UCI wins $9-million grant from foundation UC...

UCI wins $9-million grant from foundation

UC Irvine has received a $9-million grant to help shorten

emergency response time by improving communications between first

responders to crises and natural disasters.

The award comes from the National Science Foundation, which also

gave $3.5 million to UC San Diego for the five-year project, called

“Responding to the Unexpected.” It will use information technology to

develop organizational strategies between law enforcement, fire

departments and other agencies.

It represents the largest National Science Foundation grant in UC

Irvine history.

“Examples include integrating different information sources such

as satellite images, video and sensor data with field observations to

monitor the situation,” UC Irvine information and computer science

professor Sharad Mehrotra said of the project.

Mehrotra heads Cal-(IT)2, the two-campus science and innovation

institute that is managing the project. He said that the goal is to

make early responders into “human sensors” who could gather and

distribute information to reduce casualties and economic loss.

They will test their findings with the Irvine and San Diego police

departments, city and county of Los Angeles and the California

governor’s office of emergency services.

“I am pleased to see UC Irvine and its partner, UC San Diego,

successfully compete for federal dollars to improve our urban crisis

response using technological ingenuity,” said Newport Beach’s Rep.

Chris Cox, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

“Large threats call for large-scale coordination, and new

technology can provide critical tools to our early responders,” he

added.

-- Marisa O’Neil

Teachers can be part of green education

The California State Parks Foundation is launching a new

environmental education program called Coast Alive, designed to bring

fifth- through ninth-grade students and teachers to the coastlines.

The program allows teachers and students to examine California’s

marine ecology and its role in preserving the coast’s rich natural

and cultural history.

Coast Alive’s main goals are to protect and restore the natural

habitat of the coastline and to promote educational projects that are

accessible to urban populations.

Newport-Mesa area teachers will be among those from around the

state whom the foundation will train to bring 50,000 students to

upland and coastal sites in their local watersheds.

The California Institute for Biodiversity and the California State

Parks Foundation are creating the project curriculum and coordinating

teacher preparation.

Aided by scientists and park interpreters, students and educators

will participate in such learning experiences as restoration and

mitigation, scientific wildlife and plant life monitoring and

assessment.

The $1.3-million program has received a $250,000 grant from the

Coastal Conservancy and is seeking interested teachers.

Teachers interested in joining focus groups in these counties

should contact Sara Feldman of the California State Parks Foundation

at (213) 380-9980 or [email protected]. An honorarium will be paid.

Those interested in making a donation to Coast Alive or the

California State Parks Foundation can call (888) 98-PARKS or visit

https://www.calparks.org.