UNR

The University of Nevada, Reno named James Bridegum the recipient of the 2014 Herz Gold Medal for outstanding scholarship. The Herz Gold Medal is presented each year during the Spring Commencement ceremony to the graduating senior with the highest grade-point average.

Bridegum, a native Nevadan and graduate of Carson High School in Carson City, graduates from the University Friday, May 16, with a bachelor’s of science degree in computer science and engineering with a minor in mathematics. He earned a 4.0 grade-point average.

Like a detective story with twists and turns in the plot, scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno are unfolding a story about the rapid uplift of the famous 400-mile long Sierra Nevada mountain range of California and Nevada.

Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health announces its June schedule for the “Lunch & Learn” weekly education series broadcasted live from Las Vegas. The program is designed for family and professional caregivers, featuring topics of interest to those who care for individuals with ALS, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, dementia and other neurocognitive disorders.

The University of Nevada, Reno’s 2014 Spring Commencement will confer 2,251 degrees and certificates. There will be three ceremonies, one for advanced-degree recipients Friday afternoon, May 16, and two for bachelor-degree recipients on the mornings of Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17. All three ceremonies will be held on the University’s historic Quadrangle, located on the southern part of campus.

Lee Dyer, David Sanders and James Sedinger have been named the 2014 University of Nevada, Reno Foundation Professors in recognition of their outstanding research and teaching achievements. It is an honor set in stone as their names will be added to the list of Foundation Professors engraved in the granite pillars of the University’s Honor Court.

The Nevada Division of Forestry is hosting “Junk The Junipers,” 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 10, at its Eastlake Office. Residents of local communities are encouraged to bring their junipers, pines, rabbitbrush, sagebrush and other woody vegetation to be chipped for free. Participants will receive a coupon from Moana Nursery for 30 percent off a “good plant choice,” Moana-grown replacement shrub.

East Fork Fire and Paramedic Districts recently announced the promotion of six firefighters to firefighter/paramedic. The six firefighters attended paramedic school through REMSA/UNR in groups of two while still working as firefighters with East Fork over the last three years.

All six of the firefighters: Jeff Cates, Matt Smith, Roby Safford, Clayton Peterson, Steve Koontz and Zac Pedersen graduated with a GPA of 3.6 or greater from the year-long program.

Residents across Nevada are being encouraged to attend “Living With Fire” Regional Conferences being held this month to interact with their neighbors, firefighting representatives, natural resource specialists and others to learn how to prepare for wildfire at their homes and in their communities.

This week's It's Your City is with Carson City Fire Chief Stacey Giomi who explains Nevada Wildfire Awaremess Month and the measures the public can take to prepare homes from wildfire by creating fire adapted communities.

Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month will kickoff with an event this Saturday, May 3, from 10 to 2 p.m. at Mills Park. The event will promote this year’s wildfire awareness message, encouraging residents to better prepare their homes and properties to survive future wildfires.

The Carson City Fire Department is presenting the Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month Kickoff, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday, May 3 at Mills Park. The event will promote this year’s wildfire awareness message, “Prepare Your Home For Wildfire,” encouraging residents to better prepare their homes and properties now to survive future wildfires.

In support of a renewed movement to get just three more states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, Northern Nevada residents met and rallied in front of the Nevada Legislature at noon on Tuesday in support of Sausalito-resident Helene de Boissiere-Swanson.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s 4-H presents Capital City Farm Days 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m., April 17 and 18. There will be 30 presenters teaching elementary-age youth about Nevada agriculture, where food and fiber come from, and environmental issues related to agriculture.

Attendees will include public, private and home-schooled students and their families from Carson City, Storey County, Douglas County and Dayton Valley.

It was the first live action of the year for the University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack as they hosted themselves Saturday in a scrimmage at Carson High School in Carson City.

Building excitement for the season has its advantages, said Nick Rolovich, the Pack's offensive coordinator.

"It's important to engage the community and get everybody excited early," said Rolovich. "We are going the right way everyday and playing for each other. We expect everything these athletes have next season and we know for a fact that they will leave it all on the field next fall."

Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health announces its May schedule for the “Lunch and Learn” weekly education series broadcasted live from Las Vegas.

The program is designed for family and professional caregivers, featuring topics of interest to those who care for individuals with ALS, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, dementia and other neurocognitive disorders.

University of Nevada, Reno distinguished History Professor Emeritus Richard O. “Dick” Davies offers a blow-by-blow account of boxing in the Silver State in his new book titled “The Main Event: Boxing in Nevada from the Mining Camps to the Las Vegas Strip.” The book is now available for purchase.

Davies was inspired to write his book after speaking with Matt Becker, senior acquisitions editor for the University of Nevada Press. He spent a few years researching Nevada’s history and culture of boxing and composed “The Main Event,” his newest chronicle of sports history.

The University of Nevada, Reno announced Monday, March 31, its plans to implement a Tobacco-Free University policy effective Aug. 1, 2015.
This action has been endorsed through resolutions of support by the UNR Faculty Senate, Staff Employees Council, Graduate Student Association and Associated Students of the University of Nevada. The University will join nearly 1,200 other U.S. colleges and universities that have implemented a tobacco-free policy.

With the 2014 drought looming, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension has partnered with other agencies to help Nevadans prepare for and cope with the drought. Today, Cooperative Extension launched its Living With Drought website, a one-stop shop where homeowners, gardeners, farmers, ranchers, natural resource managers and others can find information to help them respond to their various drought-related challenges.

Chanwoo Park, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, joins a growing group of researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno who have received prestigious and highly competitive National Science Foundation CAREER awards.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award is given to junior faculty at the beginning of their academic careers who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars, placing focus on high-quality research and education activities.

The University of Nevada, Reno debate team returns to Reno today after a week-and-a-half of grueling competitions in Flagstaff, Ariz., at the National Parliamentary Debate Association National Championship Tournament. With hopes to return to Reno with another trophy to add to their season’s collection, the team walked away with – yes, another trophy – but more impressively, the NPDA Season Sweepstakes National Title.

Carson Middle School's annual Chili and Bingo Night has become a cherished and favorite annual springtime Friday night Carson City family event.

With dozens of prizes up for grabs through bingo and raffle games, as well as a silent auction and the best homemade chili dished up in the state, Carson Middle School PTA organizers are hoping to make this year's March 28 event, the biggest yet.

In recognition of the state’s sesquicentennial, Changing Faces and Places: Making Nevada is the second in a series of three Special Collections and University Archives exhibits commemorating 150 years of Nevada history at the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

Robert Ballard is known for his discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic, the battleship Bismarck, the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and President John F. Kennedy's PT-109. The famous ocean explorer is the final speaker in this year’s Discover Science Lecture Series Thursday, April 3 at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The University of Nevada, Reno had several notable rankings in the annual listing of the nation’s best graduate schools and programs released in March by U.S. News and World Report. Overall, the University achieved an all-time-high with four graduate school and 24 graduate program rankings.

A STEM Career Investigation Program, hosted this semester by the University of Nevada, Reno’s Raggio Research Center, is offering Washoe County School District sophomores, juniors and seniors the opportunity to observe current scientific and engineering research being conducted at the University and affiliated institutions.

“The idea behind this program is to offer exposure for students to realize careers in many specialized areas of science and engineering,” Jacque Ewing-Taylor, associate director, Raggio Research Center for STEM Education and institutional grants coordinator, said.

With the 2014 drought looming, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is offering workshops across the state this month and next to give Nevada agricultural producers, particularly alfalfa and grass hay producers, information to help them prepare for the drought. Topics will include water availability, recommended irrigation practices, insurance options and an outlook on prices. The first workshop will be March 20 in Fallon.

The University of Nevada, Reno’s Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition winner, Irrigo, is the recipient of $50,000, which will help further develop water efficiency services for flood irrigated agriculture. Using flood gate automation, field surveys and water and soil sensors all connected to the cloud, Irrigo is developing a more efficient way to irrigate agricultural fields.

RENO, Nev. – University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the Nevada Department of Agriculture will offer an Introduction to Food Safety in Horticultural Operations training, focusing on risk management and good agricultural practices March 11. The training will provide an introduction to on-farm food-safety practices related to fruit and vegetable production. Participants will learn principles of good agricultural and handling practices.

Spanish artist Rafael Lopez offers a moving and contemplative exhibition of large-scale paintings, “Rite of Passage” in three art galleries at Western Nevada College in Carson City. It will show Tuesday, Feb. 18, through Friday, March 21, in the Bristlecone Building, with a public reception on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 4:30-6:30 p.m. A talk by the artist will begin at 5:15 p.m.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is presenting Cleveland Clinic’s Brain Health Lunch-and-Learn Seminars at the Carson City Cooperative Extension Office, 2621 Northgate Lane, Suite 12.

The Eagle Valley Middle School Science Olympiad team won 1st place at regional competition held at University of Nevada Reno on Saturday, Feb. 8 against several teams from the Northern Nevada area.

Competition at the middle school level is opened to grades 6-9. Coached by EVMS science teacher, Josh Billings, the team is composed of EVMS 6th-8th graders and a freshman from CHS.