BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

Newport Beach library seeks O.C. artists

The Newport Beach Public Library is accepting submissions for its spring 2007 Orange County artist juried exhibition scheduled for March 3.

The first, second, third and honorable mentions will receive a cash prize from $50 to $400.

Artists must be 18 or older and be Orange County residents. Their work will be for sale and on display at the central library from 4 to 6 p.m. March 3.

Submissions will be accepted at the library from 10 to 11 a.m. that day.

Part of the proceeds will benefit the Newport Beach community arts programs.

The artists will be charged $20 per submission and can enter up to two pieces. All twodimensional artwork is welcomed, but works must not be bigger than 24-inches-by-36-inches and can weigh no more than 50 pounds. Artists must bring their own easels or table tops.

For more information or for a prospectus, visit the Newport Beach City Hall or branches of the Newport Beach library or call (949) 717-3870.

Former UCI professors receive endowments

Retired UC Irvine professors Barbara Hamkalo and Lyman Porter have received endowed professorships to conduct research, the university announced Tuesday.

Hamkalo, a retired molecular biology professor, and Porter, a retired business professor, were selected as Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professors, an honor named after the longest-serving regent in the history of the University of California. Each professor will receive funding for up to three years.

Porter, who joined UCI in 1967, formerly served as dean of the Paul Merage School of Business. His research will center around the school’s programs in international business. Hamkalo, who started her UCI career in 1973, plans to work with administrators to create a center for graduate students.

“This center will provide all graduate students a common place to share ideas and experiences, as well as gather for academic, social and cultural activities,” she said in a release.

UC Irvine teacher wins $400,000 science grant

Syed Jafar, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UC Irvine, has won a grant from the National Science Foundation for his research on wireless networks.

The foundation gave Jafar its Faculty Early Career Development Award along with a $400,000 grant. In his current project, the Stanford graduate is determining ways to analyze sub-networks within wireless programs. He was recently one of 12 researchers who received a $6.5-million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop an information theory for mobile networks.