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Dean's
Letter • Feature Stories •
Media Watch • Archive
DEAN'S LETTER
As the year comes to an end and we look back on all that we have accomplished, I would like to acknowledge the many contributions of the staff in the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. These men and women are not only, in many ways, the daily face of the School, but are also vital to the continued success of our mission of education, research and service.
Their work is essential and also varied – there are more than 250 full-time staff in the School, without whom we would not remain among the top engineering programs in the country.
Our student affairs and admissions officers offer guidance to our undergraduate and graduate students, helping them pursue and achieve their educational goals at UCLA. Staff in the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity conduct programs designed to raise interest in engineering, math and science, ensuring that the field remains accessible to all.
Our R&D shops’ designers and builders develop systems for faculty and students, providing the necessary tools for research projects, classroom and lab assignments and extracurricular activities. Building and equipment managers help ensure that our facilities are among the best in the world and that everyone is able to learn and work in a healthy and safe environment.
Computer network personnel and web site managers keep the School, its faculty and students connected to one another and to the larger community, while our research engineers and lab technicians help advance the frontiers of technology.
Our administrative support staff help faculty prepare proposals and manage contracts and budgets, and accounting, payroll, fund management and development staff are responsible for the School’s fiscal operations and ensuring that we are prepared to continue our work in the future.
Many staff around the School cheerfully volunteer their time to help plan and assist with annual events such as Commencement, Open House, research reviews, forums and symposia.
I am proud to acknowledge the dedication and professionalism of our staff, and to thank them for another year of hard work and impressive results. They help create stronger ties to the community, and raise awareness of the School’s research and educational programs. As we move ahead with our plans for the future, they will continue to play a key role in our success. And to all of you who have supported the School, we could not have achieved all that we have without your help. Thank you.
To our readers, I wish you a safe and happy holiday season, and a prosperous and healthy New Year.
Sincerely,
Vijay K. Dhir
Dean
ON THE WEB
35th Anniversary of the Internet
Video footage and slides from UCLA Engineering's celebration
of the 35th Anniversary of the Internet are now available online.
http://www.webcast.ucla.edu/webcast/inet35/
FEATURE
STORIES
UCLA Materials Scientists Invent Polystyrene-based High-speed Digital Memory Device Using Nanotechnology
A team of scientists led by materials science professor Yang Yang in the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have successfully invented a non-volatile plastic digital memory device. In a paper that appeared online Nov. 28 in the journal Nature Materials, the researchers outline how they successfully designed a new type of polymer, or plastic, memory device. The device is made from a polystyrene film containing gold nanoparticles, and holds promise for low-cost, high-density memory storage.
http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/news/stories_2004/polystyrene.html
CEED Hosts 21st Annual Scholarship Banquet
On Friday, November 19, more than 80 engineering students, representatives from CEED’s Industry Advisory Council, and engineering faculty members attended the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity’s 21st annual Scholarship Banquet at the Le Meridien hotel in Los Angeles.
http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/news/stories_2004/ceed.html
Aluminum Microfoams Considered for Transportation and Aerospace Applications
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering professor Laurent Pilon’s aluminum microfoams research was the cover article of the September issue of Energy Notes, a publication of the UC Energy Institute. Foams made of light metals are of interest to researchers because of their energy-saving and insulating properties.
http://www.ucei.berkeley.edu/energy_notes/September2004.pdf
UCLA Engineers Create Novel BioNano Energy Source
Materials science and engineering professor Bruce Dunn and bioengineering professor and chair Carlo Montemagno have created a new type of solid material that generates protons when light shines on it by encapsulating bacteriorhodopsin into a sol gel matrix.
http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/magazine/solgel.html
Computer Science Professor Receives Okawa Foundation Grant
Jason Cong, computer science professor, received an Okawa Foundation Research Grant to support his research on Architecture and Synthesis for Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuits. The Okawa Foundation is a non-profit organization in Japan that supports studies in information science and telecommunications. For more information on Cong’s
research, visit http://www.cs.ucla.edu/csd/people/faculty_pages/cong.html.
UCLA Engineering Professor Named to Los Angeles Broadband Panel
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering professor Rajit Gadh, director of WINMEC, is part of Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn’s Broadband Executive Panel, which is charged with examining the role of broadband, Wi-Fi, and next generation wireless can play in accelerating economic development in the city. For more about Professor Gadh’s work, see http://www.mae.ucla.edu/academics/faculty/gadh.htm.
Electrical Engineering Chair Gives Plenary Talk at Antenna Symposium
Electrical engineering professor and chair Yahya Rahmat-Samii presented a plenary talk at the 13th International Symposium on Antennas in Nice, France on “Frontiers in Evolutionary Optimization Techniques Applied to Antenna Designs: Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO).” The symposium, held once every two years, is considered the most important European symposium on antenna theory and its applications. For more about his research, see http://www.ee.ucla.edu/faculty/bios/yrs.htm.
Engineering Professor Honored with Technical Symposium
Prior to the 57th annual meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics, American
Physical Society in Seattle, colleagues and friends celebrated the career and
accomplishments of mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Robert. E.
Kelly at a technical symposium. For more information about his research, please
visit
http://www.mae.ucla.edu/academics/faculty/kelly.htm.
MEDIA
WATCH: UCLA ENGINEERING IN THE NEWS
Space Cowboy Envisions New Frontier
Seeking to inspire students, faculty and visitors at the University of California at Los Angeles, Burt Rutan, founder and CEO Scaled Composites Inc., offered a new vision for 21st Century commercial travel--including "spacelines" instead of airlines and resort hotels in orbit--taking average citizens where only handfuls of astronauts have tread thus far.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/
chi-0411200216nov20,1,2773160.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Cybernetics Combines Many Disciplines
An undergraduate interdepartmental program at UCLA since 1972, cybernetics is the study of control and communication processes in biological systems – cell movement translated into the language of engineering, protein interactions described with math equations. And, yes, sometimes that means robots.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=31028
The Tangled Internet: Is it Time for a New One?
By some counts, the Internet turned 35 years old this fall. But far from entering middle age, it seems to be growing into a rebellious teenager who has no idea what he will be when he grows up. Professor Leonard Kleinrock reflects on its past and its future for the Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1202/p13s02-stin.html
Hot Prospects for Pure Silicon Laser Beam
A pure silicon laser has been demonstrated for the first time, offering the prospect of “photonic” silicon chips that communicate using light, and operate faster than electrical chips. No previous laser has inexpensively produced the elusive frequency band generated by the silicon laser, and the technology could soon be used in defence and communications.
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg18424723.300 (registration required)
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/04/11/rnb_113004.asp
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