UCLA Engineering: UCLA Engineer Magazine

UC Program Supports Microelectronics Research, Partnerships with Industry

Designed to encourage collaborative research between industry and academia, the UC Microelectronics Innovation and Computer Research Opportunities (MICRO) program has provided more than $1.8 million to support research in the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science since July 2002.

The UC MICRO program was established in 1981 by the State of California to support innovative research in microelectronics technology and to help the California electronics and computer industries maintain their leadership in the field.

To qualify for UC MICRO support, faculty members must first obtain a commitment from an industrial partner to fund part of the cost of the project. Since its inception in 1981, the MICRO program has received sponsorship from more than 500 companies.

Of the 50 plus research projects in the School of Engineering that receive UC MICRO funding, the topics range from speech compression and recognition programs to broadband circuits and systems to chip design and fabrication and algorithms for integration. The projects are led by nearly 30 researchers from four departments, as well as the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing. These research programs have received amounts from roughly $7,000 to nearly $90,000 from the State.

Another critical component of the program is graduate student education, which is supported through research assistantships funded by the projects and fellowships granted directly to students in the fields covered by MICRO. Through these research projects, students are trained in microelectronics and computer science, preparing them after graduation to help transfer the research results to California industry, serve as leaders in established companies, and become the entrepreneurs who form new companies that stimulate California’s economy.

In the last three years, the UC MICRO program has awarded several fellowships to graduate students in electrical engineering, computer science, and mechanical and aerospace engineering at UCLA.

For additional information about partnership opportunities supported by the UC MICRO program, please visit http://www.ucop.edu/research/micro/.

- Marlys Amundson