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E-BULLETIN
UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
June 11, 2008
DEAN'S
LETTER
On June 14 at Pauley Pavilion, we will celebrate
the newest graduates of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering
and Applied Science. The commencement ceremony features Charles
M. Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering, who
will deliver the keynote remarks and receive the UCLA Medal.
On behalf of the School, I would like to congratulate
the approximately 1,000 students who will receive their degrees
on Saturday. Our graduates have completed a rigorous curriculum
designed to deepen their knowledge, develop their analytical and
problem-solving skills, and prepare them to become positive contributors
and leaders in the 21st Century. They are now ready to take on
the great technological challenges that lie ahead for this country
and the world.
In recognition of Dr. Vest’s many significant
contributions to higher education and to the nation’s scientific,
engineering and technical communities, Chancellor Gene Block will
present him with the UCLA Medal — the university's highest
honor. Dr. Vest has served on many government task forces and
advisory committees dedicated to shaping research, education,
science and national security policies. Prior to the NAE, Dr.
Vest was the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
serving for 14 years.
I am delighted that Dr. Vest will share his wisdom
and advice with UCLA Engineering's Class of 2008.
Sincerely,
Vijay K. Dhir
Dean
FEATURE
STORIES
Charles
M. Vest to Receive the UCLA Medal at the UCLA Engineering Commencement
Ceremony
Charles M. Vest, president of the National Academy
of Engineering (NAE), vice chair of the National Research Council,
the principle operating arm of the National Academies of Sciences
and Engineering, and President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT), will receive the UCLA Medal, the university’s
highest honor, at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering
and Applied Science commencement ceremony at 12:30 p.m., Saturday,
June 14, at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus.
UCLA
Engineering Researchers Poised To Develop a Super-Resolution STED
Microscope
As biological research advances, the need to see smaller
and smaller objects is increasingly important. Knowing the location
of intercellular constituents, such as proteins, lipids, or nucleic
acids, will help scientists elicit the causes for diseases and
develop subsequent cures. Since these objects are less than 10
nanometers in size, imaging systems with super-resolution capabilities
is needed. Now, using commercial off-the-shelf photonics components,
Electrical Engineering Professor Jia-Ming Liu
and his students, Margaret Chiang and Juan
Garcia, have built a prototype STED (stimulated emission
depletion) microscope that achieves sub-diffraction resolution
imaging capabilities at a fraction of the cost normally expected
of a STED microscope.
OTHER
NEWS
Diana Huffaker, associate professor
of electrical engineering, has received the prestigious National
Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellow (NSSEFF) Award
from the Department of Defense. The award provides $3 million
of research support up to 5 years. In response to the NSSEFF Broad
Agency Announcement, nearly 150 academic institutions submitted
more than 500 nomination letters. The program selected 20 semifinalists,
who were invited for scientific interviews before a panel of experts
and 6 winners were announced. Huffaker received the award in recognition
of her project entitled “Exploring Dissimilar and Nanomaterials
Integration as a Platform for New Medium and Long Wave Infrared
Device Functionality."
Kuo-Nan Liou,
distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director of
UCLA's Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering,
was recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) for his substantial contributions to the 2007 report that
led to the IPCC being awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize with former
Vice President Al Gore. Liou holds a joint appointment in the
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. From
UCLA
Today
Chris Niemman, assistant professor
of electrical engineering, has received the Plasma Physics Junior
Faculty Award from the Department of Energy to fund his research
on ultra-bright laser based x-ray sources.
Student honorees at the 2008 UCLA Engineering Commencement
have been announced. Outstanding Bachelor of Science: Karan
Mistry '08. Harry M. Showman Prize: Alex Capecelatro,
BS, '10, and Wei Hu, PhD '07. Russell R. O'Neill
Distinguished Service Award: Peter Jonna '08.
Departmental Scholar: Drew Kirkpatrick, BS, MS
'08. 2008 Student Speaker: Sonia Hingorany '08.
2008 National Anthem Vocalist: Asher Metchik
'08 , with members of Awaken A Cappella.
The complete list of 2008 honorees
is available
here.
The Forum for Energy Economics and Development
(FEED), a new interdisciplinary student organization dedicated
to learning about renewable energy issues, has published its first
journal. The journal is available at the organization's website.
MEDIA
WATCH: UCLA ENGINEERING IN THE NEWS
Vanity Fair
An Oral History of the Internet:
How the Web Was Won
Fifty years ago, in response to the surprise Soviet launch of
Sputnik, the U.S. military set up the Advanced Research Projects
Agency. It would become the cradle of connectivity, spawning the
era of Google and YouTube, of Amazon and Facebook, of the Drudge
Report and the Obama campaign. Each breakthrough—network
protocols, hypertext, the World Wide Web, the browser—inspired
another as narrow-tied engineers, long-haired hackers, and other
visionaries built the foundations for a world-changing technology.
(The multimedia story features Distinguished Professor of Computer
Science Leonard Kleinrock and alumnus Vinton
Cerf MS '70, PhD '72.)
BBC Digital Planet
In
car wi-fi
Scientists at UCLA have developed a car
based mesh networking system. It allows web connectivity, video
conferencing and the opportunity to map each vehicle’s whereabouts
in real time on an interactive map. (story features researcher
Giovanni Pau. It is available online until June
16).
BBC
News
Number
keys promise safer data
Sensitive computer files are to become both more secure and more
flexible thanks to advanced mathematics. (Researchers) at the
University of California in Los Angeles have applied a fundamental
rethink to improve the "one lock - one key" method that
current encryption technologies such as RSA and AES operate on.
Amit Sahai, professor of computer science at
the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science,
told BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme that they had
decided to "rebuild the idea from the ground up," and
developed the idea of multiple keys giving access to selected
pieces of data.
The Economist Technology Quarterly
Case
history: Tapping the oceans
Environmental technology: Desalination turns salty water into
fresh water. As concern over water’s scarcity grows, can
it offer a quick technological fix? (The article includes current
faculty member Eric Hoek, assistant professor
of civil and environmental engineering. It also includes the pioneering
contributions to desalination technology development by former
UCLA Engineers Sidney Loeb and Srinivasa
Sourirajan.)
Washington Post
The
Pentagon's Latest Recruits: Professors
Military power requires brainpower, and the Defense Department
is moving to engage a new generation of scientists and engineers
to conduct research that may pay off in technological breakthroughs
for the nation's military. The department last week announced
the selection of six university professors who will form the first
class of the National Security Science and Engineering Faculty
Fellows Program. (Diana Huffaker, associate professor
of electrical engineering, is one award recipients).
UCLA Today
Orbach
optimistic about solving energy, environmental crises
Under Secretary of Science Raymond Orbach of
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently returned to his academic
roots at UCLA with hopeful news about tackling the nation's twin
demons, the energy and environmental crises.
Orbach brought a message of hope to faculty,
staff, students, industry representatives and the public when
he delivered the first L.M.K. Boelter Lecture at the UCLA Engineering
Technology Forum May 27 at De Neve Auditorium. Faculty and students
from the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
presented their research during the one-day event.
Daily Bruin
Engineering
for the future
Innovation focused on improving technology for the future is commonplace
at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science,
with projects over the past year including topics such as advancing
medical technology and exploring creative solutions for global
environmental issues.
Daily Bruin
Engineering
team driven to create
Andrew Chao placed the two-foot-long car, covered
in green circuit boards, on a line of wire and off the car went
– no motor, no controller. Chao, a fourth-year electrical
engineering student, was demonstrating one of the self-driving
cars he and 11 of his teammates created to enter into an annual
contest Natcar, sponsored by UC Davis and held last Friday.
CALENDAR
June 14
UCLA
Engineering Commencement
12:30 p.m.
Pauley Pavilion, UCLA campus
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