Bristol offramp from San Diego Freeway...

Bristol offramp from San Diego Freeway reopens

The Bristol Avenue offramp from the northbound San Diego Freeway

reopened Tuesday, four months ahead of schedule. The new Avenue of

the Arts offramp is expected to open soon.

The southbound Costa Mesa Freeway to the northbound San Diego

Freeway connector, which was reduced from two lanes to one, will

return to full capacity by Thanksgiving.

The closures were necessary to allow for construction that will

eventually improve the traffic flow at one of the 10 busiest

interchanges in the nation.

Upcoming improvements include a new Anton Boulevard onramp and,

eventually, a seamless carpool connection between the San Diego and

Costa Mesa freeways.

Construction on the interchange began in 1999 and is scheduled for

completion in 2004.

The project is funded by Measure M, the half-cent sales tax

approved in 1990, and by the city of Costa Mesa and federal grants.

Information: (800) 724-0353.

More researchers join UCI to combat eye diseases

A world-renowned team of researchers has joined UC Irvine to study

the causes of, and seek new treatments for, blindness and other eye

diseases.

The team will assume leadership duties at the newly created Morris

S. Pynoos Eye Research Laboratories -- a facility named for the

pioneering inventor and engineer who began his career in the aviation

industry, most prominently for Hughes Aircraft.

Pynoos, who died in July, was co-founder of the Discovery Fund for

Eye Research, which contributed $260,000 to the creation of the labs.

The addition of the research team almost doubles the number of eye

disease researchers at UCI’s College of Medicine. It also propels the

ophthalmology department into the top 25 national recipients for

total research grants in the field.

Three members of the team will serve as directors at the new

facility. They include Anthony Nesburn, vice chair for research in

the department; Cristina Kenney, a cornea specialist; and Steven

Wechsler, who specializes in herpes and other viral diseases.

Nesburn will spearhead efforts to develop a vaccine to protect

against corneal diseases.

UC Irvine adds computer science major Thursday

UCI’s Academic Senate approved a new major, computer science, on

Thursday.

The major will be offered through the Department of Information

and Computer Science, which is in the process of becoming a school

within the university. The major is being added because of high

demand and because the campus is experiencing a period of growth.

The bachelor’s degree is expected to be available to students

applying for admission this spring, said Dan Hirschberg, professor of

information and computer science.

The department is also considering a new major in information

systems design.