As the name suggests, Revolution Foods, co-founded by Tobey and Richmond, wants to change the way kids eat in school. Aimed at fighting childhood obesity, Revolution Foods serves fresh, healthy meals to more than 800 lunchrooms and over 200,000 kids daily and was named the second fastest growing inner-city business by Michael Porter’s Initiative for a Competitive Inner City in 2012. The kids receive one item each month that they may not have eaten before. “There is a glimmer in a kid’s eye when he realizes, ‘Hey, I like brown rice!’ that shows us he is getting engaged with food,” says Richmond. With more than 48 million meals served to date, that glimmer is the spark of a revolution. Follow the company on Facebook or Twitter @RevolutionFoods.
Author Archives: shivjhav
Little did Greider know that her research as a 25-year-old graduate student at Berkeley would ultimately win her the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. While scientists knew that chromosomes were tipped like a shoelace, they did not know how these tips prevented chromosomes from unraveling during cell division. Greider and her colleagues, with whom she shares the Nobel, discovered a new enzyme, telomerase, that adds DNA to the ends, reducing the chances of mutations and lengthening the chromosomal lifespan. Their research catalyzed an eruption of studies connecting telomerase to cancer, anemia, age-related degenerative diseases, and other illnesses. Today Greider is a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
More than 10 years after her death, Pauline Kael ’40 (left, 1919–2001) remains the most influential figure in film criticism today. The longtime movie reviewer for The New Yorker, she could make or break careers with her biting wit and standout opinions. The Godfather, Taxi Driver, and Carrie are among many movies she championed during the 1970s. One of America’s foremost music critics, Greil Marcus ’67, M.A. ’68 (right) has made a career of placing rock and roll within its broader political and social contexts. His 1975 book Mystery Train reminds readers of why music matters. In a 2010 review of his book on Bob Dylan, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, “Marcus has done more to build the Dylan myth than the curmudgeonly man himself.”
Considered the “godfather” of reality-based programming, Ralph Edwards ’35 (left, 1913–2005) is best known as the creator, producer, and host of This Is Your Life, the TV classic that surprised unwitting guests with on-air remembrances by family and friends. Among hundreds of honors, Edwards has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Today’s reigning king of reality TV, Mike Fleiss ’87 (right) has achieved unmatched success as a producer of numerous shows, including The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. He has also dipped into feature films and directed the documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne. Follow Fleiss on Twitter @fleissmeister.
Connections
A soulful lyricist and singer, Duritz is the frontman for the Counting Crows, a hit band attracting fans of both classic and alternative rock. Their 1993 debut album, August and Everything After, enjoyed a 93-week chart run, and the song ”Accidentally In Love,” featured in Shrek 2, was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy Award. When asked in a 2007 New York Times interview if he’d ever write a song about Cal, Duritz, a diehard Bears fan, said with a laugh, “I only write about things that make me miserable.” Follow Duritz on Twitter @countingcrows.
It’s hard to remember the time before “Google” became both a verb and one of the world’s most powerful forces for change. As the executive chairman of Google (and its former CEO), Schmidt has led the company through more than a decade of unprecedented expansion into politics, business, culture, privacy, copyright, and other broad interests. He also tackles issues of ever-increasing personal and global importance, including the responsible use of natural resources. Schmidt was named the Cal Alumni Association’s 2012 Alumnus of the Year. Follow him on Google+ or Twitter @ericschmidt.
Business and Economics, Honors and Awards, Technology and Engineering
While some believe the world will end in fire, Perlmutter argues that it will end in ice. A physics professor at UC Berkeley and senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Perlmutter led one of the two teams that simultaneously discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe. He received the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. The discovery led to speculation that a “dark energy” is pushing the universe apart until, in the distant future, it will be cold and dark. Perlmutter is working with NASA and the Department of Energy to build the first space-based observatory designed to understand this enigmatic force.
From the classroom to the lab to the White House, Chu has addressed the enormity of climate change through the tireless pursuit of renewable and sustainable energy sources. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for developing laser techniques to cool and trap atoms and molecules, Chu is now the U.S. secretary of energy. He is charged with implementing President Obama’s ambitious agenda to invest in clean energy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create new jobs. The Cal Alumni Association named Chu its 2011 Alumnus of the Year. Follow him on Facebook.