Engineering Education and Research Engineering Education and Research
Ju e 22 2009Ju e 22 2009
for an Interdisciplinary Futurefor an Interdisciplinary Future
June 22, 2009June 22, 2009
Henry T YangHenry T. YangChancellor, UC Santa Barbara
A Perspective Using UC Santa Barbara as an Example
Focus on Priorities
Development of an intellectual environment andintellectual environment and interdisciplinary culture
Recruitment of talents
Retention of talentsRetention of talents
Quality and Diversity
Students Attract FacultyStudents Attract Faculty
Faculty Attract Students
StudentsStudentsStudentsStudents
Recruitment Receptions for Admitted Students with Top Quality and Diversity
74 receptions since 1995, meeting with over p g46,000 prospective students and family members
Freshman Applications
47 083
50,00047,083
44,673
40,91539 858
40,000
45,000
31 25734,022
34,70337,599 36,946
37,52239,858
30 000
35,000
pplic
ants
23,697
26,952
31,257
25,000
30,000
Ap
17,06218,291
19,23220,711
15,000
20,000
'94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 09
College of Engineering Freshman Applications & EnrollmentFreshman Applications & Enrollment
Faculty
October 5, 2006 Los Angeles Timeshighlights Nobel Prizes at UC Santa Barbara
Helsinki, FinlandSeptember 8, 2006
Professor Shuji Nakamura, inventor of blue laser and blue, green & white LEDs
Distinguished Awards for Junior FacultyDistinguished Awards for Junior Faculty
Award Amount Total (2004‐2008)
NSF CAREER $400‐$500,000 over 5 years 20
Packard Fellowship $625,000 over 5 years 3
Sloan Fellowship $45,000 over 2 years 9
B k Y $300 000Beckman Young Investigator
$300,000 over 3 years 3
35TOTALTOTAL
Distinguished Awards for Junior FacultyDistinguished Awards for Junior FacultyDistinguished Awards for Junior FacultyDistinguished Awards for Junior Faculty(on a per capita basis, 2004‐2008)
CaltechMIT (tied with Caltech)MIT (tied with Caltech)UC Santa BarbaraUC Santa BarbaraUC San DiegoBerkeleyBerkeleyPrinceton (tied with Berkeley)
Developing Strengths in ResearchDeveloping Strengths in Research Clusters
Unique
Highly interdisciplinary and collaborativeand collaborative
Highest qualityHighest quality
Interdisciplinary collaboration b lmust become an institutional
culture and motivational spirit,culture and motivational spirit, not just some dotted lines
i bconnecting boxes on an organization charto ga i a io a
W d t k t thWe need to work together on the grand challenge of a new e g a a e ge o a eparadigm shift to overcome:
• Institutional barriers
• Field biases
• Disciplinary walls
Some ExamplesSome Examples of Interdisciplinary p yResearch Clusters
Co‐directors:Professor Shuji Nakamura
2006 Millennium Technology Prize winnerProfessor Steven DenBaars
“Suddenly, the world had changed…What we are seeing g ghere is the beginning of the end of the light bulb.”
“We are not talking about doing things better, but about doing things we never could before.”things we never could before.
~Nobel Laureate Herbert Kroemer, speaking at UCSB press conferencef Sh ji N k ’ ifor Shuji Nakamura’s prize
Nobel Laureates Alan Heeger, Herbert Kroemer, and Walter Kohn at Nakamura’s press conference
Light Up the World FoundationBringing Light to the Developing WorldBringing Light to the Developing World
Professor Nakamura donated funds from his Millennium Technology Prize winnings to the Light Up the World Foundation
Young girl in Amazon village, studying by light of a white LED y g y g
(visit www.lutw.org for more info)
Documentary by UCSB Nobel Laureates Walter Kohn & Alan Heeger,
t d b J h Clnarrated by John Cleese
Director: Professor David Gross2004 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Funded by NSF and endowmentFunded by NSF and endowment from the Kavli Foundation
f h hFour areas of research emphasis:• Astrophysics
h• Biophysics• Physics of matterS h• String theory
AC lif i I i f S i dA California Institute for Science and Innovation, located at UC Santa Barbara
d UCLAand UCLA
Multidisciplinary approach to nano‐Multidisciplinary approach to nanosystems innovation
ConnectingConnecting science with the arts and humanities
Two centers focused on the social impact ofTwo centers focused on the social impact of new technologies
Partners in campus’s new Ph.D. emphasis in Technology and Society
Station Station QQQQ
d b h l dDirected by Dr. Michael Freedman, Fields Medalist
Q is for Quantum Computing
AMi ft h t UC S t B bA Microsoft research group at UC Santa Barbara, bringing together world‐leading researchers from math physics and computer sciencefrom math, physics, and computer science
$10 million MacArthur grant for national program i l i d l diinvolving two dozen leading universities, centered at UC Santa Barbara and directed by yProfessor Michael Gazzaniga
Di t P f St G iDirector: Professor Steven GainesBrings together faculty, researchers, and
• Marine, coastal zone, and freshwater students from 14 disciplines for:
research (example: Sustainable Fisheries Project, funded by Paul Allen/Vulcan Inc.)
• Marine policy studies• Educational outreach in marine scienceEducational outreach in marine science
ARPANETARPANET: UC Santa Barbara i bi th l fis a birthplace of
the Internet
On October 29, 1969 10 301969, 10:30 p.m., first message was
e t o e thesent over the ARPANET
Digital Humanities
Professor Patricia Fumerton and the English Ballad Archive
Professor Alan Liu and his Voice of the
the English Ballad Archive
fShuttle project, a dynamic web database
A Closer Look at a Few Very ySpecial Interdisciplinary
Collabo atioCollaborations
Institute for Energy Efficiencytl l t dwas recently selected as an
Energy Frontier Research Center, one of 46 such national centersone of 46 such national centers announced by the White House.
Will receive $19 million over the initial five‐year award period.y p
Led by the University of California, Santa Barbara, in y ycollaboration with MIT, Caltech, the U.S. Army, and industry partners.
An interdisciplinary alliance transforming biological inspiration into technological innovation.
Conducting unclassified, fundamental scientific research in five major areas:o Biomolecular Sensors o Bio‐inspired Materials and Energy o BioDiscovery Tools o Bio inspired Network Scienceo Bio‐inspired Network Science o Cognitive Neuroscience
Pioneering research at the interface between biotechnology
• Congressionally chartered, A d UARC
the interface between biotechnology and engineering
Army‐sponsored UARC• Powerful alliance of UCSB, industry, and army partners; subcontracts to y p ;Caltech, MIT
• >$52M in first 5 years; >$65M projected for next 5 yearsprojected for next 5 years
• 50 interdisciplinary research teams in 8 departments, 2 ll 200 d d2 colleges; 200 students and postdoctorals
Biology exhibits remarkably high performance unequaled by human engineering:• The gecko can run on vertical surfaces; it can run inverted on a ceiling.• The human brain is a paragon of massive parallel information processing; it can heal around an injury, and learn, in ways our present electronics can’t.
• Efficiency of photovoltaic energy transduction in every green plant is virtually 100% ‐compared to the much lower efficiency in devices.
ICB approach:• Use biotechnology to dissect and identify fundamental mechanisms responsible for this uniquely high efficiency.
• Translate results to “hard” engineering, chemistry and physics.
Dynamically Adaptive Photonic Materials
Dynamically adaptive optical properties driven by unique biomolecular mechanisms changing reflectance color and texturemechanisms changing reflectance, color, and texture.
ICB approach:Identify the mechanism, and translate to practical materials synthesis and engineering for improved optical communications.
Revolutionary, InterdisciplinaryAlan Heeger ‐ Nobel Laureate, 2000
Angela Belcher PhD fromAngela Belcher, PhD from UC Santa Barbara
Recent winner of MacArthur Award; now MIT CoordinatorAward; now MIT Coordinator
for ICB; pioneer in bioelectronics
His plastic wires and light sources enabled “Flexible Displays”
Shuji NakamuraKnown as “the Thomas Edison of Japan” for his invention of the Gallium Nitride laser and LEDs; Millenniumof the Gallium Nitride laser and LEDs; Millennium Technology Prize winner, 2006
Internationally Acclaimed Science
A New NSF Initiative for Emerging Frontiers in Research
and Innovation (EFRI):and Innovation (EFRI): Bio‐Inspired Sensing p gand Bio‐Inspired
A tuatio Te h olo yActuation Technology
Inspired by NatureInspired by Nature
The sensors and actuators of bio‐organisms have evolved over millions of years through countlessmillions of years, through countless cycles of evolution, to make the organisms smart resilient efficientorganisms smart, resilient, efficient, and sustainable.
Yang, Hansma, MorseApril 15, 2009p
Next Generation Infrastructure Systems Bio-Inspired AutonomyYang, Morse, and Hansma
Bone fracture on the
n nomete nanometer length scale
Force vs. Displacement Displacement
plots for abalone shell
and bone
J J hJeremy Johansen, a legally blind student
Received Ph.D. in engineering 2008engineering, 2008
Thesis: “Sensing andThesis: Sensing and control of building structures duringstructures during earthquakes”
ACURA(Association of Canadian Universities for Research in
Astronomy)
California Institute of Technology
University of
CaliforniaAstronomy) Technology California
How far back can we see with TMT?How far back can we see with TMT?
NASA/WMAPTMT
10m & 8m telescopes
Following a worldwide survey, site selection was a o ed do i May 2008 to t o o tionarrowed down in May 2008 to two options:• Cerro Armazones, Chile• Mauna Kea Hawaii• Mauna Kea, Hawaii
Final choice will be made by the TMT Board on July 20 21 2009July 20‐21, 2009
Cerro Armazones, Chile Mauna Kea, Hawaii
Thank YouThank You