University Of California

BERKELEY, Calif. - In the celebrity-laden world of college commencement speakers, Duane De Witt is hardly marquee material. But along with his borrowed cap and gown, what De Witt brought to the stage when he recently addressed 2,000 fellow University of California, Berkeley, graduates was nearly half a century of experience on the rough margins of society. Standing nervously on the podium, the soft-spoken 48-year-old Army veteran was an oddity in a university filled largely with the sons and daughters of privilege, one whose odyssey of uncommon persistence included nearly an entire semester spent sleeping in local parks.

The Tooth Fairy may need to be more aggressive - or at least less of a cheapskate. New research shows that baby teeth may be more valuable than anyone imagined becase they contain fresh stem cells. "Shed teeth may be an unexpected, unique source for stem-cell therapies, including stem-cell transplantation and tissue engineering," said bone research specialist Songtau Shi and colleagues at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, in Bethesda and the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, in Adelaide, Australia.

Referring to "systemic management failures" by the University of California, the U.S. Energy Department announced yesterday that it will for the first time hold an open competition for the contract to run Los Alamos National Laboratory when the university's deal expires in 2005. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said he has decided not to break the university's contract immediately, though, because it could cause significant disruption at the New Mexico lab, the United States' premier nuclear weapons design center.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - They are a couple of simple words that cause politicians in peril to squirm: I'm sorry. In recent days, the outcry over maligned Sen. Trent Lott's racially insensitive comments illustrate the growing public demand for acceptable apologies. Yet politicians often wrestle over the right words to express remorse for damaging blunders. Promising careers can sputter and stall unless a blooper is appropriately patched. "There is an art to what you say, and there's often a clever parting of language or twisting of words.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The University of California will begin checking college applications for lies and embellishments next year, as it acknowledges public concern that high school seniors may be tempted to distort their records to gain a competitive edge. The university will randomly select applications for fall 2003 admission and verify personal statements as well as the honors achievements and community service. The change comes on the heels of the University of California's year-old "comprehensive review" admissions policy.

WASHINGTON - As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention retools to meet the threat of bioterrorism, a senior manager who helped shape the nation's response to last year's anthrax scare has been tapped by President Bush to lead the agency, an administration official said yesterday. The appointment of Dr. Julie L. Gerberding is to be announced today by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. Gerberding will become the first woman to lead the Atlanta-based federal agency, which is responsible for protecting Americans against infectious diseases and other health hazards.

SAN FRANCISCO - One of his admirers calls him a Chinese Martin Luther King. Another describes him as a visionary and a warrior who runs at full gallop without losing his balance. He's a respected professor and an uncompromising community activist. And a Princeton Theological Seminary graduate who sings African-American spirituals. And an accomplished French chef. He owns one suit and sports a perennial crew cut because "I consider combing my hair and polishing my shoes a waste of time."

Amos Perlmutter, 69, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs, died of cancer June 12 at a hospital in Washington. He wrote 15 books, including "The Life and Times of Menachem Begin," and many articles and essays about the Middle East and U.S. foreign and security policies. He was born in Poland and fought for Israel in the wars of 1948, 1956 and 1973. He held a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley and taught at Harvard University, the Johns Hopkins University, Free University of Berlin and American University in Washington.

In her four years at Morgan State University, Maria Richardson aced nearly every assignment given her -- no small feat in a field as technical and demanding as electrical engineering, her major. She earned a 3.87 GPA -- highest in her electrical engineering class of 66 -- and along the way won raves from her professors and mentors for her work in the rarified world of electrical impedance technology, perfecting a device for "seeing" beneath a person's skin. She has the world at her feet; in a field with a shortage of both women and African-Americans, she has been showered with money to pursue graduate studies.

Paul Chwelos teaches information systems at the University of California, Irvine, so he knows better than most the power of the Internet. And not just the way it is affecting businesses, but also the way it affects his graduate students. "It certainly gives them the ability to do better research, but it makes it easier to cheat," he said. "I think it's naive to think the Internet has given such access to information and that it doesn't increase cheating as well." So this month Chwelos joined a growing number of professors who are using the Internet to fight back.