Ucla Professor

Imagine having the fountain of youth as close at hand as the bathroom. We're not there yet — but there's a burgeoning number of at-home, high-tech beauty gadgets that claim to smooth wrinkles, whiten teeth and remove hair without the need to invest in pricey beauty treatments at the spa, dermatologist or plastic surgeon's office. Some of these gadgets are so high-tech the Food and Drug Administration considers them medical devices, so approach the world of cosmetic gadgetry with caution.

UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran was ordered Friday to stand trial on felony charges stemming from a laboratory fire that killed staff research assistant Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji more than four years ago. Concluding a preliminary hearing that began late last year, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench denied a defense motion to dismiss the case, believed to be the first such prosecution involving a U.S. academic lab accident....

The American Sociological Assn. has given Michael Mann, a UCLA professor of sociology, its 1988 Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award for his work, "The Sources of Social Power, Volume I," published by Cambridge University Press. The book provides a new theoretical framework for interpreting the history of human societies. The second volume, which will trace the history of human power to modern times, is expected to be published in 1990. A third volume will present theoretical conclusions.

UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran has been ordered Friday to stand trial on felony charges stemming from a laboratory fire that killed staff research assistant Sheharbano “Sheri” Sangji more than four years ago. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench denied a defense motion to dismiss the case, which is believed to be the first such prosecution involving a U.S. academic lab accident. Harran is charged with willfully violating state occupational health and safety codes and faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison if convicted.

Michael Mann, a UCLA professor of sociology, has received the American Sociological Assn.'s 1988 Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award. It was given for Mann's "The Sources of Social Power, Volume 1", published by Cambridge University Press, a book providing a fresh theoretical framework for interpreting the history of human societies.

Lester E. Longman, professor emeritus of art and past chairman of UCLA's art department, died Jan. 27, at the age of 81. Longman came to UCLA in July, 1958, served as chairman of the art department and professor of art until 1962. He continued teaching art until his retirement in 1973. He also served as head of the art department at the University of Iowa for 22 years. A resident of Pacific Palisades, Longman is survived by his wife, Helen, and three sons, Kenneth, Stanley, and Richard.

Robert Trachinger, a longtime ABC television executive and professor at UCLA's school of theater, film and television, has died. He was 86. Trachinger died Sept. 19 of heart failure at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, his family said. He retired from ABC in 1985 as a vice president after a wide-ranging career with the network and its affiliate in Los Angeles, KABC. His titles included vice president and general manager of broadcast operations and engineering on the West Coast.

Donald Knight (D.K.) Wilgus, first chairman of UCLA's folklore and mythology program when it began in 1965 and a professor emeritus of English and music, died Dec. 25 at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles. He was 71 and died after heart surgery.

Teshome H. Gabriel, a UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television professor and internationally recognized scholar of Third World cinema, has died. He was 70. The Ethiopian-born Gabriel died Monday of sudden cardiac arrest at Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center, said university spokeswoman Teri Bond . "He was a brilliant, gracious, elegant and generous man," Teri Schwartz, dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television, said in a statement Wednesday.

Jeanne Giovannoni, a UCLA professor whose research helped expand understanding of the categories of child abuse and how social workers, law enforcement and community members respond to them, died Dec. 17 at Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center. She was 78. The cause was lung cancer, said Ralph Hurtado, a longtime friend. Giovannoni was a longtime professor in UCLA's School of Social Welfare and associate vice chancellor for faculty relations until her retirement in 1993. A prolific scholar, she was best known for "Defining Child Abuse" (1979)

For Dr. Antronette K. Yancey, a UCLA public health professor, exercise could be fun and done in short bursts in the workplace, schools and even places of worship. Her campaign to urge people to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives led to a 2010 book about the topic - "Instant Recess: Building a Fit Nation 10 Minutes at a Time. " Long before First Lady Michelle Obama launched a national conversation on physical fitness, Yancey was talking about the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and the benefits of exercise, colleagues said.

Criminal proceedings against UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran took a bizarre turn Thursday when the defense alleged in court papers that the state's chief investigator in the accidental death of a lab worker committed murder as a teenager in 1985. The investigator, Brian Baudendistel, denied it. "It's not true," he told The Times earlier this week. "Look, it's not me. " Baudendistel, a senior special investigator for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, was instrumental in building the criminal case against Harran and UCLA with a 95-page report that blamed both in the death of 23-year-old Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji.

"Hello Mr. Lopez, I would very much like to meet with you. I think you will find that I have some pertinent things to say. " The email was from Dr. Arthur Rivin, 89, professor emeritus of medicine at UCLA. Rivin said he had been diagnosed in September 2009 with Alzheimer's disease, but then, something rare and amazing had happened. Using a program of therapy he developed himself, he claimed, he was now greatly improved. If I took the time to meet with him and hear all about it, Rivin suggested, together "we will do something big!"

"Here we are - no, I mean there we were… Flash! The distant shipping in the Thames is gone. Whirr!… Dustheaps, market gardens, and waste grounds. Rattle!...Shock!...Bur-r-r-r! The tunnel…I am… flying for Folkestone…Bang!… Everything is flying. " -- "A Flight," by Charles Dickens, describing a rail trip from London in the journal "Household Words," 1851 :: Who knew that Charles Dickens, master scribe who brought us Scrooge, Copperfield and tale upon cautionary tale of hard 19th century life, was a transit aficionado with a story to tell traffic-snarled Angelenos about their plight?

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Wednesday granted a third — and final — defense request to delay the arraignment of a UCLA chemistry professor and the UC Board of Regents on felony charges stemming from a 2008 lab fire that killed a staff research assistant. Judge Shelly Torrealba ordered professor Patrick Harran and lawyers for the regents back into court June 7, effectively setting a deadline for them to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors on charges in the death of Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji.

Felony charges have been filed against the University of California and a UCLA chemistry professor in connection with a laboratory fire that killed a staff research assistant three years ago. On Dec. 29, 2008, Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji, 23, was severely burned over nearly half of her body when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames during an experiment and ignited her clothing. Sangji, who was not wearing a protective lab coat, died 18 days later. Her death raised questions about lab safety practices at UCLA and about Sangji's training and supervision by professor Patrick Harran, a prominent researcher who joined the faculty in July 2008.

A. Theodore Forrester, whose two inventions became cornerstones in the fields of quantum optics and satellite acceleration, died Sunday at his West Los Angeles home after a lengthy battle with cancer. The UCLA professor, scientist and engineer was 68. In the 1940s he invented a photoelectric mixing tube which enabled advances in quantum optics and in the 1950s perfected an ion engine for satellites. Both those contributions are on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

Theodore D. Holstein, 69, a UCLA professor of physics since 1965 and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, has died of an apparent heart attack. Holstein had established an international reputation for his theoretical research into atomic and solid state physics. He died May 8. He earned his doctorate degree at New York University in 1940 and while still a graduate student received recognition for his contributions to atomic theory.

A $10-million gift to UCLA's law school from alumnus Lowell Milken is stirring debate on the campus about the decision to name a business law institute for the former financier, who was linked to Wall Street's junk bond scandal two decades ago. A prominent business law professor has raised objections to the Milken gift and to UCLA's announcement this month that it will establish the institute in his name. But other law school faculty, along with top UCLA administrators, say they welcome the donation, noting that Milken was not convicted of any wrongdoing.

Imagine having the fountain of youth as close at hand as the bathroom. We're not there yet — but there's a burgeoning number of at-home, high-tech beauty gadgets that claim to smooth wrinkles, whiten teeth and remove hair without the need to invest in pricey beauty treatments at the spa, dermatologist or plastic surgeon's office. Some of these gadgets are so high-tech the Food and Drug Administration considers them medical devices, so approach the world of cosmetic gadgetry with caution.