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ConGRADulations! 2016 Commencement recap
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With enthusiastic rounds of "Zot! Zot! Zot!" and more than 8,000
handshakes over the weekend, members of the
University of California, Irvine class of 2016 celebrated their academic achievement June 10-13.
UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman urged the newly minted Anteater alumni to carry the values of intellectual inquiry and "well-earned opinion" into their everyday interactions in the world.
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Turning waste plastic into liquid fuel
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Plastic. The world produces
some 300 tons of it each year. But when we're finished with our milk cartons, shopping bags and electronics packaging, most is simply thrown away-the U.S. only recycles about 9 percent of post-consumer plastics. It can sit in landfills for
up to 1,000 years, leaching chemicals into the soil. There are as many as 240,000 metric tons of it
floating in our oceans, creating "garbage patches" thousands of miles from human habitation. Whales, seals, sea turtles and birds accidentally eat it, becoming sick or dying.
Now, researchers have figured out a way of not only recycling plastics, but recycling them into something entirely different: fuel.
Chemist Zhibin Guan at the University of California, Irvine, and his collaborators have discovered how to break down the bonds of polyethylene. Polyethylene, the most commonly produced plastic on Earth, is found in everything from soda bottles to cling wrap, children's toys to cosmetics containers. Since these plastics are petroleum-based, the team figured it might be possible to turn them back into fuels.
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Shakespeare, music and more at the New Swan Theater
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Inspired by London's original Globe Theater, the 130-seat, open-air New Swan Theater has been assembled at UC Irvine every summer since 2012. The season combines productions of Shakespeare's most beloved plays with musical performances by local artists.
"We've always felt that Shakespearean text should be experienced in the most intimate setting possible," said New Swan's artistic director, Eli Simon. "Our actors must be incredibly honest in their performances because the audience is only about 10 feet away."
This summer's lineup features "As You Like It," directed by Simon, and "Hamlet," directed by Beth Lopes, the Swan's associate artistic director. Actors in the Swan's intimate company will perform in both productions. Audience members have the opportunity to engage in post-performance discussions with the actors and directors after select weekend performances.
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