Former surgeon remembered for devotion to students, medical breakthroughs

Warren Grundfest is remembered for his mentorship and his work in minimally invasive surgery and electrical and biomedical engineering.

Grundfest, a former chair of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering’s biomedical engineering department, died Dec. 28, 2018.

Grundfest first came to UCLA to complete an internship and part of his general surgery residency in 1980, according to a statement from his wife, Andrea Scott. After completing his residency, Grundfest returned to UCLA to become a professor in the department of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine in 1985. He became chair of the department of biomedical engineering at the school of engineering in 1999. Grundfest was also a member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute.

Scott said Grundfest’s students adored him. She added she has a 7-inch-tall stack of letters that students sent her and Grundfest before he died. She said they received a similar stack annually around the holidays.

“One of the cards reads: … ‘I wanted to take the time to thank you both for everything you’ve done to help me get where I am today. I truly value the advice and wisdom you both have donned on me over the last three years,’” Scott read. “‘I believe one’s success is the culmination of all past experiences in one’s life, including interactions with others, and I can confidently say I would not be where I am today without you.’”

Vinay Bhupathy, a UCLA alumnus who graduated in 2009, worked in Grundfest’s lab during his time as an undergraduate. He said Grundfest took the time to mentor Bhupathy when he was struggling to decide on his career.

“One time after only knowing me basically for a semester or two, he went out of his way to invite me to his home and introduce me to his wife (Scott) who is an attorney,” Bhupathy said. “They really took the time to mentor me when I was lost as an undergrad.”

He added he remembers Grundfest’s modesty regarding his accomplishments and his willingness to mentor.

“He made tremendous advances in surgery and biomedical engineering and in engineering generally and he was always very humble. That’s something that always stuck with me,” he said. “He always found time to help whoever came to him and whatever they wanted to work on. … And for me personally, he helped guide me in figuring out how I wanted to grow as a person and in my career as a practicing healthcare attorney.”

Bhupathy said he stayed in touch with Grundfest and Scott after graduating.

Maie St. John, chair of the department of head and neck surgery at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, said Grundfest was years ahead of his time when it came to engineering medical devices. St. John said she first met Grundfest when he worked with her to help determine if she had removed all of the cancer cells from a patient’s tongue during surgery.

“He was a renaissance man in medicine, in surgery and in building innovative, collaborative technologies,” she said.

St. John also said Grundfest helped her establish her career.

“He was an unparalleled mentor,” St. John said. “He was always a person who wanted more for the person in front of him than for himself.”

Throughout his career, Grundfest accumulated two dozen patents and an additional half-dozen provisional patents. He also published dozens of book chapters and authored more than 300 articles in scholarly publications and proceedings.

A memorial fund in Grundfest’s name will be put in place through the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. The fund will award graduate students for excellence in interdisciplinary medical and engineering research.

Scott said that more than his professional accomplishments, Grundfest’s students are his legacy.

“Yes, he left a legacy in minimally invasive surgery and laser applications to medicine, but his real legacy is the students he taught and the lives he was able to change,” Scott said.

Contributing reports from Sameera Pant, Daily Bruin contributor.

Team led by UCLA astronomers discovers new method of estimating Hubble constant

UCLA researchers helped develop a new technique to improve the precision of the Hubble constant estimation, which is key in figuring out how quickly the universe is expanding.

The UCLA astronomers estimated the constant to be 72.5 kilometers per second per megaparsec in their study published Jan. 22. Previous estimates ranged from 67 to 73 kilometers per second per megaparsec.

The Hubble constant describes the rate at which the universe is expanding. According to UCLA Newsroom, methods for deriving the constant are usually based on the distance to a source of light and the light source’s redshift – the lengthening of light wavelengths that occurs when a light source moves further away from an observer.

The researchers used a new source of light in their research called quasars, which emit large amounts of light and energy and are thought to be powered by massive black holes.

The scientists studied double-image quasars, which have their light distorted by the gravity of a nearby galaxy, creating two images of the quasar.

A quasar’s brightness changes as it travels, so the images flicker after one another. The time delay between the flickers, as well as information about the surrounding galaxy’s gravitational field, helps researchers estimate the Earth’s distance to the quasar and the nearby galaxy.

Tommaso Treu, a professor of physics and astronomy and the paper’s senior author, said the researchers recorded the time-delay photos every day for several years and later combined their findings with previous data provided by the H0liCOW collaboration, an international group dedicated to measuring the expansion of the universe using time-delay cosmography.

Treu said the UCLA-led team is now focusing on 40 quadruply imaged quasars in hope of finding more precise data for their Hubble constant calculations rather than doubly imaged quasars.

International Criminal Court president responds to John Bolton’s sanction threats

The president of the International Criminal Court addressed a United States official’s claims that the court is illegitimate at an event Monday evening.

The event, which was organized by the Promise Institute for Human Rights, a subset of the UCLA School of Law, invited Chile Eboe-Osuji, president of the ICC, to discuss sanction threats made by John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor.

Bolton threatened to impose sanctions on the court if it prosecuted U.S. soldiers for alleged abuse of detainees in Afghanistan.

Bolton said in a speech in September that the U.S. would not cooperate with the ICC or provide assistance to it, claiming that the court was illegitimate. Bolton added he was concerned the ICC would threaten the sovereignty of the U.S if U.S. citizens were prosecuted by the ICC instead of U.S. courts.

Kate Mackintosh, executive director of the Promise Institute, said she thought the event provided an open space for Eboe-Osuji to address Bolton’s threats.

“I thought it was a good idea to invite him to speak because UCLA provides him a safe academic environment to respond to John Bolton’s comments against the ICC,” Mackintosh said.

The ICC was established under the Rome Statute, a treaty that defined the court’s function, jurisdiction and structure.

Eboe-Osuji said the ICC must act according to the principle of complementarity, or the idea that the court only takes action when a state’s government does not address injustice.

“(The ICC only steps in) when the state is unable to do justice or when the state that is able to justice … is unwilling to do so. Primary jurisdiction belongs to the states and … the ICC jurisdiction is secondary,” Eboe-Osuji said. “When states do not act to injustice is the only time when the ICC steps in.”

Harpreet Ahuja, a student at the School of Law, said she was interested in the idea that legal authority primarily lies with the states, then the ICC.

“I found it interesting that judicial independence comes in since primary jurisdiction belongs to the state and leaves the ICC as a court of the last resort,” she said.

Eboe-Osuji added he believes the U.S. is reluctant to participate in the investigations of the court in general because it does not want to fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

However, Eboe-Osuji said the ICC can only act as a last resort when state governments do not take action, and it can only investigate and prosecute the four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

He added the U.S. played a prominent role in the court’s establishment.

“It is incorrect for an American to see the ICC as a foreign establishment,” Eboe-Osuji said. “It is in fact one highly associated with the U.S. because of their major role in its establishment.”

Eboe-Osuji said one of the articles of the Rome Statute is based on the idea that no one is above the law. He added he thinks this concept is a fundamental American value.

He said he believes the ICC plays a key role in enforcing justice internationally.

“The purpose of the ICC is to bring justice to victims, hold people accountable for war crimes and stand against those who threaten humanity,” he said.

Eboe-Osuji said he thinks the ICC should focus on doing what it was intended to do under the Rome Statute.

“We need to keep our eyes on the ball,” Eboe-Osuji said. “We need to focus on what the Rome Statute was created to do.”

Ethnic studies centers celebrate 50 years, look forward to continuing their work

UCLA’s four ethnic studies centers reflected on the progress they’ve made toward promoting diversity and inclusivity since their creation 50 years ago.

Since their establishment in the 1960s, the American Indian Studies Center, Asian American Studies Center, Chicano Studies Research Center and Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies have funded research at the undergraduate, graduate, faculty and community levels with the aim of diversifying the UCLA campus and promoting the inclusion and protection of minority groups.

Chon Noriega, a professor in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and director of the CSRC, said he believes the centers have been able to have an impact through their applied research.

“In the traditional sense, a university is focused on basic research – asking questions and pursuing an answer regardless of whether it has an impact or not,” he said. “The creation of these centers was an extraordinarily innovative and necessary thing, because we are using them to address real-world issues with concrete impacts.”

Shannon Speed, the director of the AISC, said she is excited about how ethnic studies research has become increasingly interdisciplinary, which has led fields such as disability studies, literary theory and history to adopt theories from ethnic studies.

“American Indian studies was a fairly insular discipline, but the theoretical insights in the last decade and a half have begun to be applied to other disciplines, which is amazing,” she said.

Speed, who is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, said she is passionate about the AISC’s ongoing project to document hate crime incidents in LA. The AISC started the project in response to a rise in hate crimes after the 2016 presidential election.

“Ethnic studies centers have a unique responsibility to respond in political moments when intolerance and hate speech and acts are being fomented by the current leadership,” she said.

Noriega said Latino and Chicano students deserve most of the credit for the founding of the CSRC, since there were very few Latino and Chicano faculty at the university in the 1960s. Noriega, who has been the director of the CSRC since 2002, said students have progressively developed a more positive attitude toward ethnic studies, which makes him feel optimistic about the future of the field.

“Students as a cohort tend to think about their education as both personal enrichment and something that they can take back to the community,” he said.

Noriega said he thinks it is important for students to retain this perspective on education because many people today are increasingly viewing education as simply a means to obtain a lucrative career.

“Surveys of undergraduates show that folks from groups that traditionally have not had access to education carry a sense of responsibility that they have to bring their knowledge and opportunity back to their community to make things better,” he said.

Noriega added the centers have faced significant backlash throughout the years. In 2003, Noriega said the CSRC received hate mail and the chancellor’s office received threats after the center published a report humanizing noncitizen immigrants and arguing that they ought to be afforded local voting rights.

“Because of things like this, in different ways, we’ve had a sustained sense of urgency in our work from the beginning,” he said.

Jerry Kang, the vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, said in an email statement he thinks the Institute of American Cultures has created significant impact by leveraging UCLA’s brand to create programs like the Bruin Excellence & Student Transformation Grant and to co-sponsor events for the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association. The IAC is the umbrella organization that encompasses the American Indian, Asian American, Chicano and African American ethnic studies centers.

Kang said the reason he joined UCLA as a faculty member was because of initial outreach from the AASC in 1994.

Noriega said he thinks the ethnic studies centers must continue to find a way to increase diversity and representation without marginalizing other ethnic communities.

“Each ethnic studies center has been defending turf that’s based on our own group’s marginalization, but we need to move into the bigger arena and in the process not exclude other groups,” he said. “It comes down to intersectionality – how do we talk about difference as a set of relationships, not as a hierarchy?”

Students hope Safe Ride extends hours amid continued improvement to the app

Students and administrators suggested that a campus van service extend its operating hours and refine its mobile application.

The UCLA Safe Ride program allows students to call vans from 7 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday to pick them up and drop them off at designated stop locations on campus and surrounding areas in Westwood. The service, which is accessed through the UCLA Safe Ride app, has transported more than 21,000 passengers in the past academic year, averaging 200 people per operating night, according to UCLA Transportation.

Michelle Velasco, a fourth-year sociology student, said she thinks extending the program’s hours to operate the entire week would greatly benefit students.

“It would increase the amount of safety on campus, especially when organizations have meetings on Fridays. So if Safe Ride were a thing, people would have a guaranteed way of getting home,” Velasco said.

UCLA spokesperson Katherine Alvarado said in an email statement UCLA Transportation’s Safe Ride service is only available from Monday through Thursday because the service does not have enough funding to operate the entire week. The complimentary service is meant to supplement BruinBus operations.

“Existing sources of transportation funding are limited, and primarily intended to support the reduction of single occupancy vehicle trips on campus,” Alvarado said.

Administrators are continually improving the UCLA Safe Ride app, Alvarado added.

Matt Ellis, Community Service Officer program manager, said that CSO has been working with the application’s software provider to calculate more accurate estimated times of arrival.

“ETAs are hard to predict with multiple riders who have multiple destinations on each van. Riders rarely have to wait longer than 15 minutes for a van, but ETAs given on the app will sometimes predict longer waits, causing ride requesters to cancel,” Ellis said.

The Undergraduate Students Association Council Facilities Commission helped create the app two years ago.

Facilities Commissioner Julia Ho-Gonzalez said Safe Ride services have improved since the launch of the Safe Ride application. Instead of calling a number to request a van, which students said caused much confusion, users can simply use the app.

“Students have a centralized app where they can request a pick up service for themselves and their friends, view the designated pick-up and drop-off locations, keep track of the van’s location and have an ETA,” Ho-Gonzalez said.

Alessandra Martinez, who graduated in 2018, said she often stayed on campus late for extracurricular activities when she was a student and that she found Safe Ride helpful.

“Safe Ride saved a lot of time because I wouldn’t have to worry about walking alone if I was on campus until 10 or 11,” Martinez said.

Ellis said UCLA Transportation is working to integrate the Center for Accessible Education’s van service into the safe ride app. CAE declined to comment for this story.

Women’s tennis is counting on combination of youth and experience

The Bruins used a mix of freshmen and veterans in their wins at the ITA Kickoff.

Freshmen Elysia Bolton and Taylor Johnson led No. 8 UCLA women’s tennis (2-0) in ITA Kickoff weekend. Bolton – who came to Westwood ranked No. 22 on the ITF juniors list – has burst onto the college tennis scene, earning a No. 11 nationwide individual ranking. She did not concede a single set in her ITA Kickoff performance.

“(Bolton’s) an excellent doubles player,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “She’s someone who has a big game and a lot of weapons.”

Just like any freshman, Bolton is still acclimating to the intensity and pace of a collegiate tennis season – a process which Sampras Webster said has been facilitated by pairing her up in doubles with returning players.

“We have so many great doubles players,” Sampras Webster said. “I think for (Bolton) it’s just getting used to playing in this college format.”

Collegiate tennis differs from the high school level in the amount of strength that is required. Bolton said the Bruins will have to maintain stamina throughout the season to optimize their freshmen talent.

“It’s just a lot more match endurance,” Bolton said. “That’s something I have to get used to.”

Johnson teamed up with senior Alaina Miller to earn a doubles win against Minnesota on Saturday. Miller said she hopes to continue building team chemistry through pairing up with newcomers.

“You want the team to do well,” Miller said. “I think we have a really good team vibe this year and I think we’ll be able to continue that for the whole season.”

Sampras Webster has lauded the presence of Miller and her ability to utilize experience to outskill opponents.

“(Miller) knows what to expect and how to prepare,” Sampras Webster said. “She has a very aggressive and strong game.”

But Miller said the most important key to success may hinge on the rigor of training, not necessarily matches themselves.

“We’ve been working so hard and training so hard that (the match) is the easiest part for us,” Miller said.

Sampras Webster also explained the necessity of having players such as Miller endure a season filled with arduous tests from high-quality opponents.

“(Miller is) very tough to play,” Sampras Webster said. “It’s great for us because it gives us so much depth which helps us be a better team.”

The quality of opponents is set to increase for UCLA, with a matchup against defending champion Stanford less than two months away.

“The competition will get better and stronger,” Sampras Webster said. “But we’re excited.”

Men’s basketball aims to fulfill potential as Pac-12 remains wide open

The Bruins are heading north with a chance to shake up the conference standings.

UCLA men’s basketball (11-9, 4-3 Pac-12) will face Washington State (8-12, 1-6) on Wednesday night in Pullman, Washington, in the two schools’ only matchup this season.

The Bruins have won their last four meetings with the Cougars, and have not lost to them since Jan. 3, 2016. Last season, UCLA downed Washington State at Pauley Pavilion behind a 33-point performance from former guard Aaron Holiday.

Despite that the Cougars currently sitting near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, sophomore guard Kris Wilkes said every conference matchup between now and the end of the season will hold importance because of the lack of a true front-runner in the Pac-12.

“The Pac-12’s wide open,” Wilkes said. “Both of these teams that we’re going to play, no matter what their record is, they’re two … great teams so we can’t come in and underestimate either one of them.”

While Washington State ranks in the top four of the conference in both points per game and field goal percentage, it ranks second to last in points allowed and opponent field goal percentage.

The Bruins, however, find themselves in a similar situation despite being three games ahead of the Cougars in the standings. UCLA ranks second in the conference in scoring, but 10th in points allowed.

Interim coach Murry Bartow said that while he sees room for improvement on both ends of the floor, he is already confident in the team’s ability to be competitive on a night-to-night basis.

“Defensively, we’ve been tweaking things and we’ve slowly been getting better there,” Bartow said. “We’ve become a pretty good rebounding team. Offensively, we’re still kind of tweaking and playing with some things, but I think where we’re at right now, we’re a pretty decent team when we play consistently for 40 minutes and we think there’s a lot of upside as we move forward.”

The Bruins’ players – such as sophomore guard Jaylen Hands – have also been encouraged by their performances in a handful of games since Bartow took over before the start of Pac-12 play. Hands said that on-court chemistry and teamwide contributions have been the keys to their success.

“The Stanford game, the (California) game, and the end of the Oregon game and the (Arizona) game, I think we’re a lot better when a lot of people are contributing and doing their thing,” Hands said. “I think that’s our blueprint.”

In each of the aforementioned contests, UCLA won the game and had at least four different scorers in double figures. Comparatively, in UCLA’s three conference losses, it has never had more than three players score in double figures.

Wilkes added that he feels the team shows its full potential when everybody gets each other involved.

“We have games like that and everybody’s playing together as a team, it makes everybody look good and it’s just fun to watch,” Wilkes said.

The Bruins and Cougars will tipoff from Beasley Coliseum at 7 p.m. Wednesday night.