Briefs

Feed Hungry Freshman minds

Since arriving in 2002, dean paul ludden has hosted a special class just for freshmen called dean’s night out. it’s an informal affair in which 15 freshmen get together for a casual dinner and seminar with a different speaker each week, and presentations by College alumni have been especially popular with the students. if you are interested in sharing your post-CnR experience with a class of eager undergrads, or would like to learn more, e-mail breakthroughs@nature.berkeley.edu.

new Faculty

The two most recent additions to CnR’s faculty, assistant professors Rodrigo Almeida and perry de Valpine, each bring dual expertise to the department of environmental Science, policy, and Management. Almeida, most recently an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii, conducts both basic and applied biological research. de Valpine, formerly a statistician at predicant Biosciences, combines mathematics with ecology. Both have a strong link to Berkeley—Almeida as a graduate student in eSpM and de Valpine as a postdoc in integrative Biology.