The closing of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo has forged a new partnership between UC Davis and the U.S. Navy, one that will boost environmental cleanup efforts. Some 60 engineers formerly employed at the base enrolled earlier this month in UC Davis classes to retrain for the environmental engineering field. Their classes include standard subjects such as hydrology, integrated waste management and water quality management, and some will involve special design projects unique to cleaning up the base's fuel-contaminated soils, says Daniel Chang, UC Davis engineering professor. The Navy pays for the instruction provided by professors and doctoral students through teaching and video links at the Vallejo site. The joint efforts are being coordinated by the campus College of Engineering's Center for Environmental and Water Resources Engineering and UC Davis' University Extension. The Navy-campus ties may eventually afford opportunities for UC Davis engineering faculty and students to bring new cleanup technologies to the Mare Island site, according to Chang.