2002-03 Highlights The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science is a leader in several emerging technologies, including bioengineering, nanoengineering and science, and information technology. Our faculty not only excel in their chosen disciplines, but across traditional boundaries in both research and education. Our location allows us to leverage the considerable resources at UCLA and surrounding educational institutes to create breakthroughs in emerging fields. Funding from outside agencies for research in the School increased last year to more than $468,000 per faculty member. The research projects in the School will touch every aspect of our lives - from cleaner environments to new medical options to improved methods for space exploration to safer living at home and abroad. Undergraduate Education In the last year, we renewed our commitment to comprehensive undergraduate educational programs designed to prepare our graduates for the rapidly evolving work place. We are revising the curriculum to include a three-course minor requirement to ensure a breadth of knowledge, as well as depth. And the summer marked the first year of three new undergraduate research programs that provide our undergraduates with the opportunity to work closely with faculty and graduate students in the labs on technically advanced projects. Growth Despite the current economic crisis, the School is continuing to grow. We successfully recruited 14 exceptional faculty members who will begin teaching in the 2003-04 academic year. They are experts in such diverse fields as molecular bioengineering, software verification, network security, and nanofabrication. Multidisciplinary Research Centers The School was awarded a new multimillion-dollar research center - the MARCO Focus Center on Functional Engineered Nano Architectonics - funded by the Semiconductor Industry Association and the Department of Defense. Led by electrical engineering professor Kang Wang, researchers in this new Center will address the challenges posed by the decreasing size of components for semiconductor chips. Manufacturers are constrained by the physical limits of current techniques, limits that researchers in the Center will seek to surmount. The interdisciplinary team will be exploring new methods and materials to create nanoscale devices. The Focus Center joins three multidisciplinary research institutes established in the School last year - the Center for Nanoscience Innovation for Defense, the Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration, and the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing. Publications The scholarly work of UCLA engineering faculty in 2002-03 included more than 450 articles in conference proceedings, 350 articles published in journals, 28 chapters in books, and 16 books.