Fire damages chemistry lab on campus

A fire in Phil Power's laboratory in 130 Chemistry Saturday afternoon burned a fume hood and its contents and filled the room with smoke. It also caused a leak in one of the lab's water lines, making water pool on the floor and in the adjacent hallway.

No one was in the lab at the time and only a few people were in the building.

According to UC Davis Fire Department Assistant Chief Wes Arvin, the fire was discovered at about 12:20 p.m by facilities workers who saw smoke on the Chemistry Building roof. Firefighters from UC Davis and the city of Davis arrived shortly and found that the smoke on the roof was coming from the fume hood in Power's lab.

Powers said the fire damage was limited to the fume hood, where a distillation process had been underway. The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Federation travel grant applications available

Applications are available for Academic Federation research travel grants for travel to attend professional meetings between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2005. Awards are available for up to $800 for domestic travel or international travel.

The travel grant awards enable Academic Federation researchers to present research results at highly visible conferences and meetings. Because the grant program is funded through indirect costs, the goal of the program is to support research that would generate extramural funding, thereby increasing indirect costs.

The deadline to complete the applications, including approval from the department chair, is Nov. 15. The online application is located at http://academicsenate.ucdavis.edu/tg_form.cfm.

The Sponsored Research Manual, Section 510, contains policies regarding research travel. For more details, contact emlim@ucdavis.edu, (530) 752-2231.

Employees invited to monthly poetry readings

Faculty and staff are invited to read or listen at "Latitudes," a newly established, monthly series of poetry readings.

Readings are held noon to 1 p.m. on the third Friday of the month in the employees' lounge in the basement of the Patient Support Services Building at the medical center.

Employees are invited to bring their lunches, sign up for a three-to-five-minute reading or just listen.

Readings are slated for Oct. 15, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17. For details, call (916) 734-5630.

Health system signs on as sponsor of 'NOVA'

UC Davis Health System is now a sponsor of local broadcasts of the long-time, top-rated health and science program "NOVA."

Through 2005, the health system's new 30-second TV advertisements will appear at the open and close of all NOVA episodes.

The advertising is intended to raise awareness of the benefits of academic medicine. The main message of the advertisements is that "there's an entire university behind every doctor."

"We are pleased to be affiliated with one of the most highly regarded science series on television," said Bonnie Hyatt, assistant director for Public Affairs and Marketing. "NOVA's thoughtful explorations of scientific and medical subjects is a good fit with the health system's own mission to seek new discoveries and teach."

On KVIE, NOVA is the top program among men and women over age 35, Hyatt said. "This is precisely the audience we want to reach," she said.

The health system's advertising campaign continues to appear on high profile programming including the U.S. Open, and this month's Emmy Awards show and the premier of the new comedy "Joey."

Female faculty workshop focuses on management

A free, half-day workshop on management skills for all women UC Davis faculty members will be held 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 30, at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel at the medical center.

The workshop, a mix of lectures and mock scenarios based on real situations, will cover management styles, managing teams, managing time and other topics.

Keynote speaker will be Sandy Smoley, former secretary of the California Health and Welfare Agency. Other speakers will discuss issues including the differing styles of men and women and how women may need to modify their management style to be most effective.

Women faculty are invited to submit scenarios from their academic experiences for discussion at the workshop. Those who are interested in doing so should send their descriptions to Lydia Howell at lydia.howell@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu or Amparo Villablanca at avillablanca@ucdavis.edu. To RSVP, send an e-mail to barbara.dow@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

Gettacue tournament to benefit cancer research

A billiards tournament benefiting the UC Davis Cancer Center, hosted by Sacramento King Peja Stojakovic and Sacramento Monarch Ticha Penicheiro, will be held 6-11 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria in Sacramento.

"Gettacue" will benefit breast and ovarian cancer research, the Peja Stojakovic Children's Foundation and the UC Davis Telemedicine Program. Balcony tickets cost $100 and include a bird's-eye view of the action, a T-shirt, food, a live auction and music. For details, call (916) 438-2929 or see http://www.gettacue.com.