Chair assistant Terry Valai remembered for kindness, work ethic

People stopped into Terry Valai’s office to talk about their problems so frequently that some of her co-workers joked Valai should switch out the chairs for a therapist’s couch. Valai, assistant to the computer science department’s chair, died in early December in Santa Monica from a brain aneurysm. She was 54. She was a UCLA […]

Parents find management issues at UCLA’s child care centers

This post was updated Dec. 19 at 2:40 p.m. Faculty and graduate student parents say poor management and internal tensions at UCLA’s child care centers are affecting their children’s well-being. Some parents said the problems started after Jayanti Tambe, the executive director of UCLA Early Care and Education was hired in February 2015. Executive Vice […]

UCLA student wins The Price is Right, prizes include sailboat, TV

Brandon Wolfson relied on a combination of strategy, luck and the UCLA brand to win more than $27,000 worth of prizes, including a sailboat, on The Price is Right this fall. Wolfson, a first-year physics student, knew he would only be selected to compete if he could fill the show’s need for younger competitors. “I […]

Bruin Shelter fundraises to continue providing for homeless students

Bruin Shelter is raising $20,000 to continue operating, in a campaign called “Race for 20K.” The shelter, which opened in October, houses homeless college students in the West Los Angeles area. The shelter’s organizers created a Generosity donation page for individuals to contribute any amount until Wednesday. Helen Li, Bruin Shelter’s co-marketing director, said the […]

UCLA professors stride forward in robotic technology research

This post was updated on Dec. 5 at 11:32 a.m. Tony, a robot equipped with mechanical arms that resemble those of a human, glides over to a nearby person holding an empty cup of water. Anticipating the person’s thirst, it delicately grabs the cup and proceeds to refill it. Scenes like this have been reserved […]

Photo: Unexpected alpacas outside Haines Hall

About 15 students swarmed around two alpacas next to Haines Hall on Wednesday night. Erik Schweitzer, associate research neuroscientist at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, brought his two pet alpacas, Sage and Rosemary, to his three-hour long class to cheer students up. He tied the alpacas to the fire hydrant beside […]

Next Generation Science Standards to reinvent student learning

California students will receive a more engineering design-based science education in a few years that will connect experiments more closely with concepts. The California State Board of Education approved in early November a framework that will help teachers implement curricula based on the Next Generation Science Standards. The Next Generation Science Standards were published in […]