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E-BULLETIN
UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
May 9, 2007
DEAN'S
LETTER
Many of the greatest innovations in our history have occurred
through research partnerships that connect across traditional
boundaries. Our faculty reflects this future daily in their truly
collective approach to solving research challenges, be it working
with faculty and researchers across the country, across campus,
within the School or from industry.
We recently held the School’s 2007 Technology
Forum, which showcased many of these partnerships and groundbreaking
research in a number of emerging disciplines, including bioengineering,
embedded systems and nanotechnology. The successful day-long event
presented some of the most visionary work from across the School.
I am delighted that so many of you were able to join us.
In this issue of the E-Bulletin, I invite you
to learn more about Jenn-Ming Yang, professor of materials science
and engineering, and his collaboration with Richard Kaner, professor
of inorganic chemistry and materials science and engineering as
they explore the creation of super hard materials. These ultra-hard
materials are used for everything from drills that bore for oil
and build new roads to scratch-resistant coatings for precision
instruments and wristwatches.
Computer science professor Mario Gerla and
his team are exploring using cars as computer nodes in a mobile
network on wheels, and are collaborating with the university facilities
office to make the UCLA campus a new testbed for the research.
Also in this issue, electrical engineering professor
Frank Chang and his graduate researchers recently achieved a new
world record in high-frequency submillimeter waves by envisioning
a new approach.
In addition, you can also read about computer
science professor Deborah Estrin, who has recently been elected
into the distinguished American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
a testament to her knowledge and skill, and her wide-reaching
collaborative work at UCLA Engineering's Center for Embedded Networked
Sensing, or CENS.
I am extremely proud of the incredible work all
of our faculty undertake, and the recognition they have achieved.
The awards, appointments and other honors that are bestowed upon
them regularly should not be taken for granted – they are
a testament to their extraordinary individual accomplishments
and their important contributions to research, to education, to
our School, and to our society.
I’d like to take a moment before I
close to remember our friends and colleagues at Virginia Tech
University. I was deeply saddened by the shooting deaths on their
campus last month. This terrible tragedy is a reminder that no
institution is immune from senseless violence. Our thoughts and
prayers are with them and their families.
Sincerely,
Vijay K. Dhir
Dean
FEATURE
STORIES
 Taking
it to the Streets – Turning Cars Into a Mobile Communications
Network
It's no secret Americans love their cars and modern computer systems
have enhanced vehicle performance and safety. Computer science
professor Mario Gerla at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering
and Applied Science envisions the next step is to take that digital
processing power and push it outwards even further – by
using cars as computer nodes in a mobile network on wheels. To
read more, click
here.
 Scientists
and Engineering Collaborate to Design New Super-Hard Material
Ultra-hard materials are used for everything from drills that
bore for oil and build new roads to scratch-resistant coatings
for precision instruments and the face of your watch. Richard
B. Kaner,professor of inorganic chemistry and materials science
and Jenn-Ming Yang, professor of materials science, are reporting
a promising new approach to designing super-hard materials, which
are very difficult to scratch or crack. To read more, click
here.
OTHER
NEWS
 UCLA
Engineers Set New World Record in Generation of High-Frequency
Submillimeter Waves
UCLA Engineering researchers have achieved a new world record
in high-frequency submillimeter waves. The record-setting 324-gigahertz
frequency was accomplished using a voltage-controlled oscillator
in a 90-nanometer complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
integrated circuit, a technology used in chips such as microprocessors.
The signal generator, which produces frequencies nearly 70 percent
faster than other CMOS oscillators, paves the way for a new generation
of submillimeter devices that could someday be used in high-resolution
sensors on spacecraft, and here on Earth in a new class of highly
integrated and lightweight imagers that could literally cut through
fog and see through clothing fabrics.To read more, click
here.
Computer Science Professor Deborah
Estrin Elected Into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences today announced the
election of 203 new Fellows and 24 new Foreign Honorary Members,
including UCLA Engineering computer science professor Deborah
Estrin for her work with the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing
(CENS). Estrin is in good company – those elected include
a former Vice President of the United States; a former Associate
Justice of the United States Supreme Court; the mayor of New York
City; winners of Nobel and Academy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize;
and five other faculty from across the UCLA campus. To read more,
click
here.
Engineering Faculty Win Awards and Honors
Chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Yoram
Cohen recently gave a presentation at a "Rocketdyne
Health Risks Briefing" at the Invitation of State Senator
Sheila Kuehl. Cohen’s presentation summarized the findings
from his three year team study of exposures of the communities
surrounding the Rocketdyne Facility in Simi Valley to toxic chemicals
associated with various site activities since the establishment
of the facility. The facility, also known as the Santa Susana
Field Laboratory, is one of the major rocket testing facility
in the U.S., and the location of the first Nuclear Reactor Accident
in the country. The meeting was organized by Kuehl and by Zev
Yaroslavsky, chair of the LA County Supervisors.
Civil and environmental engineering professor
Eric Hoek’s recent research on nanocomposite
RO membranes was awarded "Distinction" as "Innovation
of the Year" by Global Water Intelligence.
Electrical engineering professor Bahram
Jalali has been selected to receive the 2007 R.W. Wood
Prize of the Optical Society of America (OSA) in recognition of
his invention and demonstration of Raman lasing in silicon. Established
by OSA in 1975 to honor the many contributions that R.W. Wood
made to optics, the award recognizes an outstanding discovery,
scientific or technical achievement, or invention in the field
of optics.
MEDIA
WATCH: UCLA ENGINEERING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
MSNBC (The Associated Press)
Researchers
Explore Scrapping Internet
Transitioning to a next-generation Internet could be akin to changing
the engines on a moving airplane. Routers and other networking
devices will likely need replacing; personal computers could be
in store for software upgrades. UCLA Engineering computer science
professor emeritus Leonard Kleinrock explains how the current
Internet will never go away, and the fruits of the research could
go into improving – rather than scrapping – the existing
architecture.
KTLA Morning Show
Earth Week with Gayle Anderson
Morning Show reporter Gayle Anderson did six segments LIVE from
UCLA with a group of UCLA Engineering's mechanical and aerospace
students who built an eco-friendly fuel car for the Shell Eco-Marathon
challenge.
Space Daily
Scientists
Design New Super-Hard Material
Scientists at the UCLA College and the UCLA Henry Samueli School
of Engineering and Applied Science are now reporting a promising
new approach to designing super-hard materials, which are very
difficult to scratch or crack.
Photonics
324-GHz
Submillimeter Waves Reported
Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science have achieved a new world record in high-frequency
submillimeter waves. The team, led by electrical engineering professor
Frank Chang, accomplished the record-setting 324-gigahertz frequency
using a voltage-controlled oscillator in a 90-nanometer complementary
metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit, a technology
used in chips such as microprocessors.
The Los Angeles Times
Chauncey
Starr, 95; former UCLA dean worked with Oppenheimer
Chauncey Starr, an internationally known nuclear energy consultant
who worked with physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer during World War
II and later became a dean at UCLA, has passed away. From 1967
to 1973, Starr was dean of engineering and applied science at
UCLA, where he directed research on societal safety in technical
systems. His research was published in the journal Science in
1969, and scientists still consider it the starting point for
the technical field of risk analysis.
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal
Women
in Technology Award Winners Named
The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) Monday
named this year's Women of Vision award winners. UCLA Engineering's
Deborah Estrin will be honored at a May 3 banquet at San Jose's
Fairmont Hotel. Estrin, a professor of computer science, was selected
for the innovation award "for her sustained and significant
founding research in network interconnection and simulation, embedded
networking, sensornet research, and security." Her research
focuses on the design of network and routing protocols for very
large, global, networks.
Technology News Daily
UCLA
Engineers Set New World Record
Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science have achieved a new world record in high-frequency
submillimeter waves. The record-setting 324-gigahertz frequency
was accomplished using a voltage-controlled oscillator in a 90-nanometer
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit,
a technology used in chips such as microprocessors.
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