July 17, 2009
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| Bruce Hammock, clutching a water balloon, is bombarded by spray. (Click to enlarge.) |
DAVIS—Bruce’s Big Balloon Battle at Briggs amounted to 15 minutes of aim.
Water warriors at the seventh annual Bruce’s Big Balloon Battle at Briggs, initiated by Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, tossed 2500 water balloons in 15 minutes.
The event took place Friday afternoon, July 17 on the Briggs Hall lawn. Fellow researchers, faculty, staff and students spilled out of their labs and offices, filled up the water balloons, and aimed them at one another.
The “let-us-spray” battle, organized by researcher Christophe Morisseau, felt good in the heat, the water warriors agreed. “The temperature was 103,” said Hammock lab program manager Kathy Dooley.
When the scientists depleted their balloon supply, they emptied tubs and buckets on the unsuspecting.
Morisseau’s daughter, Evelyne, 5, gleefully sat in a water-filled tub and enjoyed it all.
The Hammock lab is known for working hard and playing hard. Hammock, a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1999, holds a joint appointment in cancer research with the UC Davis Medical Center. He directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Program on the UC Davis campus, as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Program in Biotechnology and the NIEHS Combined Analytical Laboratory.
His discovery of an enzyme inhibitor is now a first-in-class drug in human clinical trials and holds promise for controlling human diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma and cystic fibrosis.
Hammock’s initial research focused on regulating the development of insect larvae. With the discovery of the enzyme inhibitor, however, he switched part of his research from “pest control to pain control.”
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| Aurelie Eschaich (far left) of the Bruce Hammock lab gets a direct hit. The water battle lasted only 15 minutes. (Click to enlarge) |
Christophe Morisseau (left) gets soaking wet. In the background is Mohammed Omer, an undergraduate interm n the Hammock lab. |
Evelyne Morisseau, 5, takes refuge in a water bucket. Water warriors tossed some 2500 water balloons. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
