THE RISE
ONE YEAR LATER
The Campaign for UC San Diego makes impacts .
BY KRISTIN SCHAFGANS ’ 09
MAYBE YOU ’ VE HEARD : UC San Diego is dramatically changing . Whether you graduated in 1968 or just last June , a trip back to campus or even just driving by on I-5 can reveal the future of campus coming to life .
This transformation is fueled by the Campaign for UC San Diego , a chance to be involved in transforming the student experience , enriching our campus community and driving innovation to build a better world . Just one year since its public launch , the impact of philanthropic support is already making waves across campus .
COMMUNITY RESOURCE FOR CLIMATE
� Mark Merrifield , Ph . D . ’ 89 ( above ), still remembers packing all of his worldly possessions into a VW convertible and rolling into Scripps Institution of Oceanography as a new graduate student in 1982 . “ It feels a bit surreal to experience that all again after so many years — although sadly the VW did not make it ,” he says .
After two decades of studying global and regional sea-level rise at the University of Hawaii , Merrifield has returned to his alma mater as the inaugural director of the Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation . He ’ s also the first to hold a presidential endowed chair in this field . Established in 2015 with a gift from Richard and Carol Hertzberg , the center brings together climate scientists as well as experts in economics , urban planning , political science , public health and other disciplines to document the impacts of climate change and develop practical solutions to help communities adapt to changes that are widely seen as inevitable .
“ In California , we are expected to experience more heat waves , changes in
rainfall , reduced snow pack in the Sierras and higher sea levels ,” says Merrifield . “ The associated impacts are already apparent with the threat of wildfires , coastal flooding and heat-related health issues , and the need for adaptation is growing .”
Merrifield ’ s vision for the center is to serve as a hub for climate change strategies , partnering with various communities on projects that test and demonstrate innovative means to adapt to a changing world .
Already , the center is expanding some of his existing fieldwork , including a project coordinating with the Department of Defense to observe sea-level rise near local military bases , and working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to build a national seasonal forecast system with insight into how sea levels affect coastal flooding .
“ It can be hard to synthesize all of the material on climate change and translate what it means at the local scale , says Merrifield . “ We want to be a resource for the community where they can find expert assessments on the current understanding of climate change and what the impacts are likely to be going forward .”
8 TRITON | SPRING 2018