NewsMakers


David Sunding"[The project] does clearly pass a cost-benefit test to the tune of something like $5 billion."

David Sunding, Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics
An August 6 Los Angeles Times article covered an economic analysis, led by Sunding, that determined that the benefits of building a new tunnel system for the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta would far outweigh the costs. The project would stabilize water supplies from the Delta, which serves roughly two out of every three Californians, as well as restore the estuary's ecosystem. 


Laura Schewel"We have no idea what's happening on the roads. Just none. When you compare that to what we know about what people watch on TV, it's absurd."

Laura Schewel, M.S. '11, Ph.D. Candidate, Energy and Resources Group
Schewel was named one of MIT Technology Review's annual "35 Innovators Under 35," published in the September/October issue, for her company StreetLight Data. The startup developed software that uses cellphone and navigation data to generate the demographics of people who drive by or stop near any specified address. The results have applications not just for transportation but for marketing, business development, and urban planning.


Steven E. Brenner"How long will it be until an idealistic and technically literate researcher deliberately releases genome and trait information ... in the name of open science?"

Steven E. Brenner, Professor, Plant and Microbial Biology
In a June 12 opinion piece in the journal Nature, Brenner says it's inevitable that a leak of genomic information will occur. "Individual scientists, institutions, and funders should consider now how they will react when this happens," Brenner says. He stressed that discussions about the risks of a leak must also include the tremendous benefits to society of using that information to achieve medical progress.


"Tips fluctuate from shift to shift, but rent and bills are constant."

Saru Jayaraman, Director, Food Labor Research Center, and 2013 Berkeley Food Institute Visiting Scholar
In a New York Times opinion piece published June 23, Jayaraman advocates for a stable, livable base wage for restaurant workers. She appeared in numerous media outlets last year, including "The Bill Maher Show" and "Moyers and Company," promoting food workers' rights and her 2013 book Behind the Kitchen Door. See A Voice for Food Workers.