SEASNET
In January of 1985, it is announced that under a grant from IBM a computer network will be installed in the School of Engineering and Applied Science called SEASnet. Three large IBM mainframe computers will back the system which will initially connect 175 workstations in classrooms and laboratories. SEASnet, which is directed by professor Michael Stenstrom, is expected to expand to 1,000 work stations within five years.

Fusion
In May of 1985, UCLA joins an international team to solve the technological challenges for creating nuclear fusion, seen as the power source for the next century. Using UCLA's Plasma Interaction Surfaces Components Experimental Simulator, the UCLA team, led by professor Robert W. Conn, will test different materials for use inside the superhot fusion reactor of the future.

SDI
In October of 1985, a group of five professors has been awarded a three-year contract as part of a Strategic Defense Initiative project looking toward the design of large, innovative nuclear power reactors for use in space. The UCLA team is pursuing the project in conjunction with two other universities and four private companies. Their unclassified research seeks to design reactors applicable to missile defense in space, as well as to manned space stations and deep space exploration.

Glucose Sensor
In October of 1985, Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Parker, a researcher at the Crump Institute for Medical Engineering, suggests development of a glucose sensor that could be implanted in the body for continuous and easy glucose measurement. The sensor would consist of an optical fiber that would feed a light signal to a sensing element where the signal would be altered to indicate corresponding fluctuations in a patient's blood sugar level. The difficult part ahead is development of a transducer that converts chemical changes into optical signals.

Boelter Endowed Chair
In December of 1985, an endowed chair honoring the memory of Llewellyn M.K. Boelter is established through the combined efforts of the school's alumni, faculty and friends. The chair has been funded with an initial $400,000.

Three Generations
In December of 1985, three generations of the Knapp family are teaching or studying at UCLA. When he wants to have a family lunch, engineering professor William J. Knapp need only pick up a campus phone to contact his son, a student in the graduate school of architecture and urban planning, or his grandson, a freshman enrolled in engineering. Knapp has been a faculty member since 1949.

Microtremors Mapped
In February of 1986, a team of student and visiting Japanese engineers assist professor Ajit K. Mal in mapping microtremors in the San Fernando Valley. The Valley is divided into 50 observation sites two miles apart, each at which the team uses portable instruments to take microtremor readings. Using the readings, the team hopes to determine the potential for earthquake damage by examining the resonance of various soil types.

Superachievers
In April of 1986, 14-year-old Revital Elitzur has enrolled as an engineering student under the University's gifted student program. The girl is one of a number of superachievers admitted to UCLA's program from the past seven years. As a high school student she tutored college students in calculus to help earn the money to enroll at UCLA. Revital was invited into the program by engineering professor Michael Melkanoff.

Tokamak
In May of 1986, a new fusion generator called a "tokamak" built at UCLA begins operation. It is the world's first continuous current tokamak (from Russian TOroid KAmera MAgnit Katuchka), and will be used in the development of nuclear fusion, a limitless and "clean" source of energy, by imitating and harnessing on earth the same processes that make the sun shine. The 16 1/2 foot doughnut-shaped device stands eight feet high and has viewing portals that also allow a person's entrance into the inner chamber of the device for repairs and maintenance. The project is led by professor Robert J. Taylor under a grant from the Department of Energy.

Artificial Intelligence
In June of 1986, Hewlett-Packard donates $2.5 million worth of computer workstations to the computer science department to advance teaching in artificial intelligence. Each workstation has a computer using the Motorola 68020 processor with seven megabytes of RAM and 110 megabytes of hard disc storage.

Mexico Quake Survey
In June of 1986, under a grant from the National Science Foundation, assistant professor Guy Felio performs field tests in Mexico City to probe the causes of building collapse during the 8.1 Richter scale earthquake that struck the city Sept. 19, 1985. Many of the structures rested on heavy piles driven deep into the ground, and it is this aspect of structural failures that Felio is investigating.

Better Semiconductor
In June of 1986, professors Rointan F. Bunshah and Oscar M. Stafsudd report development of a major advancement in semiconductors. The semiconductor is made of thin layers of beta silicon carbide and promises a "significant breakthrough in the size, power, speed, operating temperature and radiation resistance of solid state semiconductor devices and integrated circuits," the researchers say.

Jewelry Drives Technology
In September of 1986, professor George Sines reports on his examinations of ancient lenses going back as far as 2200 BC that show evidence of being formed using some type of technology. The shape and smoothness of the lenses indicate the early development of very hard cutting tools and lathes, Sines observes, which reflects the high level of technology already in place during the second millennia BC and up through the Roman Empire. Ancient Romans almost certainly used lenses to create microscopic details in the exquisite miniature gold-glass portraits of the period, Sines says.

Enzymes Eat Pollution
In September of 1986, professor Vincent L. Vilker has overturned commonly held beliefs on the removable of solvents contaminating groundwater. It was thought that no natural mechanism could destroy the solvents, but Vilker creates a biological recipe for a class of enzymes that "chew right through" the polluting toxins, called low molecular halocarbons (LMH). Vilker was pointed to the discovery by realizing that ether is an LMH, and that patients anesthetized with ether obviously recovered so must metabolize the gas in some manner. Vilker's clue was discovered in the enzymes of the liver, which he replicated and modified in the laboratory to digest solvents.

Center For High Frequency Electronics
In December of 1986, some 11 faculty and 30 graduate students are engaged in research at the new Center for High Frequency Electronics, directed by professor Harold R. Fetterman. Efforts are directed at increasing the frequency of transmitters and receivers to increase bandwidth, which will mean improved radar for air traffic control and will enable ground controllers to maintain contact with spacecraft soaring to the very edge of the solar system.

Tiger Toothacke
In February of 1987, veterinarians at the Wildlife Waystation in Little Tujunga Canyon are preparing to perform dental surgery on a 500-pound Siberian tiger named Reesha. The tooth repair is enabled by a heated, multi-position surgery table built by faculty, students and staff at the School of Engineering. Professor Alexander Samson, and staff members Joe Becker and Helen Hill manage the project from start to finish in building the unique operating table, which can support animals up to 1,600 pounds.

Hazardous Substances
On March 23, 1987, establishment of an $18 million center at the School of Engineering and Applied Science for research on toxic and other hazardous wastes and byproducts is announced by the National Science Foundation. The center, named the Engineering Research Center for Hazardous Substances Control, is the first of its kind at any American university. Professor Sheldon K. Friedlander is appointed director and principal investigator for the center. Co-principal investigators are professors John D. Mackenzie and David Okrent. Friedlander notes that the cost of managing hazardous waste is approaching $10 billion annually for industry. He says that unless better methods of managing waste are found, not only will the environment continue to be compromised, but the cost of manufactured goods in the United States could increase, with a consequent loss of market share to foreign competitors.

Campus Network
In October of 1988, UCLA and IBM announce a $5 million study to connect separate IBM and other network computer systems at UCLA into one large network. The task will be to get users of networks based on IBM Systems Network Architecture (SNA) to "talk" easily with those based on the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and vice versa.

Robot Path
In March of 1989, research into path-planning for robots by professor Zvi Shiller reveals that the shortest distance between two points may not be a straight line. Using a high-speed computer graphics program, Shiller has developed a new geometric approach to planning fast robot motions that eliminates most of the variable factors complicating traditional path planning.

Lion Toothache
In April of 1989, volunteers from the School of Engineering are preparing to use a device they constructed to transport a 14-year-old African lion to a nearby operating room for tooth surgery. Professor Alexander Samson, staff members Helen Hill and Joseph Becker, and a team of seven students built the motorized gurney, which successfully moves the anesthetized lion from its quarters at the Wildlife Waystation across the grounds to the nearby operating room. The Half Track Limp Animal Transporter, the only one of its kind, enables two people to move a large animal such as a cougar or bear, where before 12 to 14 people grunted and sweated to do the job.

Global Warming
In May of 1989, professor John Dracup testifies before a U.S. Senate Committee on the likely impact of climatic changes on water resources for agricultural, industrial and residential use. If the current trend toward global warming continues, Dracup says, it may threaten seasonal water balance in the American West, raise the cost of water to consumers and require additional construction of large dams and aqueducts. If snow lines and freezing elevations on mountains climb higher, winter precipitation will fall as rain rather than snow, consequently changing runoff patterns and triggering heavy winter floods and a corresponding decrease in streamflow during late spring and summer.

Diamond Films
In July of 1989, a team of researchers led by professor Rointan Bunshah reports development of a process for depositing thin films of diamond on a variety of materials. The plasma-assisted physical vapor deposition process creates a smooth, non-faceted film with applications as a protective coating for electronic devices in space, optical components, and solar cells. The coatings should also drastically reduce friction and wear on industrial equipment, cutting tools, and high density computer discs, Bunshah says.