Author: UCSD-TV

Staying Accountable for Climate Commitments

Leaders from around the globe have gathered at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in the United Kingdom to focus on efforts being made to reduce the human impact of climate change. Those impacts and the urgency to act have not gone unnoticed in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

As world leaders gather at COP26, The Institute of the Americas (IOA) has released a policy white paper (Nationally Determined Contributions Across the America: A Comparative Hemispheric Analysis) to better assess progress made to date by countries across the Americas in delivering on their climate commitments. The white paper provides a timely snapshot of progress while also highlighting the serious funding gaps that remain if LAC countries are going to deliver on their previously agreed upon climate pledges.

Watch Institute of the Americas Climate Nationally Determined Contributions Report.

Meet a Mathematician

Ever wonder what a scientist does all day? Do they sit in a lab full of bubbling beakers? Are they locked away in a dark room full of reference books? Science Like Me answers those questions, dispels some myths, and more. Saura Naderi, an engineer with a passion for creativity, talks with scientists across UC San Diego about how they found their way into the world of research. Hear about moments from their childhood that sparked their love of science, how they spend a typical day, and what keeps them motivated to learn more and keep science moving forward.

In a recent episode, Naderi spoke with Alex Cloninger, PhD about his path to becoming a mathematician. His current work is in the area of geometric data analysis. His path towards a career in science was set in motion during a childhood trip to a planetarium with his parents. “That, I think, was the first aha moment. Not necessarily that I wanted to go into math, but that science was neat, and surprising, and that I didn’t understand how something happened, and I just wanted to figure it out.”

Cloninger views math as a skill everyone can master with the right tools. “I hate the phrase of someone not being a math person, because I really see learning math and getting to understand math is really just about practice, and about having people that are there to support you in that practice,” he says. He also disagrees with the idea that math is a solitary endeavor. “I think the most surprising thing is how fun and social research can be, and talking with colleagues can be – and that we all have this kind of common interest, maybe not in math, or in physics, or in a particular question, but in curiosity, right? …One of the things that I had no concept of before getting further into math, and even becoming a professor, was that the curiosity of a question can always be fun.”

To learn more about Cloninger’s research and day-to-day life in academia, watch Science Like Me: Meet a Mathematician. Interested in more scientific journeys? Check out the rest of the Science Like Me series.

Daughter of the Holocaust

In the summer of 1942, 22-year-old Franci Rabinek began a three-year journey that would take her from Terezin, the Nazis’ “model ghetto,” to the Czech family camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau, to slave labor camps in Hamburg and finally to Bergen Belsen. Trained as a dress designer, Franci survived the war and would go on to establish a fashion salon in New York.

“Franci’s War” is her memoir of life in Nazi-occupied Europe. Rabinek’s daughter, Helen Epstein, a prolific journalist and author, introduces and discusses the memoir and explores her childhood and her relationship with her mother.

Besides contributing to major dailies such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, Epstein has published several books, including her highly acclaimed Holocaust trilogy that begins with the volume “Children of the Holocaust.” Her work has been published in numerous languages.

Watch Franci’s War – with Helen Epstein – Holocaust Living History Workshop.

Lessons from the H1N1 Pandemic of 2009

Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius met with UC Berkeley students to explore the H1N1 Pandemic of 2009 and what lessons that pandemic might have for our current situation. Lesson number one: good communication is essential.

According to Sebelius, Epidemiology has a couple of core principles – one of which is providing clear, concise, accurate communication on a regular basis. One of the dramatic differences between the 2009 outbreak and what happened in 2020 was that the communication was inconsistent, often inaccurate, and contradictory.

During a fast-moving, global health crisis, you have to make decisions based on the information you have, says Sebelius. Taking no action is not an option. You’re going to probably makes some mistakes along the way, but then you correct them and move on. Napolitano adds that during the H1N1 pandemic, it was important to hold press events regularly and repeat basic public health messages like washing your hands and practicing social distancing because, if you get the communication part wrong, your crisis management will lack credibility. Indeed, it’s essential to communicate with the public not only what is known, but what is not known, as well.

Hear more about the importance of good communication and other lessons learned during the H1N1 Pandemic of 2009. Watch The United States Pandemic Response: Lessons from the H1N1 Pandemic of 2009.

Improving Your Emotional Well-Being

The outbreak of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 cause feelings of stress, anxiety, grief, and worry. Learning to cope with these feelings in a healthy way will help you become more resilient.

The Emotional Well-Being series from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UCSF features mental health and emotional wellness experts showing how you can reduce personal stress now, as well as develop coping skills for other disasters.

The sessions are moderated by Vice Chair for Adult Psychology Elissa Epel and include wide-ranging topics with experts sharing insights on reducing stress and trauma, coping with grief, managing pandemic fatigue, addressing interpersonal and systemic racism, parenting and educating young people as they transition back to in-person learning and jobs, mitigating the climate crisis, and the use of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

After the past 18 months, improving our stress management skills is something we can all use.

Watch Improving Your Emotional Well-Being.