SPRING VIBES 2023 at the UCLA'S Faculty Women's Club, at the Faculty Club

The GROUND THEFT ECO: Environmental Futures of Los Angeles project was presented at the Spring Luncheon by Ursula K. Heise and Daniel Snelson.

Daniel Snelson and Ursula K. Heise speak at the
6th GENERAL MEETING
May 16th 2023
The Faculty Club

Details are published in the May/June 2023 UPDATE of the Faculty Women's Club.

FWC Spring General Meeting has awarded Bette Billet as FWC's 2023 Outstanding member. CONGRATULATIONS !!

Bette Billet, the FWC Outstanding Member 2023
with Marianne Afifi, President 2022-2023
and Helene Desruisseaux, Past President

 

Finally, here is a celebratory group of FWC's 14 Past Presidents with traditional yellow roses.

Past Presidents with our current 2022-2023 FWC president Marianne Afifi

Exploring Jupiter and its moons with magnetometers

Prof. Margaret Kivelson was our featured speaker at the FWC's 4th General Meeting. Her research focused on Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, and Jupiter's Galilean moons. Prof. Kivelson earned her degrees including her PhD at Radcliffe College, Harvard University. She holds appointments as research professor at both UCLA and the University of Michigan. She is the recipient of numerous distinguished honors and awards.

Magnetometer measurements helped us understand the space
environment of the planets

  

Starting with William Gilbert's publication in 1600, the scientific world found that the EARTH itself was magnetic. Prof. Kivelson's presentation was focused on Jupiter, the largest planet with a diameter more than 10 times that of Earth. Galileo looked at Jupiter through his telescope in January 1610, and kept the log of his observations. 

Since these pioneering days, much more has been discovered due to technologies for data capturing, analyses, processing, and interpretation.

Large teams of scholars and scientists are needed to sort out massive data sets

A lively QA session followed the presentation. As always, refreshments were always a treat, especially on a rainy March 21, 2023. 

INTRODUCING The FWC 2022-2023 SCHOLARS

 Congratulations to the FWC 2022-2023 Scholars !! 

The Scholars' names from left are:
Dalal (Computer Science -- CS); Matthew (CS & Econ); Hanna (Molecular, Cell & Dev Bio);
Anthony (Neuroscience); Jade (English, Asian American Studies); 
Lorraine (Human Bio & Society); Melissa (Bioengineering);
Anoushka (CS); Cecelia (Molecular, Cell & Dev Bio); Ian Paul (Astrophysics).
Photo credit: several photo attendees

California Assemblymember ISAAC BRYAN could not be in person. He delivered a video welcome. A proud UCLA Bruin himself, he discussed his career path in his presentation: "Overcoming Barriers to Success and Opportunity -- From Housing Insecurity to the State Assembly."

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan video speaking 
at the FWC Scholarship Dinner and Event,
February 7, 2023 at the UCLA's Faculty Club

Certificates of Recognition were presented to each of our awardees, a very special moment in their lives.

The Certificate of Recognition was presented to each recipient

Did you know that one of FWC's Woman of Distinction winners was UCLA's Professor Andrea Ghez, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics and Astronomy in 2020.  Prof. Ghez is the eighth UCLA faculty member a Nobel laureate. She was honored for her pioneering research on the Milky Way's supermassive black hole. Superb scientist, enthusiastic mentor, a wonderful speaker and inspirational scholar. It was a special treat that Professor Ghez was in the attendance at our Scholarship event.

Professor Andrea Ghez

And here is the group photo with Professor Andrea Ghez (far right).

Now that you know their names, here is another photo of the 2022-2023 FWC recipients
along with the 2020 Nobel Prize winner in Physics Prof. Andrea Ghez

THE OMNIPRESENCE of Nikola TESLA'S Work and Ideas

 UCLA's Faculty Women's Club 2nd General Meeting was held on November 15th 2022 at the Faculty Club. The featured speaker was Distinguished Professor Milos Ercegovac. Thee topic was about Tesla's Work and his Ideas.

The Meeting was well attended and followed by a lively discussion. 

Distinguished Professor Milos Ercegovac at the podium
FWC General Meeting #2 November 15, 2022

Tesla's unique way of problem solving was explained:
MENTAL VISUALIZATION before the experimental lab work

 

UCLA's Faculty Women's Club celebrates our new beginning

 Welcome back to our traditional in-person One hundred-and-Fourth (104) Season!

We start off with the General Meeting, on October 2022, with a presentation by Liza Bercovici, our Woman of Distinction 2022

Join us for the live performance of the HINDUSTAN CLASSICAL SITAR concert on October 19th. The event will be held at the SHERIE LOUNGE & BAR venue, at the UCLA's Faculty Club. This event celebrates the first decade of the MUSIC IN CULTURAL CONTEXT Section. 

Professor RAHUL  NEUMAN

Our Book Section met on October 11, 2022 to discuss THE MANNINGTREE WITCHES (2021) by A. K. Blakemore. The book opened up interesting questions related to historical perspectives of witch-hunting, as well as a broader set of feminist theory ideas.

From left: Marjorie Friedlander (zoomer); Zorana Ercegovac (leads discussion); Barbara Crandall;
Middle row: Rochelle Caballero; Joy Frank; Simone King;
Bottom row: Lorraine Young; Amelita Fronsdal; Norma Stein

UCLA's HAMMER Museum has opened its doors in the Fall of 2022 with exciting exhibits featuring JOAN DIDION: What She Means; PICASSO Cut Papers; and a retrospective of the painter BOB THOMPSON. 

Special Interest Group leaders, aka FWC SECTIONS, met in September at the home of Patti Nagy.

Photo credit: Zorana Ercegovac (not in the phot), Founder and Chair of Music in Cultural Contexts

From left to right:
Diane Childs (German); Melissa Ward (Hiking); Rochelle Caballero (Play reading);
Marianne Afifi & Dianne Homsher (International Cooking); Sandy Spolsky (Birthdays);
Jarka Wilcox & Mary Ann Sherritt (Bridge); Marjorie Friedlander (Writing); Virginia Rossy (French)
Patti Nagy and Debby Wagger are Section VPs.




 

Sixth General Meeting and Spring Luncheon 2022 features Prof. Alice Shapley

Professor Alice Shapley, with the UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy, was our featured speaker at the Spring Luncheon 2022. The annual gathering was held at the newly renovated UCLA's Faculty Club. Prof. Shapley showed us how the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will advance our knowledge of the formation of the first galaxies.

Prof. Alice Shapley spoke about the James Webb Space Telescope developed
by NASA in collaboration with the European Space Agency.
JWST was designed to mainly conduct infrared astronomy
Photo credit: Zorana

Exploring research themes such as What will JWST learn from infrared light?
The Importance of O2 in our galaxy, the Milky Way, in distant galaxies;
How can we go back in time and figure out how galaxies formed
Photo credit: Zorana

The Spring Luncheon celebrated our 2022 Outstanding Member, Patti Nagy, for her nearly 50 years contribution to the Faculty Women's Club.

Patti Nagy honored as the 2022 FWC Outstanding Member
President Helene Desruisseaux presents the Award to Patti
Photo credit: Anne-Marie

2022 FWC FIREPLACE FUND Donors in front of the Main Dining Room Fireplace
From left: Marilyn, Dagmar, Debby, Maria, Rochelle, Patti, Helene, Marianne,
Anne-Marie, Eva, Zorana, Dianne, Jo, Simone, Shirley, Estellaleigh, Jane
Photo credit: Caroline

Finally, FWC past presidents are presented with a beautiful ROSE for their leadership contribution !

From left: Bette, Jo, Marjorie, Rochelle, Zorana, Sandy, Patti, Sunny, Mary Ann, Eva
Photo credit: Velma Montoya

Glorya Dixon, 80th FWC President, 2002-2003, was in attendance. Dixon must have been positioned on either side of this distinguished group, and has not been included in the photo above. Here is the photo of Glorya when she participated in the FWC Oral History Project in 2013 (while Zorana Ercegovac was FWC 90th President). I took a portrait photo of Glorya in the Spring of 2013. Glorya is an active participant in our Music in Cultural Contexts Section. We celebrated her 90th birthday in January of 2022. She is FWC oldest Past President. 

Glorya Dixon, as photographed in the Spring of 2013
at the UCLA's Faculty Center
Photo credits: Zorana Ercegovac

Per our tradition, yellow roses were presented to each of the FWC past presidents
who attended the May 2022 Spring Luncheon
at the newly renovated Faculty CLUB

A few recent photos of our FWC Members as participants in Special Interest Sections

So much has happened over the COVID-19 era around the world. However, many among our FWC Special Interest Sections have continued to enjoy the work we love through our generous hostesses. Examples include ROCHELLE (e.g., hostess for online Play-Readers and Music in Cultural Contexts Sections; MARJORIE for the Book Section; MARIANNE for the International Cooking Section). Without their dedication, our sections would not have been so vibrant, engaging, and fun.

December 2021 Holiday Celebration, with our regulars and special guests.
Each attendee has his/her own way to toast and cheer for a better year ahead.
MUSIC in CULTURAL CONTEXTS Section

Marjorie hosts the BOOK SECTION (November 2020).
The book discussed at this particular meeting was "All for nothing"
by Walter Kempowski (2015), describing the bitter cold winter of 1945
in East Prussia as the Red Army was advancing and the collapse of the Ost front.

Melissa Ward, Marjorie Freidlander, Simone King, Bong Nae Bodiford, Michele Wittig, Jarka Wilcox.
Date April 15, 2022, Sullivan Fire Road/Murphy Ranch

Melissa and Marjorie co-chair the HIKING Section. The group meets every Friday at 8:30 AM. The hikers have explored a number of local trails, many with beautiful plants and great views. Occasionally they walk on the beach or on city streets, visiting special neighborhoods and other place of interest.

Section Chairs are honored with a SPECIAL ROSE for dedicated and smart work.
This photo is taken in the Faculty Center during the pre-COVID-19 era (Spring GM, 2018).
We all know who we are and which section(s) we chair.