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Announcements
UC ANR joins new artificial intelligence institute
I am very pleased to announce that with a $20 million award from the National Science Foundation and several federal agencies, UC ANR is collaborating with UC Davis and other institutions to create a new artificial intelligence institute for next-generation food systems.
The farming/food industry is experiencing a technology revolution. Digital, biological and mechanical innovations are being applied to solve long-standing challenges such as the impacts of climate change, ensuring food and nutrition security, and sustainable and profitable crop production. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be applied to most of these innovations, as they all have one common attribute: they produce and consume large amounts of data. AI is a way to put the large amount of data we have to work for us, making computers and machines smarter and more effective.
The USDA-NSF AI for Next Generation Food Systems (AIFS) puts UC ANR in a leading role with UC Davis, UC Berkeley, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Cornell in developing AI-based technology for the food system, but,perhaps more importantly, in applying them in real-world situations, training a next-generation workforce, and engaging the public in their value.
UC ANR staff and academics will have the opportunity to engage with AIFS through virtual and live events, research, extension and commercialization projects, workforce development activities and more. In many ways, AIFS will be a new support center for UC ANR staff and academics, helping to provide the latest training and tools for UC ANR's Cooperative Extension and outreach activities in California and beyond.
Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR chief innovation officer and Maggi Kelly, director of UC ANR's Informatics and GIS program, will be the primary UC ANR contacts for AIFS. In the coming weeks, AIFS will provide further information about events and ways to engage. Please reach out to gdyoutsey@ucanr.edu to express your interest in getting more information as AIFS is launched.
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
Hayden-Smith publishes eFieldbook on using digital technology for extension
The Using Digital Technology in Extension Education eFieldbook is now available from eXtension. As part of eXtension's New Technologies for Agricultural Extension Cooperative Agreement with USDA-NIFA, Rose Hayden-Smith, UCCE advisor emeritus, has been serving as the Technology in Extension Education Fellow to help extension colleagues leverage technology for outreach. She created the first in a series of eFieldbooks.
The eXtension eFieldbook series provides a digital platform for aggregating content, tools, and engagement, and is available to all professionals in Cooperative Extension.
"It was wonderful to be able to work with valued ANR colleagues to share expertise in social media with Cooperative Extension colleagues across the nation,” Hayden-Smith said. “I am so grateful for all those who contributed content and ideas. Cynthia Kintigh and Liz Sizensky contributed, as did Dan Macon! Cal Nat is featured. Dave Krause wrote a piece and so did Mark Lubell! Jim Downing was a peer reviewer!"
This eFieldbook aims to help Cooperative Extension professionals consider the role of technology in their work, and perhaps increase the adoption of technology, particularly social media. The eFieldbook provides both food for thought and practical information that will enable people to apply what they've learned and to take action.
“One of my favorite historians referred to the Progressive Era as ‘prophetic and particular,'" Hayden-Smith said. “That's how I feel about this eFieldbook. There are these soaring, forward-looking perspective essays by CE colleagues, including Dave Krause, and yet there are also highly actionable pieces, including the leveraging content checklist I worked on with Cynthia Kintigh and Liz Sizensky. I think it's a useful piece of work. The eXtension Foundation also has loads of social media webinars and blog posts that partner with this eFieldbook to create a real guide to social media use in extension."
Topics include:
- A series of perspective essays that explore the nature of technology in Cooperative Extension work and what the future may hold;
- An exploration of two featured technologies with case studies, including a newly created social intranet/audience engagement platform designed for Cooperative Extension, and a popular social media platform (Instagram);
- A section on leveraging the digital information - content - we already produce using technology, including resources about search engine optimization;
- Suggested resources that will support your work; and
- An ongoing series of blog posts to provide additional information to help you stay abreast of technology topics.
The Using Digital Technology in Extension Education eFieldbook is available on the eFieldbook bookshelf at efieldbooks.extension.org, or can be found on the main navigation at connect.extension.org.
A LinkedIn login is required to access the eFieldbooks, instead of setting up an account via email. If you do not have a LinkedIn account, you can register for one free here. The purpose of the LinkedIn login is to provide an encrypted ID to the eFieldbook so users can securely interact with that eFieldbook, take notes and make contributions. The eXtension Foundation is not collecting personal information. To receive notice updates from eXtension, you are invited to opt-in the first time you log in to an eFieldbook by providing your email address.
On Sept. 16 at 11 a.m., Hayden-Smith will host a panel discussion about the eFieldbook. To register, visit https://connect.extension.org/event/digital-technology-efieldbook-webinar.
2020 Virtual Code Camp a success!
The California 4-H Computer Science Pathways team hosted a 5-day virtual code camp, July 27 to 31. Attendees included 50 youth and 30 volunteers (some from out-of-state and one from Canada!).
The camp consisted of multiple computer science topics including: CS First with Scratch, Virtual Robotics, and Python. We focused on coding and STEM and made it as fun and camp-like as possible.
Each day began with fun icebreakers, such as scavenger hunts and Pictionary. Then the campers were split into their coding sessions with at least two teen leaders and two adult volunteers to teach and facilitate different coding activities.
In the Python track, we used codecademy.com to teach the basics of Python and inspire youth to learn more about computer science. In the Virtual Robotics track, we used roboblockly.com to teach the basics of block coding and then gave each camper a Sphero Mini to program!
To wrap up each day, we led a sharing activity where campers had the ability to share their projects and what they had accomplished or learned. We had a few guest speakers, “Get to Know a Googler,” where Google employees spoke about their job and experiences in computer science.
“We accomplished our goal of spreading computer science and STEM throughout 4-H and the country and we hope to continue to lead virtual projects and camps in the future.”
– Ethan, teen volunteer, 4-H Computer Science Pathway
Growing a 4-H Computer Science Pathway for California's Youth was funded by the National 4-H Council and Google 2019-2021. The project was led by Fe Moncloa, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H youth development advisor for Santa Clara County, and Steven Worker, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H youth development advisor for Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties.
Flu vaccination required for UC students, faculty and staff by Nov. 1
To support the health and well-being of UC students, faculty and staff and our communities, the University of California, in consultation with UC Health leadership, has issued a systemwide executive order requiring all members of the UC community to receive an influenza immunization before Nov. 1, 2020.
The executive order is an important proactive measure to help protect members of the UC community — and the public at large — and to ameliorate the severe burdens on health care systems anticipated during the coming fall and winter from influenza and COVID-19 illnesses.
In addition to protecting those on campuses and the surrounding communities, this requirement is designed to avoid a surge of flu cases at health care facilities across the state during the unprecedented public health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), flu vaccination is a safe and effective way to prevent millions of illnesses and thousands of related medical visits every year. In recent years, flu vaccinations have reduced the risk of flu-associated hospitalizations among older adults on average by about 40%. Flu vaccinations also protect those around us, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness.
The executive order requires the vaccination for all faculty and staff who are working at a UC location. The university already has a clear policy on immunizations for students, and this action adds influenza to existing vaccination requirements for them, and extends the requirement to faculty and staff beyond those which presently exist for all UC health care workers.
A process will be put in place for faculty and staff to request medical exemptions. Requests for disability or religious accommodations will be handled through the interactive process consistent with existing location policies and procedures.
All UC medical plans which cover faculty, staff and students include coverage for flu vaccinations at no cost to those covered by the plan. In addition, for those without group health care coverage, all ACA-compliant health plans also cover flu vaccinations as part of a preventive care package that includes no copay.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the best source for information on this year's flu vaccinations and when it would be available.
Flu vaccine FAQs
UCOP has published frequently asked questions concerning the 2020-21 UC influenza vaccination order at https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/coronavirus/frequently-asked-questions-for-employees-about-the-2020-21-uc-influenza-vaccination-order.html.
More information about the implementation of UC's requirement, and when the flu vaccination for 2020-21 is available, will be shared in the coming weeks.
Unauthorized survey
UCOP Communications has learned that an outside market research firm, Consumer Evaluation & Insights, recently sent a survey about UC's flu vaccination policy to a number of UC faculty and staff with the subject line “Share your opinion on the UC Flu Vaccine requirement.” Please be aware this survey was not authorized or commissioned by UC, and you are under no obligation to complete it.
Additionally, because data from this survey is being collected by an external organization, UC cannot make any assurances regarding the use, privacy or security of any information you provide.
$1 million grant expands climate-ready landscape plants program
A research project initiated in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis evaluates landscape plants in two-year trials under varying irrigation levels to determine the best irrigation level for optimal plant performance in regions requiring supplemental summer water. Creating water budgets is required by California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), and the results from these research trials help landscape professionals and home gardeners make informed decisions when specifying, selecting or promoting low water-use landscape plant material.
This year, the CDFA/USDA Specialty Crops Multistate Program funded a new Climate Ready Landscape Plants project, which will replicate the successful fields that are currently installed at UC Davis and UC ANR South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine.
Loren Oki, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, is the lead principal investigator and collaborators include researcher Jared Sisneroz; project leader Karrie Reid, UC Cooperative Extension environmental horticulture advisor in San Joaquin County; and Darren Haver, UC Cooperative Extension water resources and water quality advisor and director of South Coast REC and UCCE in Orange County.
Under Oki's oversight, this new $999,992 grant will support the development of additional fields at several western universities:
- University of Washington, Soo-Hyung Kim
- Oregon State University, Lloyd Nackley and Ryan Contreras
- Utah State University Center, Youping Sun and Larry Rupp
- University of Arizona, Ursula Schuch
Conducting these new experiments on landscape plants at diverse sites across the western U.S. will reveal differences in recommendations since irrigation guidelines for landscapes vary depending on climate and soil type.
The initial project was initiated as Reid's master's degree thesis research in 2004, with Oki as her major professor, and has been ongoing since then.
Project descriptions, results and images can be seen at the UC Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials website at https://ucanr.edu/sites/UCLPIT.
