Daily Business Report-May 13, 2016
Astronaut Jessica Meir undergoes extravehicular activity training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in this recently released NASA photo. Photographer: James Blair/NASA
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
To Celebrate Year’s Achievements
Astronaur Jessica Meir, who received her doctorate in marine biology from Scripps institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, will be the keynote alumni speaker when the institution celebrates Scripps Day on June 10, an open house for alumni and other members of the community.
Meir was one of eight people to join NASA’s 21st astronaut class in 2013. She is part of the NASA team preparing for a potential manned mission to Mars aboard the Orion spacecraft.
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Study: Fruit Flies May Help
In Understanding Brain Injuries
A new study by SDSU scientists finds that fruit flies could be a model organism for learning the genetic pathways that affect human brain injuries and recovery.
Each year, an estimated 1.7 million people in the United States sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These injuries occur most frequently from falling, but can also result from military combat, car accidents, contact sports or domestic abuse. Recently, physicians and researchers have become increasingly concerned that even mild cases of repetitive brain trauma could have long-term, unanticipated consequences.
Given the prevalence of these injuries, it’s surprising that the genes and cellular pathways that can blunt TBI’s harmfulness are relatively unknown, said Kim Finley, an associate professor at the San Diego State University Donald P. Shiley BioScience Center. A new study led by SDSU scientists and recently published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports suggests that using fruit flies as a TBI model may hold the key to identifying important genes and pathways that promote the repair of and minimize damage to the nervous system.
“Fruit flies actually have a very complex nervous system,” said Finley, the study’s co-lead author. “They are also an incredible model system that has been used for over 100 years for genetic studies, and more recently to understand the genes that maintain a healthy brain.”
In humans, changes in mood, headaches and sleep problems are just a few of the possible symptoms associated with suffering mild traumatic brain injury. The timeline for these symptoms can vary greatly: Some people experience them immediately following injury, while others may develop problems many years after.
Finley noted that because fruit flies grow old quickly, observing them allows researchers to rapidly study the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury.
“Traits that might take 40 years to develop in people can occur in flies within two weeks,” she said.
To test whether flies can be used to model traumatic brain injuries, Finley and colleagues used an automated system to vigorously shake and traumatize thousands of fruit flies.
Record 4,000 Summer Courses Offered
At City, Mesa and Miramar Colleges
Students enrolling at San Diego Community College District campuses this summer will find the largest selection of classes to choose from in the district’s history, with more than 4,000 course sections being offered — an increase of about 700 from last year.
The SDCCD anticipates serving an additional 6,000 students thanks to the added course sections.
Officials said careful planning by administrators and the board of trustees, along with an improved state budget, have enabled the district to add courses the past two summer sessions. Last summer’s schedule expanded by 200 course sections, restoring the district’s summer offerings to pre-recession levels.
The first of four sessions begins May 31. Priority registration for City, Mesa, and Miramar College students began May 9. Those eligible for priority registration include — but are not limited to — students who have completed an orientation and assessment, and have an education plan on file; active military and veterans; foster youth; and students with disabilities.
Open registration begins Monday, May 23.
Donald Knauss Named Incoming
Chairman of USD Board of Trustees
Donald R. Knauss has been named the incoming chairman of the University of San Diego Board of Trustees. He will assume the role on July 1 when current chairman Ron L. Fowler steps down.
The board also appointed new members Mark Bosco and Tom Mulvaney to terms beginning on July 1.
Knauss joined the board of trustees in 2008 while he served as chairman and CEO of Clorox Corporation. As CEO, Knauss had overall responsibility for directing the company’s worldwide business that generated revenues of $5.6 billion in fiscal year 2014. Prior to joining Clorox, Knauss spent 12 years with The Coca-Cola Company.
Knauss serves on the Kellogg Company and URS Corporation board of directors.
Fowler, the executive chairman of the San Diego Padres, and chairman and CEO of Liquid Investments Inc., has provided financial oversight to the university. He is currently steering the university through a $300 million capital campaign.
In 2012, Fowler and his wife, Alexis, donated funds that allowed USD to build Fowler Park, the 1,700 seat, state-of-the-art home of Torero Baseball.
Bosco is a shareholder in Tiffany & Bosco, P.A., a Phoenix-based law firm.
Mulvaney and his wife, Karen, launched the Mulvaney Challenge, a campaign which funded the first endowment for the Center for Community Service Learning. In honor of their monetary support, the center was renamed the Karen and Tom Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness, and Social Action (CASA)
San Ysidro Pedestrian Crossing to Open July 15
By City News Service
A pedestrian crossing being built at the San Ysidro Port of Entry is scheduled to go into operation July 15, the U.S. and Mexican governments announced Thursday.
The facility known as “PedWest” will service northbound pedestrians into the U.S. initially. Border-crossers who pass through will be able to access public transportation nearby on Virginia Avenue.
Processing for southbound pedestrians into Mexico will begin at a later date.
Officials said around 25,000 pedestrians enter the U.S. daily at San Ysidro, the busiest border crossing in the Western Hemisphere. Lines during peak periods can force waits of a couple of hours or more.
According to the U.S. General Services Administration, the pedestrian facility is part of a $735 million renovation of the border crossing that will continue to at least 2019.
NASSCO Launches and Christens
ECO Tanker Built to Serve Jones Act Fleet
General Dynamics NASSCO shipbuilders launched and christened another ECO Class tanker on May 7 that will join the Jones Act fleet. Once delivered, the Garden State will also join the ranks as one of the most fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly product tankers in the world.
The Garden State is the third of a five-tanker contract between NASSCO and American Petroleum Tankers, which calls for the design and construction of five 50,000 deadweight ton, LNG-conversion-ready product carriers with a 330,000 barrel cargo capacity.
The 610-foot-long tankers are equipped with a new “ECO” design, enabling improvement in fuel efficiency and further shaping the future of American maritime shipping.
The construction and operation of the Garden State and its sister ships are aligned with the Jones Act, requiring that ships carrying cargo between U.S. ports be built in U.S. shipyards, further protecting hundreds of thousands of American jobs and almost $100 billion in annual economic impact as a result of the domestic American maritime industry. The tankers will be used to transport products — such as petroleum — that help fuel America’s businesses and homes.
“The launch of the Garden State symbolizes and celebrates the culmination of thousands of hours of hard labor put forth by the men and women of General Dynamics NASSCO,” said Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO and Bath Iron Works. “NASSCO is proud to be building yet another quality product tanker for longtime partners American Petroleum Tankers and Kinder Morgan.”
Personnel Announcements
Doug Kerner Joins Higgs Fletcher & Mack
Higgs Fletcher & Mack has added partner Doug Kerner as its newest real estate attorney.
Kerner’s emphasis is in commercial real estate transactions and finance for clients, including owners and developers of commercial, residential and mixed-use properties as well as landlords, tenants and financial institutions.
Kerner comes to the firm from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney LLP where he handled a variety of commercial real estate transactions, including purchase and sale, leasing and finance matters.
Kerner began his law career at Lorenz Alhadeff Cannon & Rose LLP where he handled a variety of business, real estate and land use matters.
Jack Planter Added to BNBuilders Team
Jack Planter has joined BNBuilders’ San Diego office as a mechanical, electrical and plumbing coordinator.
Planter has more than three decades of technical expertise in MEP systems to the BNBuilders team. He is one of several new staff members to join the San Diego office recently to its growing operations projected to double in 2016, and its expanding geographical reach into Los Angeles and Orange County.
As an MEP coordinator with BNBuilders, Planter works with trade contractors to incorporate their information into the BIM model. He also oversees quality control, and works closely with the client to ensure the project functional requirements and end user needs are met. A few recent clients include Illumina, Otonomy, and Vertex. Prior to joining BNBuilders, Planter worked with 3QC, Xnergy, and Rudolph and Sletten.
Maddy Kilkenny Joins Intesa Communications Group
Maddy Kilkenny has joined Intesa Communications Group as a partner, and as a founder of the public relations firm’s new lobby practice representing client government relations interests throughout the greater San Diego region.
Kilkenny has more than 15 years of experience in public relations. Prior to joining Intesa, she served as vice president of government relations at The Clay Company, serving health, technology, and corporate clients.
Kilkenny was a senior adviser to County Supervisor Greg Cox from 2003 to 2010, focusing on health and public safety policy issues, community outreach, and special events.
Intesa sldo announced the promotion of Matt Morse from director of its Washington D.C. office, to director of company-wide digital strategy. Morse has served Intesa’s D.C.-based clients for the past two years.
