May 2017

The School of Social Ecology has hired two new assistant professors, Jenna Riis and Kate Kuhlman, to work in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, effective July 1, 2017. Both will collaborate on research with the Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research as part of the School's effort to bring on professors to partner with the Institute.

PhD student wins award for research on pesticide application in farmworker communities.

In Ventura County, some neighborhoods back up to hillsides of oak trees and scrub. Residents of other neighborhoods, however, aren’t so fortunate, with homes next to farm fields sprayed with heavy doses of pesticides.

It’s possible to limit that pesticide application, but stakeholders are often constrained in their efforts to do so. Kaitlyn Alvarez Noli, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Planning, Policy and Design, is seeking uncover the inner workings of why – and was recently awarded a $20,000 Haynes Lindley Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship to support her work.

May 2017

In California, it costs as much as $60,000 per year to incarcerate someone and pay for prison workers, security, healthcare and a host of other expenses, according to Charis Kubrin, professor of criminology, law and society.

That means any major increase in the prison population is not only a matter of justice, but of government budgets -- and taxpayer pocketbooks. And just such an increase in the prison population looks imminent because of a recent drug sentencing policy issued by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

May 2017

Today, 90 million people live in some form of refugee, transition or flood camp -- more than have ever lived in such camps in human history. Richard Matthew, professor of planning, policy and design and director of the UCI Blum Center for Poverty Alleviation, says it's possible to solve the humanitarian crisis, but solutions face resistance.

May 2017

California is bringing the arts to prisons to give purpose to prisoners and help rehabilitate them. The stories of prisoners transformed by the arts are inspiring.

So far, however, little data exists on whether the programs are actually effective at lowering recidivism rates, Susan Turner, professor of criminology, law and society, told the New York Times.

May 2017

Jodi Quas, a professor of psychology and social behavior, has won the 2017 Outstanding Community Researcher award from the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, a campus-wide institute that helps shuttle discoveries from the lab into practice.

The award recognizes a UCI faculty member who has demonstrated commitment to collaborative research partnerships with a community organization.

May 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recently issued tough-on-crime drug sentencing memo runs counter to bipartisan efforts to overhaul the criminal justice system, said Mona Lynch, professor of criminology, law and society.

The memo is "a direct swipe at both the congressional effort to do sentencing reform and the U.S. attorneys’ offices efforts to reduce mandatory minimums," Lynch told Bloomberg BNA.

May 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is taking a hard stance on federal drug crime sentencing, reversing earlier attempts by the Obama administration to reduce the severity of punishment for low-level offenders.

This change could drive regional, geographic disparities in who gets sentenced and for how long, said Mona Lynch, professor of criminology, law and society.

May 2017

Life is shaped by factors beyond a person's control -- unearned advantages and undeserved disadvantages. But how much someone recognizes that often depends on whether they've benefited from or been hindered by those external factors, according to research by Paul Piff, assistant professor of psychology and social behavior.

Laureen Hom, a PhD student of planning, policy and design, has been awarded the Graduate Dean's Dissertation Fellowship for the summer and fall.