Not a thumbs up moment for Janet in her new job

The University of Michigan has raided UC San Diego, hiring a pair of young computer scientists who've been drawing attention for their efforts to help Google find better ways to operate online. Jason Mars, an assistant professor, and Lingjia Tang, a member of the research faculty, decided to leave UCSD's Department of Computer Science and Engineering only a year after they arrived. Mars is the first African American in the department's history to hold a tenure track position.

"They're both excellent researchers. This is the single biggest setback I've had as chair," said Rajesh Gupta, who took over the fast growing department in 2010, and who made headlines in June when he negotiated an $18.5 million gift from an anonymous donor. Mars and Tang, who are married, have joined Michigan's computer science department which, like UCSD's, is ranked among the 20 best in the country by US News and World Report. The department hired the couple last year, naming Mars to a tenure track position and Tang to a researcher's post. Michigan offered both of them tenure track jobs, an offer that UCSD later exceeded, Gupta said. Mars also has family ties to Michigan. The raid occurred in the spring as UCSD was preparing to expand faculty hiring...

Full story from the San Diego Union-Tribune at http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/sep/02/ucsd-michigan/