UCI gala tops $1 million

Fundraiser that attracts more than 600 people pays tribute to four recipients of the UC Irvine Medal.

Daily Pilot

October 5, 2009

By Candice Baker

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake, left, and his wife, Brenda Drake, right, celebrate with medal
recipients. From left, Fariborz Maseeh, Anthony James, Laurel Wilkening and William Parker.

UC Irvine raised more than $1 million at its Saturday gala, A Celebration of Stars.

The event at the campus’ Bren Events Center, chaired by Melanie and Gary Singer, paid tribute to this year’s recipients of the UC Irvine Medal: Anthony James, Fariborz Maseeh, William Parker and Laurel Wilkening.

Funds raised go toward Regents’ Scholarships, graduate fellowships and other student support programs. More than 600 people attended.

“To have received such an overwhelming show of support from our community partners, especially in the current economic climate, is truly gratifying,” Chancellor Michael Drake said in a news release. “Throughout the evening, we were inspired by the stories of the medalists, who — along with so many on our campus — are shaping a bright future for our region and beyond.”

James is a distinguished professor of microbiology and molecular genetics and molecular biology and biochemistry at UCI. He has a long history with the campus, where he earned his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees. He is leading a global effort to develop new methods to control the transmission of dengue fever.

University foundation board member Fariborz Maseeh is the founding benefactor of the school’s Persian studies program, and is an expert in micro-electromechanical systems. He founded IntelliSense, a technology company that develops tiny, computer-controlled chips used in products like pacemakers and aircraft landing gears. He has since established the Massiah Foundation, which invests in education, science, health care, and the arts and humanities.

Parker, the chairman of the school’s physics and astronomy department, and former vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies, has been with UCI for more than 40 years. He has studied the electronic properties of metals and has received numerous campus medals.

Wilkening was the third chancellor at UCI, from 1993 to 1998, while the school earned its first two Nobel Prizes and stepped up its academic reputation. A renowned planetary scientist and expert on comets and meteorites, she was appointed vice chairwoman of the National Commission on Space by President Reagan and served on other presidentially appointed committees concerning the U.S. space program.