December 2008

DEAN'S LETTER

As 2008 comes to a close, I would like to recognize the invaluable contributions of the staff members of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Academic counselors, research engineers, manufacturing and lab technicians, outreach coordinators, administrative assistants, building and equipment managers, payroll specialists, department managers, development officers, IT support staff members along with many, many others all play critical roles in our mission of education, research and service.

From keeping our equipment and facilities in top shape, to guiding our students through their academic careers, and from supporting advanced experiments, to running the day-to-day operations of our departments, centers and offices, our staff members perform their tasks with integrity and professionalism.

I am extremely proud of their dedication and hard work. And I would like to thank all of them for helping make the accomplishments of the school possible.

On behalf of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, I wish all of you a happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous new year.

Sincerely,

Vijay K. Dhir
Dean

FEATURE STORIES

UCLA researchers create polymer solar cells with higher efficiency levels
Currently, solar cells are difficult to handle, expensive to purchase and complicated to install. The hope is that consumers will one day be able to buy solar cells from their local hardware store and simply hang them like posters on a wall. A new study by researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has shown that the dream is one step closer to reality. Reporting in the Nov. 26 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Yang Yang, a professor of materials science and engineering, and colleagues describe the design and synthesis of a new polymer, or plastic, for use in solar cells that has significantly greater sunlight absorption and conversion capabilities than previous polymers.

Mathematical model gives clearer picture of physics of cells, organelles. Research could shed light on life cycle of membrane-bound viruses like HIV
Cells are filled with membrane-bound organelles like the nucleus, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticula. Over the years, scientists have made much progress in understanding the biomolecular details of how these organelles function within cells, but understanding the actual physical forces that maintain the structures of these organelles' membranes continues to be a challenge. Now, UCLA Engineering researcher William Klug and colleagues have devised a mathematical procedure for accurately predicting the three-dimensional forces involved in creating and maintaining certain organelle membranes.

OTHER NEWS

Panagiotis D. Christofides, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and professor of electrical engineering, was elected as a Fellow of IEEE, for "contributions to analysis and control of nonlinear and distributed parameter processes." The grade of fellow recognizes unusual distinction in the profession and is conferred by the IEEE board of directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The accomplishments that are honored shall have contributed importantly to the advancement or application of engineering, science and technology, bringing the realization of significant value to society.

Electrical engineering professor Aydogan Ozcan has been selected to receive the 2009 IEEE LEOS (Lasers & Electro-Optics Society) Young Investigator Award from the IEEE Society for Photonics. The LEOS Young Investigator Award was established to honor an individual who has made outstanding technical contributions to photonics (broadly defined) prior to his or her 35th birthday. Ozcan is being recognized for his pioneering contributions to non-destructive nonlinear material characterization techniques, near-field and on-chip imaging and diagnostic systems.

On November 13, as part of the Great Southern California ShakeOut, the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation at UCLA (nees@UCLA) conducted a laboratory demonstration to illustrate improvements made to design requirements for reinforced concrete structures in the past few decades. The test simulated the effect of an earthquake on two, approximately one-half scale reinforced concrete columns - one representative of 1950's construction, and one for newer codes. The demonstration was led by civil and environmental engineering professor John W. Wallace, principal investigator of nees@UCLA, and Bob Nigbor, Co-principal investigator of nees@UCLA. To read more, click here.

SWE Evening With Industry to be held Jan. 26, 2009 at Covel Commons

Evening With Industry is an annual corporate networking event, organized for UCLA Engineering students by the Society of Women Engineers at UCLA. The program allows students the unique opportunity to network with representatives from a wide range of leading technical companies over a three-course dinner, which is immediately followed by a career fair.
Evening with Industry is open to ALL engineering undergraduate and graduate students. It will be held on the evening of Monday, January 26, 2009 in the Grand Horizon Room, Covel Commons. Tickets will be sold in Boelter Hall and at Society of Women Engineers' general meetings beginning in January.

MEDIA WATCH: UCLA ENGINEERING IN THE NEWS

New York Times

You’re Leaving a Digital Trail. What About Privacy?
The article covers various emerging digital technologies versus privacy concerns. It references the Personal Environmental Impact Report from the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing and quotes computer science and electrical engineering professor Deborah Estrin, the center's director.

Wired

Happy Accident Opens Door to Cheaper, Higher-Resolution Cameras
Scientific accidents have brought some of the most groundbreaking discoveries — vulcanized rubber, X-rays, penicillin — and now scientists at UCLA have accidentally discovered a material that could make digital cameras as we know them obsolete. Graduate student Hsiang-Yu Chen (of materials science and engineering) was working on a new formula for solar cells when something went wrong. Instead of creating electricity when hit with light, the conductivity of the material she was working with changed.

KCET SoCal Connected

Shake-Up Call
The Southern California weekly television newsmagazine aired a segment on buildings in Los Angeles that are particularly vulnerable during an earthquake. Civil and environmental engineering professors Jonathan P. Stewart and John W. Wallace were featured.

Nature Chemistry

Research Highlights. Graphene Synthesis: Chemical Peel
The journal's research highlights section featured a Nature Nanotechnology paper on a new method of mass-producing the nanomaterial graphene by Yang Yang, professor of materials science and engineering and Richard Kaner, professor of chemistry and biochemistry with a joint appointment in materials science and engineering.

CALENDAR

December 12-13

Symposium at UCLA
"Water Resources Systems Analysis: The Contributions of William Yeh"
9:00 a.m., CNSI Conference Facility

January 5

Winter Quarter instruction begins
UCLA Campus

January 15

Jon Postel Distinguished Lecture Series
"Transactional Boosting: A Methodology for Highly-Concurrent Transactional Objects"
Maurice Herlihy, Brown University
4:15 p.m., 3400 Boelter Hall

January 26

SWE Evening with Industry
Covel Commons


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