UC Research: Solving Problems

The University of California’s research efforts have helped solve some of toughest problems facing the state, the nation and the world – everything from improving the water we drink and the air we breathe to life-saving advances in medicine and amazing technologies that help connect people, places and things around the globe.

The public rightly expects UC to make a difference through its wealth of knowledge, its resources for analysis and research, and its capacity for innovation. This is the hallmark of the University of California.

Feeding the World
UC's tradition of problem-solving research dates back to its earliest days. With its beginnings as a land-grant institution, the University focused a considerable amount of study on California’s oldest industry, agriculture. When researchers discovered in the late 1800s how to remove salts from the soils of California’s Central Valley, they took their research directly to the fields, turning what was once barren alkaline land into the most productive agricultural region in the world.

Since the 1940s, UC scientists have continued to develop dozens of varieties of fruits and vegetables. For much of the 20th century, UC researchers helped make California wines among the best in the world by pioneering new grape varieties and new winemaking techniques. UC discoveries in crop management, pest control and agricultural machinery have helped farmers everywhere to literally feed the world.

Branching out from agriculture, UC has continued to improve the quality of our lives with its ongoing research in a growing number of other areas.

Technological Marvels
In today’s knowledge-based global economy, computers and the Internet have become almost as vital as food. UC scientists designed a faster, cheaper approach to computer design that has been adopted by virtually every U.S. computer manufacturer. UC contributed directly to the creation of the Internet, and UC laboratories pioneered laser and fiber optic research that forms the central nervous system of the telecommunications market.

Today, UC research is taking California’s pioneering information technology advancements, especially in wireless broadband telecommunications, into new markets and uses – many of which will change the way we think about and use computers in our everyday lives.

UC also contributed to the gene-splicing techniques that launched the $27-billion biotechnology industry, where even now a third of the country’s biotech firms are located with 35 miles of a UC campus.

Improving Health and Safety
In the 1920-30s, UC scientists discovered vitamin E, which protects our DNA, and vitamin K, which is necessary for blood clotting. A half-century later, UC doctors were among the first groups to isolate the AIDS virus and the first to warn that AIDS could be transmitted through blood.

At medicine’s frontiers today, cutting-edge cancer research at UC’s medical centers has led to promising treatment breakthroughs. Bringing research disciplines together, UC researchers are working to create a computer so sophisticated that it will be able to simulate the billions of cellular functions of the human heart, enabling future doctors to more precisely diagnose and treat heart disease.

UC research is at work in our buildings and on the road. It has made our homes healthier – from grounded wall sockets and energy-efficient light bulbs to tests that help prevent lead-based paint from poisoning our children. UC scientists developed the metal sleeves to help retrofit highway bridge columns – especially welcome in earthquake-conscious California.

As beneficial as these achievements have been, UC research today is looking to the future for new ways to shape our world and improve our lives.

Discovery Starts Here
Find out more about what UC research has done lately:
President’s Report – a bimonthly newsletter on the latest
     research discoveries and achievements from UC campuses,
     national laboratories and medical centers.
Federally Funded Research Highlights – Research at UC’s
     campus and national labs receives substantial support from
     a number of federal agencies. Check out these quarterly
     newsletters for discoveries made possible by this federal
     funding.
UC NewsWire – Daily press releases on research findings and
     other breaking news from the UC system.
Science Today – UC’s national radio program highlights the
     latest scientific breakthroughs and discoveries at UC
     campuses and national laboratories. Topics focus primarily
     on health, nutrition, the environment and social and physical
     sciences.
Health News – Research and treatment news from UC’s medical
     centers and health facilities.
Agriculture and Natural Resources News
Multimedia Center – The sights and sounds of UC research,
     teaching and public service programs.
AIDS, Cancer and Tobacco-Related Disease Research