[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 64 (Monday, May 3, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING DR. RICK GROSBERG OF UC DAVIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 3, 2010

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. 
Rich Grosberg of University of California, Davis. Dr. Rich Grosberg is 
the 2010 recipient of the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and 
Scholarly Achievement. This $40,000 prize, first awarded in 1987, is 
believed to be the largest undergraduate teaching award in the nation. 
The prize is awarded to recognize scholars who are successful not only 
in their research, but convey their excitement and love of scholarship 
to students they teach.
  Over time, many UC Davis donors--including members of the Davis 
Chancellor's Club, alumni and trustees and trustees emeriti of the UC 
Davis Foundation--have made philanthropic contributions to support the 
prize. The winner is selected based on the recommendations of other 
professors, research peers, representatives from the UC Davis 
Foundation Board of Trustees and students.
  As a Professor of Evolution and Ecology, questions matter to Rick 
Grosberg--and he carries out his research on evolution and family 
conflict in a manner that seeks to show his students that science is 
not just about mastering a body of knowledge, but also about asking the 
right questions and challenging authority.
  Upon learning he was this year's recipient, Grosberg said he was 
``deeply honored'' to be receiving the award, adding, ``I owe a huge 
debt to my teachers and mentors, who challenged and inspired me 
throughout my education, my family and my students--all of them--who 
continue to challenge, inspire and teach me every day.''
  Having to explain scientific concepts to a hall full of students also 
helps him ask better questions in his research, Grosberg said. ``I'm a 
much more incisive researcher as a result of teaching.''
  As an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz, Grosberg did not initially 
consider biology as a profession. He considered majoring in English. 
``I just assumed that being a scientist reflected the way I'd been 
taught science: It was received knowledge, a fact-finding mission.''
  Then he took Cowell Biology, an eclectic course on the history of 
biology and the personalities who created the field.
  ``It showed me that biology is about people who step outside their 
culture and society and ask novel questions, and the best example is 
Charles Darwin,'' Grosberg said. ``That turned me on to biology.''
  His research deals with conflict and cooperation between living 
things, usually marine invertebrates. ``Sometimes we help each other 
and sometimes we kill each other, and there are good evolutionary 
reasons for both,'' he said. The evolution of altruism is an old 
problem in evolutionary biology. Why should one animal expend effort 
and energy to help another, instead of conserving resources so they can 
leave the most descendants? The answer, in most cases, is that animals 
share many of their genes with close relatives. By helping a sibling 
who shares half your genes, you can still have a genetic impact on the 
next generation.
  On the other hand, relatives can also come into conflict. Those 
conflicts might be between individuals, between the sexes, between 
siblings, between generations and sometimes all those at once.
  Grosberg earned his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1982 and spent a 
year at the University of Padua, Italy, as a NATO postdoctoral fellow. 
He joined UC Davis as an assistant professor in what was then the 
Department of Zoology in 1983.
  ``Professor Grosberg understands the value to our undergraduates of 
the hands-on research experience and, as a mentor, he is deeply 
committed to ensuring our students' success,'' said Chancellor Linda 
Katehi. ``That mindset is one that we place a very high value on at UC 
Davis and it is at the very heart of the UC Davis Prize for 
Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.''
  Ken Burtis, Dean of the College of Biological Sciences, said, 
``Professor Grosberg has a truly extraordinary passion and talent for 
teaching, whether mentoring small groups of students exploring the 
interface between math and biology or delivering the fundamentals of 
biology to hundreds of students through his highly-praised lectures. He 
exemplifies the best that UC Davis has to offer.''
  ``Enthusiastic'' is the term that comes up again and again in student 
evaluations of Grosberg's classes, along with ``energetic'' and 
``entertaining.'' His teaching ranges from the team-taught 
``Introduction to Biology: Principles of Ecology and Evolution,'' which 
teaches about 2,000 students a year, to the CLIMB, Collaborative 
Learning at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology, training program, 
which includes just seven or eight students.
  ``He made me want to learn more,'' one student wrote of Grosberg's 
introductory evolution class last year. ``The best instructor I have 
had so far at UCD,'' wrote another.
  Among professional honors, Grosberg was awarded the Division of 
Biological Sciences Teaching Award in 2000 and the UC Davis Academic 
Senate's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2002. In 2004, he was 
president of the American Society of Naturalists. He has served as an 
adviser to The Nature Conservancy, the American Farmland Trust and the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He is an elected fellow of the 
California Academy of Sciences and former director of the UC Davis 
Center for Population Biology.
  At this time, it is appropriate to recognize and acknowledge Dr. 
Grosberg for his years of exemplary work as a scholar and educator, and 
congratulate him on receiving this well deserved award. His commitment 
to inspiring and educating students has been unwavering, and he 
deserves our collective recognition and thanks.

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