resources in recent years to improve the quality and quantity of credentialed science teachers. Despite these efforts, however, demand continues […]
Inter-institutional Water Management Project Receives Partnership Award
The Federal Laboratory Consortium – Far West Region has awarded the 2011 Outstanding Partnership Award to a multi-institutional collaboration including NASA Ames Research Center, California State University-Fresno, California State University-Monterey Bay, and the University of California Davis, as well as the California Department of Water Resources. The project, “Water Management in California: A NASA-CDWR Partnership,” […]
Calit2 Director Sees Healthcare on Cusp of Breakthrough
Physicist and supercomputer expert Larry Smarr is known for big, forward-thinking ideas about the future needs of scientific research. The initiator of an unsolicited National Science Foundation proposal that led to the creation of five supercomputer centers and onetime director of the National Computational Science Alliance, Smarr has been directing the inter-institutional California Institute for […]
CCST Adds New Council Member, Senior Fellows
At the February Council meeting, CCST announced its changes in membership for the new year, with Atul J. Butte, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Medicine (Biomedical Informatics) and Pediatrics at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research joining the Council. “We are pleased to welcome Atul to the Council,” said CCST Council Chair Miriam John. […]
Presidential Science Advisors Benefit from CCST Policy Fellow Alum
The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is one of very few state-level organizations in the nation designed to offer expert advice to the state government and to recommend solutions to science and technology-related policy issues. There are some issues however which need to be addressed at a national, rather than state, level. One […]
Mobile Technologies Revolutionizing Biomedical Research
Mobile technologies are likely to have a profound impact on health care and biomedical research, according to Robert Kaplan, Director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the NIH and NIH Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. “This is an emerging trend that’s become apparent across many areas of […]
California Teacher Advisory Council Explores Digital Education with iPad Workshop
California, the nation’s leading high-tech state in many respects, is trailing the nation when it comes to support for digital education – the enhancement of education, both in and out of the classroom, with technology. According to a recent assessment by the Digital Learning Now, a project that assesses states’ support and readiness for digitally […]
Board Member Bruce Darling Named Executive Officer of NAS and NRC
CCST Board member Bruce Darling, vice president for laboratory management at the University of California, has been selected as Executive Officer of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council. Darling will transition to his new position over the next several months. “I cannot think of a better choice for the position of […]
Council Member Funds New Autism Institute
Parents of autistic children often have trouble finding suitable schooling and treatment providers for their children, and are left perplexed and exhausted by managing all of the separate services for their children’s care. CCST Council member, Fariborz Maseeh, was one such parent. When he wasn’t able to find the combination of services that his son […]
California Energy Futures Project Member Wins Fermi Award
Nobel laureate Burton Richter, a member of the CCST California’s Energy Future (CEF) team and lead author of the 2011 CEF subreport on nuclear energy, has been awarded the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the nation’s most prestigious science awards, in recognition of his eminent career in particle physics and his notable contributions in energy […]
Former Cal TAC Member Brings Classroom Experience to Nation’s Capitol
Successful education reform, particularly in STEM disciplines, (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), has been a major concern both for California and the nation in general. The gap between education policy and practice can, however, at times be significant. For educator Peg Cagle, a former member of the California Teacher Advisory Council (Cal TAC), this is […]
Waste-to-Energy Technologies Have Role to Play in California’s Future
The conversion of municipal waste to energy holds potentially significant environmental benefits for California, although more information is needed on real emissions and performance data from operating waste to energy systems in California, according to a CCST report recently presented to the Governor’s office. (Click here to access the report.) “Converting municipal waste to energy […]
Cell Phone Safety Study Suggests No Risk of Cancer
A major study in Denmark found no increased risks of cancer among cell phone users, suggesting that there is little evidence that exposure to cell phones is related to tumors of the central nervous system. The study, however, is unlikely to settle the ongoing public policy debate over the safety of electromagnetic emissions from wireless […]
Space Shuttle Endeavour Officially Signed Over to California Science Center
The Space Shuttle Endeavour title transfer to the California Science Center (CSC) was finalized on Tuesday with former NASA astronaut and STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly, the STS-134 crew, NASA Associate Deputy Administrator Richard Keegan and California Science Center President Jeffrey N. Rudolph. The event included more than 400 business, community and philanthropic leaders as well […]
‘Innovate 2 Innovation’ Envisions Resurgent California
In a not too distant California future, students experience classrooms as a rich, multimedia virtual concept instead of a physical space. They graduate into a workforce and marketplace that thrives on the seamless, constant conversion of intellectual ability into economic power. Part of that workforce successfully applies the latest technology solutions to ensure water quality, […]
California’s Energy Future: The View to 2050 Media Coverage Overview
CCST’s report California’s Energy Future – The View to 2050 was released at the end of May 2011. The report was discussed in the following: Fusion Power Report (6/13/11) CheckBioTech.org (6/10/11) Bio Refining Magazine (6/9/11) Bio Diesel Magazine (6/9/11) Environmental Energy Technologies Division (6/8/11) Capital Public Radio, Insight (6/7/11) Climate Change Solutions (6/7/11) Energy Efficiency News (6/6/11) Capitol Morning Report (6/5/11) North American […]
California’s Energy Future: Powering California with Nuclear Energy
A report by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) released today examines the potential and challenges in developing enough nuclear power to meet a large fraction of California’s electricity demand in the year 2050. “California’s Energy Future – Powering California with Nuclear Energy” was produced as input to the CCST report, “California’s Energy […]
Report Maps California’s Energy Future to 2050
California Council on Science and Technology Report Looks Ahead to 80 Percent Reduction in Carbon Fuel Emissions from 1990 Level “California’s Energy Future – The View to 2050” looks a generation ahead at what’s required to reach that goal and answers the call of S-3-05, the executive order from 2005 to reduce the state’s emissions […]