DEAN'S LETTER
The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has changed in many ways since it was first established in 1945. While we are proud of our strong tradition of excellence, we also have continued to enlarge and enhance that legacy. Today, the School is experiencing an exciting period of growth and transformation – we have closely examined how we plan to fulfill our mission and have identified a number of key areas that will define our future as a leader in engineering research, education and community service.

As we look at a more interdisciplinary future, the School is developing engineering technologies to help the medical profession; advancing alternative solutions such as fusion, hydrogen, solar and wind for energy conversion and conservation; and improving the security of electronic transactions and the Internet. Our faculty’s work also focuses on designing interactive systems that can self-regulate for use in cars, planes, and other areas; applying the latest engineering technologies to the cleansing and processing of water – a critical resource for California and the world; and in creating engineering functions that serve the entertainment industry in Southern California. In all of these ways and more, we are committed to contributing to the greater world.

The School continues to change in a physical sense as well. The first phase of construction is well underway on our Engineering I Replacement Building, and we are conducting our advance planning for phase two, which will include a number of much needed cutting-edge research facilities and a distance learning center.

We are reaching out to students through a number of initiatives, striving to provide greater access for all underrepresented groups and female students, and emphasizing research opportunities and summer internships for all. In the fall we will be unveiling a new initiative that will continue to build upon these outreach efforts. I will talk more about that program in future E-Bulletins.

This summer, we also have hosted a number of alumni reunions and are providing other opportunities to attend events at the School. So far, reunions held in both June and July have been a remarkable success, and have brought many alumni back to campus for the first time in a very long while. I am delighted that so many of you have taken the opportunity to catch up with friends, faculty and peers, and to share with us your stories, your successes, and your wishes for an even brighter future.

You may learn more about upcoming reunions and lectures by looking at the events information included in the E-Bulletin, below, or by visiting our website at www.engineer.ucla.edu. I urge those of you from the years 1985-1995 to consider visiting the School during your upcoming reunion on August 20. I look forward to seeing each and every one of you back on campus.

Sincerely,

Vijay K. Dhir
Dean

FEATURE STORIES
What Is RFID? It Could Be The Next Breakthrough Technology In Protecting Copyrighted Content Against Digital Piracy
Researchers from the Wireless Internet for the Mobile Enterprise Consortium (WINMEC) at UCLA are working on a new radio frequency identification application that in the not-too-distant future could allow consumers the luxury of watching the latest theater blockbuster at home – while also blocking the ability of would-be wrong doers to pirate the lucrative digital content. Led by UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science professor Rajit Gadh, the group is exploring the use of radio frequency identification technology, known as RFID, as a tool for digital rights management in an effort to protect DVD content against unauthorized use. For more information, click here.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Donated to School of Engineering by DaimlerChrysler
A team of chemical engineers is studying the next generation of cutting-edge vehicles that could make for a cleaner environment – hydrogen fuel cell cars. With two brand new F-Cell vehicles donated to the School this month from DaimlerChrysler, researchers, led by chemical and biomolecular engineering chair Vasilios Manousiouthakis and professor William Van Vorst, will be taking an even closer look at this zero-emission technology by gathering data on the active daily use of the vehicles. UCLA is one of the first educational institutions to provide students with hands-on experience with fuel cell vehicles. For more information, click here.

Optoelectronic tweezers to round up cells, microparticles
Rounding up wayward cells and particles under a microscope slide can be exceptionally difficult, particularly if there's a need to separate a single individual from the group. But now, a new device dubbed an "optoelectronic tweezer" will enable researchers to easily manipulate large numbers of single cells and particles using optical images projected on a glass slide coated with photoconductive materials. "This is the first time a single light-emitting diode has been used to trap more than 10,000 microparticles at the same time," said Ming Wu, UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and lead investigator of the study. A large part of Wu's research was conducted while he was an electrical engineering professor at UCLA and a co-principal investigator at NASA's Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration, housed at UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. For more information, click here.

OTHER NEWS
Engineering Faculty Win Awards and Honors
Civil and Environmental Engineering professor J. S. Chen is among three recipients elected as Fellows of US Association for Computational Mechanics for his contributions in “nonlinear finite element and meshfree methods, stabilized meshfree methods, and recently in multi-scale materials modeling.” The Fellows of US Association for Computational Mechanics are elected once every two years.

The 2005 American Control Conference in June honored the life and contributions of computer science professor Boris Kogan with a special session. The session touted Kogan as “one of the premier controls researchers of the former Soviet Union.” For more information, click here. Professor Kogan also was honored with a feature on his contributions to the control field in the June issue of IEEE Control Systems magazine.

The first International Conference on Bio-Nano-Informatics, sponsored by NASA, NSF, the UC Discovery Program and the Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration (CMISE) at UCLA was held in Marina del Rey, Calif., in late July. The conference, which focuses on state-of-the-art science and technology development, included more than 150 top researchers from around the world. The Technical Board for the conference included a number of faculty from the School of Engineering: Chih Ming Ho, Bruce Dunn, CJ Kim, James Liao and Carlo Montemagno.

MEDIA WATCH: UCLA ENGINEERING IN THE NEWS
San Francisco Chronicle
Viruses, Phishing and Spam threaten the future of the Internet
Even as he marveled at the wonders of instant messaging, Napster and other revolutionary tools that would not have been possible without the Internet, Leonard Kleinrock, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who is credited with sending the first message – “lo,” for “log on” – from one computer to another in 1969, began to see the Internet’s dark side. “Right now, the Internet is running amok, and we are in a very difficult period,” Kleinrock said.

Yahoo! News
DaimlerChrysler and UCLA Combine Fuel Cell Technology and Education
With two brand new F-Cell vehicles donated to the School this month from DaimlerChrysler, researchers, led by chemical and biomolecular engineering chair Vasilios Manousiouthakis and professor William Van Vorst, will be taking an even closer look at this zero-emission technology by gathering data on the active daily use of the vehicles.

Daily Bruin
New center at UCLA researches efficient potable water
The UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science has announced the development of a new Water Technology Research Center to improve methods of water conversion from salt water to potable water and to integrate these methods with more efficient and cost-effective energy sources. Also known as the WaTeR Center, its mission is "to advance water production technologies in order to economically develop new and sustainable alternative sources for potable, irrigation and other consumptive water uses."

ComputerWorld
Q&A: An Internet Pioneer Looks Ahead
Leonard Kleinrock is emeritus professor of computer science at the University of California, Los Angeles. He created the basic principles of packet switching, the foundation of the Internet, while a graduate student at MIT, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1963. The Los Angeles Times in 1999 called him one of the "50 people who most influenced business this century." Computerworld's Gary H. Anthes interviewed Kleinrock in 1994 as part of the Internet's 25th anniversary celebration. Recently, Anthes asked Kleinrock for an update.

Science Daily
Optoelectronic Tweezers To Round Up Cells, Microparticles
Rounding up wayward cells and particles on a microscope slide can be as difficult as corralling wild horses on the range, particularly if there's a need to separate a single individual from the group. But now, a new device dubbed an "optoelectronic tweezer," will enable researchers to easily manipulate large numbers of single cells and particles using optical images projected on a glass slide coated with photoconductive materials.

Water and Wastewater (FL)
UCLA Forms Water Technology Research Center
UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has formed a new Water Technology Research Center that will develop technologies to turn brackish or seawater into fresh water.

Nature.com
Manipulation of Single Cells and Microparticles Using Optical Images
A new device called an "optoelectronic tweezer," will enable researchers to easily manipulate large numbers of single cells and particles using optical images projected on a glass slide coated with photoconductive materials.

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