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DEAN'S LETTER

As a faculty researcher I take a special interest in how my former students use their education at UCLA once they graduate and I am always proud when I learn they have gone on to lead full lives and have long, successful careers. As dean of UCLA’s School of Engineering I am constantly impressed with how successful our alumni become, and how often they give back to the community.

To illustrate the diversity that characterizes our School’s former students, let me tell you about three alumni who have experienced success and given back to their community in very different ways: a respected businessperson, an admired philanthropist and a prominent researcher. Each Bruin has recently received public recognition for his accomplishments.

When Robert P. Lee earned his master’s and doctorate in computer science at UCLA in the 1970s, there were very few Asian senior executives in the high tech industry. Lee decided to lead by example, eventually becoming president and CEO at Dublin software company Accela Inc. in 2002. Today he offers guidance to other Asian Americans in his local community. Lee’s career success and community activities were spotlighted in a recent San Francisco Chronicle article.

When Harold Edelstein passed away in 1999 at the age of 90, he passed on a legacy of compassion by bequeathing $20 million to a foundation bearing his name that provides basic services to the poor and homeless. According to a Los Angeles Times Magazine profile, Edelstein’s tremendous gift to society’s most vulnerable has created “one of this city’s quirkiest, sweetest and … most beloved charities.” It is truly inspiring to see how one person can make such a huge difference in his community.

Robert Sharman, who received his bachelor’s and masters degrees at UCLA’s Engineering School in 1971, has been named to Scientific American’s Top 50 contributors to the fields of science and engineering. Sharman, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, co-discovered an algorithm that allows aircraft to better detect turbulence.

You can read more about all three of these alumni in this issue of E-Bulletin. Though there are innumerable examples of successful Bruins who have made the most of their engineering education, I think the stories of Robert Lee, Harold Edelstein and Robert Sharman are representative of the caliber of a UCLA graduate.

Sincerely,

Vijay K. Dhir
Dean

FEATURE STORIES

Engineering 1 Demolition Yields Dramatic Photos
Workers continue their controlled demolition of the Engineering School’s oldest building, the 53-year-old Engineering 1, as part of a plan to replace the structure with a new state-of-the-art facility. Pictures tracking the replacement project’s progress have been posted online at http://www.engineeringalum.ucla.edu/demolition.asp. The Engineering 1 building was the site for some of the Engineering School’s earliest research. Images of the facility’s storied history have also been posted at http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/stories/2004/engineering_one_history.htm.

UCLA Electrical Engineering Professor Becomes ASA Fellow
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA), the leading scientific and engineering society in Acoustics and a member of the American Institute of Physics, has elected electrical engineering Professor Abeer Alwan as a Fellow. She was elected for her contributions to research in speech production and perception and applications to speech technology. She will be publicly honored during the 75th Anniversary Meeting of the ASA, in May, in New York City. Professor Alwan directs UCLA’s Speech Processing and Auditory Perception Laboratory.
Learn more about Alwan’s research at http://www.icsl.ucla.edu/~spapl.

UCLA Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Receives ASME Prize
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers' (ASME) Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Technical Committee (Aerospace Division) has named UCLA Professor Greg Carmen as the recipient of the 2004 ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Prize, in honor of his contributions to smart materials and structures. Carmen established the Active Materials Laboratory in 1993 when he joined UCLA.
Learn more about Carmen’s research at http://aml.seas.ucla.edu/home.htm.

Two UCLA Professors Win CAREER Awards
Jennifer Jay and Steven Margulis, both assistant professors in UCLA’s civil and environmental engineering department, have won awards from the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, which supports the early career-development activities of teacher-scholars who are most likely to become future academic leaders. Awards are granted to support specific projects. Professor Jay will study mercury methylation in sulfate-reducing biofilms, and will establish a new service-learning course that will place undergraduates in 6th grade classrooms in South Los Angeles to teach wetland science. Professor Margulis will investigate regional land-atmosphere interactions in order to ultimately better understand and model weather and climate processes. He will also work to increase environmental awareness for high school and college students.
Learn more about Jay’s research at http://www.cee.ucla.edu/faculty/jay.htm
Learn more about Margulis’ research at http://www.cee.ucla.edu/faculty/margulis.htm

MEDIA WATCH: UCLA ENGINEERING IN THE NEWS

Internet Hits 35th Birthday Mark
Thirty-five years ago, UCLA computer science professor Leonard Kleinrock directed the transmission of the first message ever to pass over the Internet, making his host computer at UCLA the first node of what went on to become the world wide web. While he was a graduate student at MIT, Kleinrock created the basic principles of packet switching as a way to transfer files from one computer to another. Now that the Internet is in its 35th year, Kleinrock weighs in on the concerns that threaten the Internet, as well as ways to encourage its growth.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?ID=27055

Northridge Quake Still Stirs Some
It has been 10 years since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and in a story marking the anniversary, engineering professors John Wallace, Jonathan Stewart and Tom Sabol each comment on how far we’ve come in preparing for the next big quake.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?ID=26899

Governor Maps Shift from Gas to Hydrogen
William Van Vorst, UCLA professor emeritus of chemical engineering and renowned authority on hydrogen energy research, spoke with the Daily Bruin about California Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger’s plan to establish a network of hydrogen fueling stations throughout the state by the end of the decade.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=27207

UCLA Weathers E-mail Worm Storm
Peter Reiher, UCLA computer science professor, helped to put the recent Mydoom worm into perspective in a Daily Bruin article about the latest electronic attack to hit computer users around the world.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=27208

Read more UCLA Engineering news at http://www.engineer.ucla.edu

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