Daily Business Report-Jan. 30, 2018
CW3E Director Marty Ralph with WC-130J aircraft at San Diego’s Brown Field. (Photo: Erik Jepsen)
Scripps Oceanography Leads Effort to Probe
Atmospheric Rivers Vital to California Economy
Weather reconnaissance flights to be made during peak of storm season
Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow bands of moisture that can deliver up to half of California’s annual water supply in a matter of days. Scientists led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in partnership with NOAA’s National Weather Service, are now on standby to intercept these storms headed to the West Coast over the Pacific Ocean and gather vital information on their characteristics as they fly through them.
The U.S. Air Force Reserve “Hurricane Hunters” will station WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii and at Travis Air Force Base in Vacaville, Calif., and NOAA will station a Gulfstream IV (G-4) aircraft outside of Seattle, Wash. The flights are intended to be scheduled on short notice based on evolving forecasts as atmospheric rivers develop.
During these flights, crew members will deploy dropsondes from the interior of the aircraft at selected locations in transects across atmospheric river storms. The dropsondes carry instruments that measure water vapor content, wind speed and direction, and other variables. The data captured will be utilized to test new methods for improving the prediction of atmospheric rivers and their heavy precipitation on the U.S. West Coast, said Marty Ralph, a research meteorologist and director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at Scripps. These measurements will be used in the National Weather Service’s operational weather forecast models, as well as other major global modeling centers.
Predicting atmospheric rivers is vital to the economic future of California, a state prone to drought that is also one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world. The use of aircraft to deploy sensors to improve hurricane predictions has been in place for decades.
This recon project brings this approach to the West Coast by targeting atmospheric rivers to improve forecasts of heavy West Coast precipitation. Better atmospheric river forecasts have the potential to support water resource management, avoid catastrophic flooding, and be able to better withstand prolonged drought. This effort is also supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and California Department of Water Resources.
WC-130J flight availability for science missions is anticipated to continue through the end of February. G-4 flight availability begins Jan. 25 and runs through Feb. 10.
Reconnaissance missions are dependent on storm activity. The forecasting and modeling team that makes decisions on flight planning includes scientists from Scripps Oceanography, the National Weather Service, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Naval Research Laboratory, and additional university partners.
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San Diego City Council Rejects
Plan to Rotate President’s Job
After a lengthy debate, the San Diego City Council on Monday narrowly rejected a proposal to fill the council president position on a rotating basis rather than by a vote of its members.
The 5-4 vote broke down along party lines, with David Alvarez, Barbara Bry, Council President Myrtle Cole, Georgette Gomez and Chris Ward, all Democrats, casting no votes. Voting in favor were Republicans Chris Cate, Mark Kersey, Scott Sherman and Lorie Zapf. Read more…
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Irvine Company Acquires Gateway
at Torrey Hills in Del Mar Heights
Irvine Company has acquiring Gateway at Torrey Hills, a two-building, 198,000-square-foot campus. Financial terms were not disclosed. The multi-tenant campus offers 198,000 square feet of Class A office space across two, four-story buildings. The project features stone and glass façades, flexible floor plates, modern interior features and on-site parking.
Notable tenants include BDO USA, Mindbody Inc., and Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC.
Amenities include a fully-equipped fitness center with locker room and showers, art installations, multiple patios, and outdoor workspaces. Irvine Company plans to add and enhance the outdoor workspaces while offering tenants on-site and on-demand services.
Cushman & Wakefield handled negotiations on behalf of the seller, an institutional real estate investor.
Irvine Company currently owns six Class A towers in Downtown: One America Plaza, 101 West Broadway, 225 Broadway, 501 West Broadway, Symphony Tower and Wells Fargo Plaza. It also owns and operates La Jolla Gateway, The Plaza, La Jolla Square, One La Jolla Center and several other best-in-class buildings in La Jolla UTC, Sorrento Mesa and Mission Valley.
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Cal State San Marcos Professor Receives
2018 Wang Family Excellence Award
Merryl Goldberg, music and arts professor at Cal State San Marcos, has been named recipient of the 2018 Wang Family Excellence Award in the category of Outstanding Faculty Teaching. The California State University’s Board of Trustees will honor Goldberg at its Jan. 30 meeting in Long Beach.
The annual Wang Family Excellence Award recognizes four outstanding faculty members and one outstanding staff member from the CSU system who, through extraordinary commitment and dedication, have distinguished themselves by exemplary contributions and achievements. As part of their recognition, honorees each receive a $20,000 award that is established through a gift from CSU Trustee Emeritus Stanley T. Wang and administered through the CSU Foundation.
Goldberg gained international recognition for founding the university’s Center ARTES, which offers innovative programs for teaching art to young students. Goldberg also is working on public awareness as part of ART=OPPORTUNITY, a research-based initiative backed by a $200,000 grant from the Stuart Foundation and a $25,000 grant from the Panta Rhea Foundation. ART=OPPORTUNITY focuses on improving K-12 arts literacy and advocates that every child, every day needs to have real opportunities to learn in, and through, the arts.
A professional saxophonist and recording artist, Goldberg toured internationally for 13 years with the Klezmer Conservatory Band. She received her undergraduate degree from New England Conservatory of Music and her doctorate in teaching, curriculum and learning environments from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
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USD MBA Program Ranked in World’s
Top 100 and Fifth in California
The University of San Diego MBA is one of the top 100 programs in the world, in the top 50 in the United States, and the fifth-best in California, according to the Financial Times.
The USD Full-Time MBA program is the only one from San Diego on the list and received high marks in career services, percentage of women on the school’s board and international faculty on the list released Monday.
The USD program is ranked 5th in California and 50th in the United States. The other California schools on the list are Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; UCLA, and the University of California, Irvine.
USD’s MBA program offers coursework vetted by corporate partners to provide the skills employers are looking for in their MBA-level hires. The program also offers small class sizes and a cohort format to help students make lifelong professional and personal connections with faculty and classmates.
“This recognition is a tribute to the high caliber of our alumni, students, faculty and staff,” said University of San Diego School of Business Dean Jaime Gómez. “The success of our program is also measured by the leading firms including Amazon, Intuit, and Qualcomm that have partnered with us and hired our graduates in recent years.”
USD’s program also was ranked 19th in the world for the percentage of women and 22nd for the percentage of international members on the university’s Board of Trustees.
The Full-time MBA program can be completed in 17 or 22 months. For more information go to www.sandiego.edu/MBA.
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Academy of Our Lady of Peace
to Hold Fourth Annual Women’s Symposium
The Academy of Our Lady of Peace will hold its fourth annual Women’s Symposium on Friday, March 9, featuring a panel of speakers and a keynote speech from Kristin Gaspar, chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. The event is from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“For 135 years, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace has empowered young women to become academic scholars and community leaders. Our annual Women’s Symposium highlights that legacy by connecting current students with incredible women leaders,” said Dr. Lauren Lek, Head of School. “This year, we are blessed with truly exceptional panels of women leaders from various backgrounds. Their professions span from doctors to television celebrities, CEO’s, inventors and everything in-between.”
New this year, the panel topics have changed from business sectors to tackling the biggest concerns of women in the workplace. Topics include Finding Purpose and Passion in Your Work; You Can Have it All…But What Does That Mean?; Taking a Seat at the Table; It Wasn’t My Plan.
Gaspar will kick off the annual Women’s Symposium with a keynote address, followed by a series of panels. Panelists at the event will include three-time Emmy award-winning Executive Producer and OLP alumna Josette Persson ’90; Senior Vice President, Director of Stores, ANN INC. Joan Ciancaglini; Vice President at J. Walcher Communications Sandy Young; Manager of Inclusion and Diversity at Qualcomm Carrie Sawyer and many others. A full list of speakers and panelists is available at aolp.org/OLPWS.
Tickets are $50 for general admission and $15 for alumnae, college students, and young professionals under the age of 30. Funds raised will support the OLP Alumnae Scholarship Fund for students.To purchase tickets or to sponsor the event, visit http://www.aolp.org/olpws/.
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Padres Pedal the Cause Raises
$2.4 Million for Cancer Research
Padres Pedal the Cause has donated more than $2.4 million to support cancer studies at the Salk Institute, Rady Children’s Hospital, Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. The check was presented to representatives from the four organizations on Jan. 24 and was the largest donation ever made by the grassroots organization.
Hundreds of cyclists participated in the fifth annual Pedal the Cause, which was held on Nov. 11–12, 2017, at Petco Park. The Salk Institute team featured 18 riders and raised nearly $25,000. Proceeds from the event support innovative cancer projects with a major emphasis on collaborative, translational research that offers a clear path to clinical trials.
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Discovery Offers New Genetic Pathway
for Injured Nerve Regeneration
On the hunt for genes involved in regenerating critical nerve fibers called axons, biologists at the University of California San Diego came away with a surprise: The discovery of a new genetic pathway that carries hope for victims of traumatic injuries — from stroke to spinal cord damage. Read more…
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Personnel Announcements
Dr. Ben Mousavi Named COO and Medical Director of American Indian Health Center
The San Diego American Indian Health Center has named Ben Mousavi, M.D., as its new chief operating officer and medical director. Mousavi is a physician experienced in managing clinical care and administration in hospitals and clinical settings. He possesses an extensive background working with complex and challenging patient populations.
Mousavi, who is internationally trained, brings a full procedural knowledge for open ICU, diagnosis and treatment ordering. He has led multidisciplinary patient assessment meetings with nurses, and has provided comprehensive care and treatment of patients. He has participated in developing, implementing and evaluating policies, utilization review, procedures, protocols and other business items to ensure cost-effective medical care.
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Debra Aitken Joins Wright Management
Debra Aitken has joined Wright Management, a project and facility management firm in San Diego, as director of workplace strategy. In her new role, Aitken will advise clients on workplace strategies and serve as project lead on large commercial design and construction projects. Aitken brings more than 30 years of industry experience to her collaboration with Wright.
Most recently, Aitken was a project manager with Cushman & Wakefield’s Project & Development Services group where she drove numerous design and construction projects for investor, landlord and tenant clients both nationally and internationally. Previously, Aitken was assistant vice president of the Corporate Real Estate Facilities Department at California Bank & Trust where she collaborated with Wright on an extensive array of capital and tenant improvement projects, as well as corporate relocations for the San Diego region.
Aitken’s expertise includes workplace relocations, facility management, design and construction management, along with a solid background in the commercial real estate industry, spanning three decades in the U.S and Canada.
An active member of CREW San Diego since 1999, Aitken has been instrumental in the organization’s growth and development, holding multiple board positions. Currently, she represents CREW San Diego on a national level as a network committee member responsible for developing program content for the CREW Network Convention to be held in San Diego in October 2018.
Aitken resides in a Pt. Loma marina on her sailboat.
