David Castanon ’81 writes, “I graduated from UCLA with a double major in Biology and Geography-Ecosystems Conservation and Analysis. I am currently Chief of the Regulatory Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District. The Corps Regulatory Program is the federal government’s most important program for protecting wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems. I manage a talented and committed team of multidisciplinary scientists and professionals in such fields as ecology, various biology specialties, fluvial geomorphology, environmental engineering, and planning. Our team of regulators is located in several offices: Los Angeles, Ventura, Carlsbad, Riverside, Phoenix and Tucson. These professionals evaluate permit applications from a broad range of public agencies, businesses, and private land owners who desire to build projects within wetlands, rivers, streams, lakes, or the ocean. Major infrastructure (highways, rail, renewable energy, pipelines, port expansions), mixed use or residential housing, construction on military bases, as well as private developments by individual land owners require Corps permits when they will affect aquatic resources whether on public or private land. The program annually affects about $50 Billion worth of construction projects within the Los Angeles District’s area of responsibility: Southern California from the Mexican Border to the Monterey County Line and Mono Lake as well as the State of Arizona. Evaluation of these applications requires thorough environmental analysis, application of a watershed perspective, and compliance with a wide range of federal environmental statutes: Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Clean Air Act, and others. This program is challenging and often controversial in that the Corps is charged with balancing environmental protection with economic needs of society and private property rights which means that affected parties (land owners, neighbors, businesses, environmental groups, and elected officials) are rarely fully satisfied. However, the Corps regulator’s ‘honest broker’ role and ability to personally affect how projects are designed and built results in tremendous job satisfaction.”
Category Archives: 1980’s
Rosanna Giordani-Clegg ’82
Rosanna Giordani-Clegg ’82 is a teacher at Monte Vista High School, Simi Valley, California.
Eve Haberfield ’80 PhD
Eve Haberfield ’80 PhD (Morin) recently retired as the Director of Humanities, Health, Science, and Social Science at UCLA Extension, where she was responsible for overseeing course programming for more than 1,000 courses each year. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Griffith Observatory. From the UCLA Extension Newsletter: “Eve Haberfield, recently retired director and program director for the Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences, and Health Sciences Programs, was honored at the University Professional & Continuing Education Association’s 2010 Fall Regional Awards ceremony. Haberfield won in the West Region’s Professional Contributions to Continuing Education category for her 33 years of service and dedication developing innovative courses and programs for UCLA Extension.”
Diego Lirman ’88
Diego Lirman ’88 received his PhD from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Miami, and is a Research Assistant Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Miami, researching the disturbance ecology of coastal systems.
Ronald H. Matson ’87 PhD
Ronald H. Matson ’87 PhD (Buth) former Chair of the Department of Biology and Physics at Kennesaw State University, has been appointed to the position of Interim Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at KSU as of 1 July 2010.
Tina Cowan ’86
Tina Cowan ’86 is an Associate Professor of Pathology at Stanford University. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Medical Genetics with specialty certification in Clinical Biochemical Genetics and a Ph.D. in Medical Genetics, and is Medical Director of the Clinical Biochemical Genetics Laboratory at Stanford. Her research focuses on the screening and diagnosis of patients with inborn errors of metabolism, including newborn screening, development of new testing methods and genotype/phenotype correlations.
Martin Donohoe ’84
Martin Donohoe ’84 writes: “I received my BS (Biology, 1984) and MD (1990) from UCLA. I loved my bio classes and have maintained a side interest in biological anthropology. I completed internship and residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School, and was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Stanford University. I am now Adjunct Associate Professor in Community Health at Portland State University and practice internal medicine with Kaiser Permanente. I serve on the Board of Advisors of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and am Chief Scientific Advisor to Oregon PSR’s Campaign for Safe Foods. I teach courses in medical humanities, public health, social justice ethics, and women’s studies. My open-access slide shows, articles, and syllabi can be found at www.phsj.org or at www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org. Best wishes to my former student-colleagues.”
Eric F. Reichman ’84
Eric F. Reichman ’84 received his MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and a PhD in Anatomy from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1989. He is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Surgical & Clinical Skills Center at the University of Texas Houston Medical School.
Elizabeth Kornblum Devine ’83
Elizabeth Kornblum Devine ’83 writes: “I was a Criminalist for LA Sheriff for 15 years with a Masters Degree in Forensic Science from Cal State LA. I worked nine years for the CSI television franchise rising to Co- Executive Producer for CSI: Miami. I started the CSI Endowment at Cal State LA for students interested in pursuing a Forensic Science degree. Currently I am writing and developing a television drama for A&E and Fox Television Studios.”
Susie Hsiuhan Ling ’80
Susie Hsiuhan Ling ’80 has earned two master’s degrees, one in Asian American Studies at UCLA, and one in History at Cal State Los Angeles, and is an Associate Professor of Social Sciences at Pasadena City College.
George Kramer ’89 PhD
George Kramer ’89 PhD (Chapman), writes: ‘Post-docs in Pacific Grove, CA
(Hopkins Marine Station) and Italy (Stazione Zoologica di Napoli). Currently Professor of
Environmental Studies and Biology, Chair of Environmental Studies Program, and Associate Dean of Natural and Social Sciences at Purchase College (State University of New York).”
Brent Stewart ’89 PhD
Brent Stewart ’89 PhD (Taylor) is a marine biologist and senior scientist for Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute. A report on his 31 years studying elephant seals was published in the Los Angeles Times on March 5, 2010.
Jay Phelan ’85
Jay Phelan ’85 writes: “Way back in the early 1980s, I was an undergraduate student at UCLA and I took part in the Field Biology Quarter (with Laurie Vitt). It was an important event in my education, helping me to realize for the first time that I wanted to be a biologist. It even led to one of my first publications, a little paper on foraging behavior in Sceloporus virgatus that I published in the Journal of Herpetology. . . . The quarter that I did the FBQ, our group of students also included Mark Gold, who is now the president of Heal The Bay, and Greg Graffin, who ended up getting his Ph.D. with Will Provine and has taught LS 1 in recent years.” Jay is an instructor and coordinator for UCLA’s Life Sciences 2 and 15.
Alfred Farrington ’82
Alfred Farrington ’82 writes: “After I got my B.S. degree, I went to UCLA dental school to get my D.D.S. degree. I am practicing in Beverly Hills and ever since I graduated I have been involved with UCLA at some level. At the beginning I volunteered at the alumni association in the advisory and scholarship committee, then I did some part time research with dental school and also taught at UCLA dental clinic, but I haven’t been involved with the dept of Biology since I graduated. I am glad you have contacted me for an update and show interest in the whereabouts of your alumni.”
Thomas Haglund ’81 PhD
Thomas Haglund ’81 PhD (Olson), is the Science Department Chair at Windward
School in Los Angeles, where he has taught for over 25 years. Tom’s innovations in science education at the school include leading research expeditions of Windward students into Guatemala to study the behavior and habitat of birds coping with deforestation due to coffee production. The goal of the expedition is a multi-pronged effort to give students legitimate field experience and contribute to ongoing conservation research on the university level. His website for the school notes, “Tom has made many
trips to Guatemala over the years, and he also enjoys birdwatching and
fishing. He loves his students, and is thrilled to teach Honors students
because they work so hard and are so interested.”