October 2009

DEAN'S LETTER

Each year, the UCLA Engineering Awards dinner honors alumni for outstanding accomplishments, students for distinction in their studies, and faculty for their commitment to teaching. This year the awards dinner is on November 6, and we again are extremely proud to honor individuals who showcase the excellence of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Our top award is the Alumnus of the Year, which will be presented to Paul Baran MS '59. Paul is best known for the invention of packet switching that made the technology behind the Internet possible. The program will also feature a special presentation from NASA Astronaut K. Megan McArthur '93, who controlled the Space Shuttle's robotic arm during the recent servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. For details on the awards dinner, including a list of all the winners, please click here.

UCLA Engineering is the birthplace of the Internet. And as a reminder, we will celebrate its 40th anniversary on October 29, here at UCLA's Covel Commons, featuring an A-list roster of speakers. There are still spots available for this exciting event, and you can see the program lineup and register online here.

Sincerely,

Vijay K. Dhir
Dean

FEATURES

UCLA Engineering to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Internet on Oct. 29
Forty years ago, a team led by UCLA's Leonard Kleinrock sent the first message on the ARPANET. In the decades since then, what is now the Internet has revolutionized every part of our lives. To celebrate the Internet's 40th anniversary, Internet leaders, activists and analysts will offer valuable insights on the opportunities and pitfalls that lie ahead.

 This year, ten UCLA Engineers will be honored at the annual Engineering Awards Dinner for their exceptional achievements. Those honored, alumni, faculty and students, serve as models of engineering excellence. Paul Baran MS' 59 is the recipient of the Alumnus of the Year award. NASA Astronaut K. Megan McArthur '93 will make a special presentation.

UCLA center gets $4.5M in NSF funds for role in national earthquake simulation network
UCLA's earthquake center will receive $4.5 million of a $105 million grant given by the National Science Foundation to Purdue University to spearhead a national earthquake simulation network.

NIH recognizes engineering professor's innovative research with major award
Aydogan Ozcan, assistant professor of electrical engineering has been working to make a cell phone–turned–mobile medical lab a reality. The proliferation of such devices could alter the direction of health care in the developing world, as well as in industrialized nations, in the next several years.

OTHER NEWS

Computer science professor Amit Sahai was selected as one of five "Faces of Modern Cryptography", and presented keynote talk at this event entitled "A New Protocol Compiler", about a revolutionary new approach to secure computation -- with applications ranging from secure electronic elections to privacy-preserving data mining and privacy-preserving collaborative scientific discovery.

Mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Ann Karagozian was recently selected to chair a major study for the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) on the subject of future launch vehicle systems. Karagozian also recently completed four years of service as the SAB's Vice Chair. More information on the SAB may be found at https://www.sab.hq.af.mil/

Mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Rajit Gadh will deliver the keynote address at MobiCASE 2009, an international conference on mobile computing, applications and services, to be held in San Diego later this month. Gadh's talk is titled "Mobile Experience 2.0 - Seamless Convergence of Media Content, Applications, Devices and Networks."

MEDIA WATCH: UCLA ENGINEERING IN THE NEWS

UCLA Magazine

Bruins in Space
UCLA Magazine profiles the eight UCLA alumni who have flown into space.

Los Angeles Times

UC may hike tuition for some undergraduate majors
As part of a plan to plug UC's battered budget, the regents may vote as early as next month on the controversial, tradition-breaking proposal to require engineering undergraduates, along with those studying business, to pay $900 more a year than the rest of the student body. That would be in addition to the $2,514 systemwide fee increase all students are likely to see by next fall.

National Public Radio

Long Recovery In Store For Scorched Calif. Hillsides
The biggest wildfire in Los Angeles County history is under control but still burning. And it's left behind thousands of acres of scorched forestland in an area long regarded as one of the jewels of the Southern California wilderness. Civil and environmental engineering professor Terri Hogue is interviewed.

Pasadena Star-News

Rain may bring trouble to region's water supply following Station Fire devastation
Terri Hogue interviewed on contaminants that may get into water streams because of the burned area.

LiveScience

Engineering Better Disease Detectors, Energy Storage
UCLA Engineering professor Bruce Dunn develops next generation three-dimensional batteries, fuel cells and capacitors, including a battery powered by sugar.

CALENDAR

October 16-18

UCLA Parents' Weekend

UCLA Campus

October 28

Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS) 7th Annual Research Review

Covel Commons

October 29

40th Anniversary of the Internet

Covel Commons

November 6

UCLA Engineering Awards Dinner

The Beverly Wilshire - a Four Seasons Hotel

---

The E-Bulletin is produced by the Office of External Affairs in the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and distributed on the second Wednesday of each month. To share comments or a story you think our subscribers would like to read, email us!