University of California Press Blog » Science

Jon Christensen on Elon Musk’s Flight of Fancy

ssilverman — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 01:59:27 +0000

Illustration by Elon Musk/Tesla Motors.

Is Elon Musk’s Hyperloop like a 21st century version of the transcontinental railroad? Jon Christensen, the Editor of Boom: A Journal of California, draws some interesting parallels between the two in the New Yorker’s Elements blog. Both seemed impossibly fast for their day and age, and both have the power [more...]

A Case for Expensive Oil

ssilverman — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:01:14 +0000

While Barack Obama and Mitt Romney seemed to argue in last night’s debate over which was better, cheap oil or cheaper oil, it can be refreshing to hear another perspective. In an op-ed entitled “Three Cheers for Expensive Oil,” published in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, UC Press author David Montgomery argues that “Scarce oil may [more...]

2 UC Press Authors Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

ssilverman — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:31:32 +0000

Congratulations to Mary Power and Dan Simberloff who, along with 82 other distinguished scientists (4, including Power, from UC Berkeley), were elected to the National Academy of Sciences this week.

Mary Power is a freshwater ecologist and has done groundbreaking work on the Eel River. Mary also serves on the editorial board of our own Freshwater [more...]

An Acquiring Eye: Chuck Crumly on Freshwater Ecology Books and Journals

ssilverman — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:59:07 +0000

Here’s the second Acquiring Eye post from Executive Editor Chuck Crumly, this time taking a good look at our Freshwater Ecology books and journals.

“The times, they are a changin’ “ — this cultural mantra is now becoming an ecological and environmental reality. Climate change is creating challenges that cross almost every imaginable barrier. The University of [more...]

An Acquiring Eye: Chuck Crumly on Ornithology Books and Journals

ssilverman — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:57:01 +0000

For the second post in our Acquiring Eye series, Executive Editor Chuck Crumly has written about the Ornithology books and journals he has his eye on:

Almost all of us have experienced the delight of watching birds – listening to birds calling mournfully or happily or even unexpectedly, and enjoying their antics. For many, birds are [more...]

Deeper Context: Across Atlantic Ice

ssilverman — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:58:06 +0000

One of the greatest virtues of science and the scientific method lies not in the many points of agreement and common ground but rather in the places where there isn’t agreement and how competing hypotheses can be understood, discussed, tested and, ultimately, either proven or dis-proven. As it has often been said about the making [more...]

Award Won: Jonathan Losos wins the Daniel Geraud Elliot Medal

ssilverman — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:58:28 +0000

Rose Lincoln/Harvard News Office

Congratulations to Jonathan Losos, the author of Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree: Ecology and Adaptive Radiation of Anoles, for being awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal by the National Academy of Sciences.

Here’s the copy from the NAS announcement: Jonathan B. Losos, the Monique and Philip Lehner Professor for the Study of Latin [more...]

UC Press Podcast: How Not to Be Eaten

ssilverman — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:21:36 +0000

We’re kicking off the podcast series for the Spring 2012 season with Gilbert Waldbauer talking with Chris Gondek about his newest book, How Not To Be Eaten.

All animals must eat. But who eats who, and why, or why not? Because insects outnumber and collectively outweigh all other animals combined, they comprise the largest amount of [more...]

Deeper Context: The Digital Jepson Manual

ssilverman — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:13:58 +0000

Coming right on the heels of the overwhelmingly positive reaction we got for the publication of the second edition of the Jepson Manual, I am pleased to announce The Digital Jepson Manual.

For the first time, University of California Press is offering this resource as an e-book. The Digital Jepson Manual provides an unparalleled new level [more...]

Deeper Context: The Jepson Manual, second edition

ssilverman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:12:12 +0000

Every publisher, at least on some level, would like to think that the books they publish are essential. But, really, how often does this happen and when it does, how do you know?

Well, one good sign is looking at what others have said about your work:

“A book that will stand for many years as the [more...]