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E-BULLETIN
UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
May 13, 2009
DEAN'S
LETTER
Over the past few weeks,
there has been a lot of news for which the alumni, students, faculty
and staff of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science can be proud of. I'd like to share just a short
list of the most exciting items with you today.
*
In April, the White House announced the creation of 46 new Energy
Frontier Research Centers including one based here at UCLA Engineering.
This new multi-million-dollar center will focus on the creation
of nanoscale materials for solar energy conversion, energy storage,
and carbon capture. It will be lead by Vidvuds Ozolins, professor
of materials science and engineering.
*
Chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Vasilios
Manousiouthakis, has been awarded $2.1 million in grant funding
to build a state-of-the-art hydrogen fueling station on the UCLA
campus. The station will also be used by UCLA Engineering students
as a learning and research facility.
*
UCLA is now a partner institution in CleanTech Los Angeles, an
initiative that aims to make L.A. the world leader in clean technology.
One of its first projects is a new wind power research lab, under
the direction of Richard Wirz, assistant professor of mechanical
and aerospace engineering.
*
Alumnus Jim Easton, of Jas. D. Easton Inc., has given a $2 million
gift to the school to fund carbon nanotube research in sports
equipment and aerospace applications.
*
Carrying aerospace engineering alumna Megan McArthur, the Space
Shuttle Atlantis lifted off Monday on an 11-day mission to service
and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, McArthur will drive the
shuttle's robotic arm during repair work on the telescope.
Sincerely,
Vijay K. Dhir
Dean
FEATURE
STORIES
UCLA
Engineering Alumna in Orbit
On May 11, Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off into orbit for an
11-day mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Aboard the
shuttle is NASA mission specialist Megan McArthur,
a UCLA aerospace engineering alumna. To read more about her role
on the mission and how she got her start as an astronaut, please
click
here.
World's Fastest Camera Relies on an Entirely New Type of Imaging
Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science have developed a novel, continuously running camera
that captures images roughly a thousand times faster than any
existing conventional camera. The research team includes electrical
engineering professor Bahram Jalali, post-doctoral
scholar Keisuke Goda and grad student Kevin
Tsia.
Fill
'er up: Prof. Awarded $2.1 Million to Build Hydrogen Fueling Station
at UCLA
 Vasilios
Manousiouthakis, a professor of chemical and biomolecular
engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science, has been awarded $2.1 million in grant funding
to build a state-of-the-art hydrogen fueling station on the UCLA
campus.
DOE
to fund multimillion-dollar energy research center at UCLA Engineering
A leader in research
on sustainable energy and clean technology, the UCLA Henry Samueli
School of Engineering and Applied Science will now be home to
a new multimillion-dollar Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC)
funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The center, which the
DOE plans to fund at $11.5 million over five years, will focus
on the creation and production of nanoscale materials for use
in converting solar energy into electricity, electrical energy
storage, and capturing and separating greenhouse gases. The center's
director is Vidvuds Ozolins, professor of materials
science and engineering.
L.A.
strives to become the Capital of Green Technology
In an agreement that officials expect will boost environmental
research and bring green jobs to Los Angeles, Chancellor Gene
Block joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
and representatives from business, education and government Wednesday,
April 15, to formally sign up for a partnership known as CleanTech
Los Angeles.
Alumnus
gives $2 million gift for Carbon Nanotube Research
UCLA Engineering alumnus James L. Easton, chairman
of Jas. D. Easton Inc., of Van Nuys, has created a $2 million
research fund for advanced carbon materials for sports equipment
and aerospace applications. Easton, the driving force behind years
of innovations at Easton Sports, graduated from UCLA Henry Samueli
School
of Engineering and Applied Science in 1959.
Boeing
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer John J. Tracy
to deliver 2009 Commencement Address
 John
J. Tracy, senior vice president of Engineering, Operations
& Technology and chief technology officer for The Boeing Company,
will address the 2009 graduates of the UCLA Henry Samueli School
of Engineering and Applied Science as this year’s commencement
speaker. About 1,000 bachelor’s degree, master’s degree
and PhD candidates will take part in the ceremony, scheduled at
12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 13 in UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA
Computer Science Professor receives Guggenheim Fellowship
Demetri Terzopoulos, Chancellor's Professor of
Computer Science at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering
and Applied Science, has received a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship.
Terzopoulos' research encompasses computer graphics, computer
vision, medical image analysis, computer-aided design and artificial
intelligence/life.
Tech
Forum 2009 Highlights
On April 23, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science held its annual Tech Forum. To read more about
the event, please click
here.
Outstanding Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate passes
away from Cancer
Vishal Parikh, an exemplary UCLA aerospace engineering
undergraduate whose excellent academics, work ethic and passion
for learning earned him praise from faculty and admiration from
his fellow students, passed away on April 24 from cancer.
OTHER
NEWS
 Linda
Katehi, provost at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
has been named chancellor of UC Davis, effective August 17, 2009.
Katehi, who received her master's degree and PhD in electrical
engineering from UCLA, was the UCLA Engineering Alumna of the
Year in 2006. Read
the announcement at UC Davis' website.
Tony Chan, assistant director of the National Science
Foundation's largest directorate and a former dean in the College
of Letters and Science at UCLA, has been appointed the next president
of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Chan holds
faculty appointments in mathematics and biomedical engineering.
To read more, click
here.
Gregory Pottie, associate dean of research and
physical resources and professor of electrical engineering has
been named a Fulbright Scholar. The Fulbright program is designed
to “increase mutual understanding between the people of
the United States and the people of other countries.” Pottie
will make a sabbatical visit to the University of Sydney from
July to October 2009.
Electrical engineering professor Yahya Rahmat-Samii,
holder of the Northrop Grumman Chair in Electromagnetics, has
been selected to receive the 2009 Distinguished Achievement Award
from the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society for his "pioneering
contributions to the design, optimization and measurement of modem
ground and space-borne reflector antennas and antennas for handheld
communication devices."
At the third annual Shell Eco-marathon Americas, the
UCLA Supermileage Vehicle posted a 1,239.5 mile-per-gallon
run, earning the student team seventh place in the competition
held last month in Fontana, Calif. The team also received the
"Most Eco Design" Award. To read more, click
here.
UCLA's American Society of Civil Engineers chapter posted excellent
results in competitions at ASCE's Pacific Southwest Regional Conference,
held last month in Hawaii. The UCLA Concrete Canoe team
placed third overall and was ranked first in the racing portion
of the competition. UCLA's Steel Bridge Team
placed fourth overall and was ranked second in the stiffness/deflection
category.
MEDIA
WATCH: UCLA ENGINEERING IN THE NEWS
BBC
News
Debut
for world's fastest camera
The fastest
imaging system ever devised has been demonstrated by UCLA Engineering
researchers reporting in the journal Nature. Their camera's
"shutter speed" is just a half a billionth of a second,
and it can capture over six million images in a second continuously.
The news was also carried in Wired
Magazine, Discover
Magazine and many other publications. Author Keisuke Goda
has page with links
to press coverage on the camera here.
Chronicle of Higher Education
Stimulus
Law Revs Up Research on Energy
Article has a brief profile of UCLA materials science and engineering
professor Yang Yang. It also mentions the work
of Vasilios Manousiouthakis and of Yoram Cohen,
who are both professors in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular
Engineering.
Nature
Nature
News: Personal Technology. Phoning in Data
Far from being just an accessory, mobile phones
are starting to be used to collect data in an increasing number
of disciplines. Computer science doctoral student Martin
Lukac and computer science professor Deborah
Estrin, director of the Center for Embedded Networked
Sensing, are quoted.
The New York Times
Meet
the Crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis
The newspaper featured a profile of astronaut Megan
McArthur, a UCLA engineering alumna who is one of seven crew members
on the Space Shuttle Atlantis mission STS-125, which will attempt
to repair the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
Daily Bruin
UCLA
to build Turbine Lab
UCLA is preparing to build a new wind turbine
research facility in downtown Los Angeles as part of an ongoing
push toward sustainable energy. Richard Wirz,
assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, is
the director of the new lab.
CALENDAR
May 15
Structural
and Solid Mechanics Research Seminar
"Strength and Durability Aspects of Space Propulsion System
Structural Design"
George Orient, Principal Engineer, Materials/Structures
10:30 a.m., 38-138 Engineering IV
Sheldon Friedlander Lecture in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
"Atmospheric Organic Aerosols"
John L. Seinfield, Caltech
1:30 p.m., CNSI building lecture hall
May 18
Physical
and Wave Electronics Seminar
Photoacoustic Tomography
Lihong Wang, Washington University in St. Louis
1 p.m., 54-134 Engineering IV
May 19
Civil
and Environmental Engineering Distinguished Lecture
"Size and Risk: Scaling of Quasibrittle Structure Strength"
Z. Bazant, Northwestern University
4 p.m., 4760 Boelter Hall
May 22
Thermo/Fluids
Seminar
"Dynamics of drops and bubbles in micro-geometries"
Daniel Attinger, Columbia University
Noon, 38-138 Engineering IV
May 26
Civil and Environmental
Engineering Distinguished Lecture
"Spalling of Concrete Materials"
K. Willam, University of Colorado, Boulder
4 p.m., 4760 Boelter Hall
May 27
UCLA
Science Faculty Annual Research Colloquium Series
"Real-time Measurements, Black Swans, & Photonics"
Bahram Jalali, UCLA Electrical Engineering
4 p.m., 1425 Physics & Astronomy Building
May 29
MAE Distinguished
Speaker Seminar
"The Human Factor: Merging Technical Complexity and Creativity
in the 21st Century"
Wanda Austin, President and CEO, The Aerospace Corporation
Noon, Rice Room (6764 Boelter Hall). Registration required.
June 1
Physical
and Wave Electronics Seminar
"High Precision Imaging of Proteins"
Ahmet Yildiz, UC Berkeley
1 p.m., 54-134 Engineering IV
June 2
Earthquake
Engineering Seminar
"The State of the Practice of Seismic Hazard Analysis"
Norm Abrahamson, 2009 EERI Distinguished Lecturer.
Senior Engineering Seismologist, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
4 p.m., room tba.
June 4
Computer
Science Seminar
"Data Cloud: Integrating Structured Information into Web
Search"
Yury Lifshits, Yahoo! Research
4 p.m., 3400 Boelter Hall
June 13
UCLA
Engineering Commencement
12:30 p.m., Pauley Pavilion
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